Champaign, Ill. - Fighting Illini Women's Basketball used a balanced scoring attack to overcome Tennessee State on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Illinois improved to 4-0 on the season with the 98-43 victory at Parkland College. The 55-point victory marks the fourth largest margin of victory in Illinois history. Six Illini scored in the double-digits on the night, including sophomores Kennedy Cattenhead and Brooke Kissinger who put up new career-high numbers with 11 and 12 points, respectively.
"I really liked the start of the game today, I thought we came out on edge," head coach Matt Bollant said. "I wanted us to be on edge and show some maturity today and I really thought we did. I'm really pleased with the way we came out, to outscore them 33-9 in the first quarter, that really says something about how we came to play. I really thought Brooke did a great job in the first half coming out and shooting the ball, she gave us a big lift. We had a lot of people ready to go early today. Sarah Hartwell played well, Kyley {Simmons} played well and Chatrice {White} did well defensively. She had six steals in the first half and really showed she's a versatile player."
Illinois was on fire right from the start on Tuesday, going on a 12-0 run from the opening tip. The Orange and Blue held Tennessee State without a bucket for the first 3:47 of play, and allowed just nine Lady Tiger points in the first quarter. Redshirt senior Kyley Simmons led the Illini through the first period as she racked up 12 points, going 4-for-4 from the floor. The Illini hit 13-of-19 shots in the first quarter and allowed just three buckets from Tennessee State. Sophomore Chatrice White grabbed a career-best six steals in just the first quarter of play, and the Illini forced 13 TSU turnovers in the first 10 minutes of play.
By halftime, Illinois had put up 60 points, as three Illini reached double figures. Simmons and Brooke Kissinger led with 12 points each, while White had 10 of her own. Both Cierra Rice and Sarah Hartwell were approaching double-figures quickly with eight and nine points each, respectively. The Illini allowed just eight first-half field goals from Tennessee State, holding the Lady Tigers to just 18-percent shooting from distance in the half. UI scored 26 points off of 18 TSU turnovers before the break, and shot almost 65-percent from the field as a team.
The Illini continued to play stingy defense in the second half, holding the Lady Tigers without a basket for more than six minutes in the third quarter. TSU was able to put up 10 points in the quarter, but it was no match for UI's 22.
The Illini shot 50-percent from the field, making 35-of-70 field goals in the game. The Orange and Blue knocked down nine three-pointers on the night, while also shooting almost 80-percent from the charity stripe. UI forced 24 turnovers in total, finishing with 36 points off of TSU missteps.
"We're going to enjoy a few days with family and then be back to practice on Saturday night," Bollant said of the team's next few days. "We'll have a few days to prepare for Miami, they're one of the top teams in the ACC and it will definitely be one of our toughest games."
Tuesday's game marked the final contest that will be held at Parkland College, as Illinois returns to the State Farm Center on Dec. 6 to host Lehigh. Next up, however, Illini will travel to Miami for a Dec. 2 contest. Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the information on Illinois women's basketball.
Notes
-Tonight's 55-point victory marks the fourth largest margin of victory for an Illini team in program history. It marks the second-largest margin of victory in a home contest for an Illini team. Illinois has now won three games by a margin of 20 or more this season.
-Six Illini reached double-figure scoring numbers, including Kennedy Cattenhead and Brooke Kissinger who set new personal-bests. The last time Illinois saw six or more players reach double-figure scoring numbers was on Nov. 17, 2013 against Alcorn State. Seven players put up double-digits in that 112-28 victory.
-The Illini started the game on a 12-0 run over the first 3:47 of play.
-Illinois' 33 first-quarter points mark the most in a quarter for Illinois this season. The previous high was 28, scored in the fourth quarter against UT Martin.
-Sophomore Chatrice White grabbed a career-best six steals in the game, breaking her career record of five in just the first quarter of play.
-The Illini allowed just nine first-quarter points, the least scored by a team in the opening quarter this season.
-In the first quarter, the Illini made 13 field goals, while Tennessee State attempted just 12. The Illini shot 68.4-percent from the floor in the first period.
- The Illini scored 61 points in the first half of the game, just six points less than the home court record of 67 points in a half set in 1981 (Illinois 113, Ball State 61, Dec. 8, 1981).
-The Illini held Tennessee State to just 20-percent shooting in the second half, the lowest in a half for an opponent this season. Tennessee State shot just 21.7-percent in the game, also the lowest for an opponent this season. The last time the Illini held an opponent to less than 25-percent shooting was on Nov. 21, 2013. Illinois held Southern Illinois to just 22.6-percent shooting, 14-of-26 from the field.
-Chatrice White scored in double-figures for the fourth consecutive game, she finished with 20 points on the night.
-Brooke Kissinger recorded a career-best 12 points on the night, going 4-for-7 from distance and 4-for-11 from the field.
-With 98 points on the night, the Illini have now recorded two consecutive 90-point games this season. The last time and Illinois team scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games was in the 2013-14 season, putting up 93 points against Mississippi State on Nov. 14 and 112 against Alcorn State on Nov. 17.
-Illinois improves to 4-0 on the season for the second-straight year under head coach Matt Bollant.
-Eight of nine Illini dished at least one assist in the game. Illinois assisted on 17 of 35 field goals made in the contest.
-UI scored 36 points off of TSU turnovers in the game
