Dec. 30, 2011

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois junior Karisma Penn had her 26th career double-double, including her seventh of the season, with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Illini couldn't overcome a tough first half, however in falling to Michigan 70-50 in the Big Ten opener Friday night at Assembly Hall.

Illinois went 10 minutes without a field goal in the first half, shooting 21 percent (5 of 24) in the first 20 minutes as Michigan built a 32-15 halftime lead. All five first-half field goals came from Penn as the Illini turned the ball over 13 times in that first half.

"I think we came out timid in the first half," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "I think it came down to dictating on defense. We came out not talking on defense, not doing the things that we have done in the past. We went back to turning the ball over, not looking for our second and third options."

Michigan got a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures, led by Carmen Reynolds' 16 points. The Wolverines out-rebounded the Illini 38-30 for the game, including 14-10 on the offensive glass.

The Wolverines dominated the inside game in the first half, out-scoring the Illini 18-6 from the paint. Jenny Ryan had all five of her steals in the first half.

The second half was a different story for Illinois, who made 10 of its first 14 field goals in getting as close as 13 points. The Illini also only turned the ball over only four times in the second half in making runs at the Wolverines. Sophomore Kersten Magrum and freshman Ivory Crawford each had eight of their 10 points in the second half as Illinois shot 50 percent in the second 20 minutes.

Each time Illinois made a run, though, Michigan was able to answer. The Illini used a 10-4 run to get within 36-23, only to see Michigan go back in from 43-25 at the 14:53 mark. The Illini used an 8-2 run to close within 51-38. The run included a transition basket from Ivory Crawford and a three-pointer from fellow freshman Taylor Tuck.

Michigan, however, built its lead back to 21 at 67-46 and pulled away for a 20-point victory.

"If we played the first half the way we did the second half, it probably would have been a different story," Law said. "In the second half, we started executing, rotating the ball and looking for our best option."

Penn moved past Angie McClellan into 16th on the Illini all-time scoring list with 1,135 and past Liz Bauer, Tiffanie Guthrie and Sonya Waters into 13th on the school's career rebounding list with 617.

Michigan improves to 12-2 overall while Illinois falls to 6-8 ahead of Monday's Big Ten Network game against Purdue at 1 pm at the Assembly Hall. Purdue squeaked past Minnesota, 57-53 at Mackey Arena and brings an 11-3 record into Champaign.

"If we dictate on defense and play our style, talk and do the little things, we'll be fine," Law said of the remainder of the Big Ten schedule. "Players have to buy into playing total defense. If we can do that, we should be okay."