CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Brandi Beasley put up a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds to earn her first career double-double Wednesday night, and sophomore Alex Wittinger posted her fifth consecutive double-double in Illinois' 79-70 loss to Wake Forest. The Orange and Blue outrebounded the Demon Deacons 43-31 and five Illini contributed double-digit scoring numbers for the second time this season, but it wasn't enough to overcome Wake Forest. Illinois falls to 2-4 on the season.
Five Illini scored in double-digits led by redshirt sophomore Kennedy Cattenhead's 16 points and Wittinger and Beasley's double-doubles. Freshman Petra Holešínská added 11 points and freshman Courtney Joens put up 10 points for the Orange and Blue as well. Sophomore Jaelyne Kirkpatrick dished five of Illinois' 10 assists. The Illini tallied a season-high 20 offensive boards and held Wake Forest season low 31 rebounds.
"I was proud of our effort tonight," head coach Matt Bollant said. "Obviously, we wanted to end with a better result. I thought to have 20 offensive rebounds against a big, physical team was a positive and showed that our effort was definitely there. Brandi (Beasley) and Alex (Wittinger) both had double-doubles and Kennedy (Cattenhead) played her most complete game of the year, she did a lot of really good things for us. I felt like we were a lot better defensively in the first half than in the second half. We just didn't take as good of shots in the second half, we just need to be a little more patient and break teams down a little bit more."
The Illini took a 10-point lead over the Demon Deacons to start the matchup on Wednesday, outscoring Wake Forest 25-16 in the first quarter. Wittinger led the Illini with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor, and Holešínská contributed seven points to the Illini lead. Illinois held Wake Forest without a field goal for the first four minutes of play. The Illini were 3-for-6 from distance in the period, and Illinois' 25 points mark the most in a quarter so far this season.
The freshmen were the story in the second quarter as Joens, Ali Andrews, Beasley and Holesinska combined for all but two of Illinois' 16 points.
An Andrews three-pointer gave Illinois' its largest lead of the game, putting the Orange and Blue ahead by 13. Joens was 2-for-2 from distance at the half, totaling eight first-half points for the Orange and Blue. Wittinger reached double-digits before halftime with 10 points, while Holesinska also put up nine points. Beasley ended the half on a high note for UI, hitting a jumper just before the buzzer. She put up eight points in the first half.
Illinois outrebounded the Demon Deacons 22-14 before the break, capitalizing with nine second chance points on seven offensive rebounds.
Out of the break, Illinois worked to maintain its lead as Cattenhead and Holesinska negated early Wake Forest buckets in the third quarter. The Demon Deacons went on an 8-0 run to cut into the Illini lead and tie up the contest, but Cattenhead stifled the run with a jumper to take back the Illini advantage. Wake Forest again tied it up and continued on to take a five-point lead into the fourth quarter. Cattenhead put up five points in the third quarter to lead UI, and continued on to record a team-leading eight in the fourth quarter.
The Illini fought back in the final period, as both Cattenhead and Joens got to the line early on. Wittinger followed the free throws up with a jumper to tie the score at 58 with eight minutes left in the game. The Demon Deacons continued to put the pressure on, posting nine consecutive points to pull away with their final lead of the game.
Illinois will have a quick turnaround this week, hosting Fort Wayne on Friday evening. The Illini and the Mastodons will tip off at 7 p.m. and the game will mark Dad and Daughter Date Night featuring a $15 ticket package. Illinois will continue collecting toys to benefit Toys for Tots, and the game will also serve as another Free Throw Friday, where kids 18 and younger can shoot free throws on the court for 10 minutes following the contest.
Team Notes
-The Fighting Illini scored 25 points in the first period, the highest point total in a period this season.
-Illinois still leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 2-1 after Wednesday night's 79-70 setback.
-The Orange and Blue are now 4-6 in the ACC/B1G Challenge.
-Five players scored in double figures for the second time this season with three of those five being freshman. The Illini entered the game getting 25.8 points per game (50-percent) from the freshman class.
- Illinois had a season-best 20 offensive boards and outrebounded Wake Forest 43-31.
-The Orange and Blue shot 12-for-14 from the charity stripe, good for 85.7-percent. Illinois entered the game leading the Big Ten in free throw percentage with an 83.1-percent mark.
Individual Notes
- Freshman Brandi Beasley scored a career-high 14 points and 11 rebounds, good for her first double-double in the Orange and Blue
-Beasley is only the second Illini to grab double-digit rebounds in a game.
- Sophomore Alex Wittinger scored 14 and had 10 rebounds for her fifth-consecutive double-double this season.
- Wittinger had a season-best four blocks for the third time this season.
-Redshirt-junior Kennedy Cattenhead had a season-best 16 points
-Six of those points came from a season-high six free throw makes.
-Freshman Courtney Joens had her second double-figure scoring game of the season with 10 points.
-Freshman Petra Holešínská scored her second double-figure scoring game of the season with 11 points.
