CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Freshman Petra Holešínská had a breakout game on Thursday, tallying a career-best 18 points, three rebounds and four steals in Illinois' 64-54 loss to Memphis. Sophomore Alex Wittinger also finished in double-digits, recording her second consecutive double-double this season. The Illini fall to 1-2 on the season.
"I felt like we didn't get the right looks," head coach Matt Bollant said after the game. "In the second and third quarter, that is on our coaching staff, we need to get more organized. Memphis did a good job of switching up their defenses from man, zone and press. We lacked fluidity in the second and third quarters, offensively. I felt like that hurt us and was the difference between us being in the game."
Holešínská was hot for the Illini in the first half, surpassing her previous career-high (6) with eight points in the first quarter of play. The Memphis Tigers pulled ahead to an early lead in the game, but Holešínská used her clutch shooting from distance to keep the Illini close. By halftime, Holešínská had put up a team-leading 13 points, making 3-of-4 from distance. Freshman Brandi Beasley, sophomores Alex Wittinger and Cierra Rice and redshirt junior Kennedy Cattenhead also contributed for the Illini in the first quarter, but Memphis took a 21-18 lead into the second quarter.
The Tigers held the Illini scoreless for the first four minutes of the second quarter before sending freshman Ali Andrews to the charity stripe. Freshman Courtney Joens knocked down her first career field goal for the Illini in the second quarter, helping to cut into the Memphis lead. The Tigers outscored the Illini 14-9 in the second quarter to take a 35-27 advantage into the locker room at the half.
"I thought Petra did a great job of stepping up in the first half," Bollant said. "I thought Courtney (Joens) did a good job of coming in and Kennedy (Cattenhead) as well. I told the team to be next man up and step up, and they fulfilled that."
The Illini assisted on 70-percent of their first-half field goals, scoring seven points off of six Memphis turnovers. The Orange and Blue were also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line before the break.
Both Illinois and Memphis posted eight third-quarter points out of the break. Andrews knocked down four of Illinois' points in the period, while Wittinger and Holešínská also contributed. Memphis went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter and extend its lead in the game. With less than four minutes to play, the Orange and Blue responded with a 10-2 run of their own to cut into the Tiger lead. Wittinger led the Illini with six fourth-quarter points on her way to her second double-double of the year, and Cattenhead added four more of her own. The Illini scored six points off of three Memphis turnovers in the final period, and 17 overall.
The Illinois bench had a big day, putting up 29 points overall. Holešínská finished with a career-best 18 points off the pine, also grabbing three rebounds and four steals. The Orange and Blue went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe, as freshman Ali Andrews hit four-of four shots from the line. She finished with nine points, tying her career high mark. The Illini grabbed 36 rebounds to Memphis' 34, and recorded 13 second chance points.
Illinois will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 20, hosting USC Upstate at noon. Fans can redeem their ticket stub from Illinois' football game against Iowa to receive free admission to the contest.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois Women's Basketball.
Notes
-Illinois welcomed local elementary school children to its noon start against Memphis. A season-high 2,358 fans were in attendance.
-Illinois leads the all-time series against Memphis, 4-3.
-Illinois outrebounded Memphis, 36-34, and scored more points in the paint than the Tigers, 30-28.
-Illinois had a season-high 12 assists on 21 made shots.
-Freshman Petra Holešínská hit two three-pointers in the first quarter of play to keep the Illini close and to tie up the game. Those two triples tied her career high of six points, and she finished the period with a team-leading eight points. Holešínská recorded more points in the first half (13) than she did in her first two games combined (8). She closed the game with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, in a season-high 23 minutes.
-Freshman Courtney Joens knocked down her first career-field goal and her first-career three-pointer on Thursday. She finished with five points and one rebound.
-Sophomore Alex Wittinger recorded her second consecutive double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. She now has six double-doubles in her career and has hit double-digit rebounding numbers in eight games.
-Wittinger recorded four blocks on the day, her second-straight game doing so.
