CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's basketball used a balanced scoring attack on Sunday afternoon to overcome the Wright State Raiders, 76-72. Freshman Petra Holešínská led the squad with a career-high 18 points, also posting 11 rebounds to earn her first career double-double. Sophomore Alex Wittinger was key on both ends of the court as she was among team leaders for her 15 points, and her eight blocks set a new single-game school record. With Sunday's victory, the Orange and Blue improve to 4-6 on the season.
"Alex {Wittinger} was 4-for-4 in the first half, and Petra {Holešínská} did the best she's done all year rebounding," head coach Matt Bollant said after the game. "I thought Kennedy {Cattenhead} did a good job of getting to the rim and making some plays and getting offensive rebounds. We had really good balance with Petra, Alex, Kennedy and Brandi {Beasley} in double-figures. I'm proud of our team for finding a way to win."
Freshman Brandi Beasley started the scoring for the Illini on Sunday, with the first score of the game. Wright State quickly responded, however, and the two teams traded baskets throughout the first period. Freshman Petra Holešínská led the Orange and Blue with nine points in the opening quarter, on 4-for-6 shooting from the field. She had also grabbed a career-high five rebounds before the second quarter. The two teams kept it close to start off the day, but the Raiders took the 20-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
Illinois continued to fight through the second period, taking the early lead on a Cattenhead jumper. The teams would go back-and-forth throughout the quarter, keeping the game within three points. UI went 4-for-4 from the floor to end the second quarter and gain the advantage, thanks to a last-second layup by sophomore Jaelyne Kirkpatrick.
Sophomore Alex Wittinger went into the locker room perfect at the half as she was 4-for-4 from the floor. As a team, Illinois shot 53-percent in the first half and did not miss a free throw.
Energized out of the break, Illinois went on a 9-0 run to extend its lead in the third quarter. Four Illini contributed to the run, including senior Ashley McConnell who knocked down her fifth trey of the year. The Raiders followed that up with an 11-2 run of their own to again pull ahead of the Illini. With one quarter to play, Wittinger, Holešínská and Cattenhead were already in double-figures to lead the Illini. Holešínská was just one rebound away from a double-double as she had already tallied 10 points and nine rebounds through the third quarter.r
"I thought we guarded better in the fourth quarter," Bollant said. "After they {Wright State} made four threes in the third quarter, we didn't allow one in the fourth. I felt like we did a better job of contesting shots, and Alex really clogged up the lane."
The Orange and Blue posted six consecutive points to start the fourth quarter and gain a five-point advantage over Wright State. The Raiders battled to keep things close, but the Illini put the game away thanks to several appearances at the charity stripe. Holešínská knocked down eight points in the fourth quarter, making 4-of-4 from the foul line as well. She finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds to earn her first-career double-double. Wittinger swatted five of her rejections in the final period as well, on her way to a school-record eight blocks.
"I thought we did a good job of sharing the basketball and moving it around today," Bollant said. "We got to the rim a little bit, and we didn't settle for threes. We did a good job of making that extra pass. We were better defensively down the stretch also."
Next up, the Illini will host Florida Gulf Coast on Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. Fans can purchase a Family Four Pack for the game and receive four tickets, and $20 in concessions vouchers for just $30.
Team Notes
- The Fighting Illini moved to 4-6 this season with Sunday's 76-72 win over the Wright State Raiders.
- The meeting between the two teams was the first between in program history.
- Four Illini finished the game in double-digits scoring figures. Illinois has now had two or more players score in double figures in eight out of nine games this season.
- Illinois tied its season-high with 32 points in the paint against the Raiders.
- With Wittinger's eight blocks in the game, the Fighting Illini recorded a season-high eight blocks against Wright State.
Individual Notes
- Sophomore Alex Wittinger reset the Illini school record with eight blocks in a single game.
- Wittinger becomes just the eighth player in the NCAA to have eight or more blocks in a single game this season.
- Freshman Petra Holešínská had a career-high 11 rebounds.
- Holešínská recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
- Holešínská tied her season-high point total with 18 on Sunday.
- Freshman Brandi Beasley had 13 points, good for her third consecutive game scoring in double-figures and fifth of the season.
- Beasley dished four assists in the game, good for her ninth game with three or more assists.
- Senior Ashley McConnell tied her career-high point total with six points in the game.
