Ann Arbor, Mich. - A career-high 35-point effort from sophomore Chatrice White led the Illini at Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 7, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Michigan Wolverines. White finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds to earn her 15th double-double of the season. With the 96-83 loss in Ann Arbor, the Illini fall to 8-15 on the season and 1-11 in Big Ten Play.
White's 35 points mark the most for an Illini since Allison Curtin also scored 35 points against Iowa on March 3, 2001. She knocked down a career-best 11 free throws on 11-of-12 shooting from the line, and finished with two blocks and three steals overall.
"I thought Chatrice {White} had a great game offensively today," head coach Matt Bollant said of White's performance. "She did a great job of demanding the ball off the block and our guards did a good job of finding her. I'm happy for her to have scored 35 points and to have been so dominant. I'm also anxious to get some of our injured kids back in the game and go from there."
After recording a hot start for the Illini against Northwestern, redshirt sophomore Kennedy Cattenhead was once again the first to score for Illinois on Sunday afternoon. Cattenhead put up Illinois' first four points in the game, but the Illini couldn't hold on to an early lead. Michigan went on a 12-3 run to pull ahead in the game.
Illinois worked to chip away at the Michigan lead throughout the second period, using the charity stripe to its advantage. The Illini were 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the first half, with 12 of those coming in the second quarter. The Orange and Blue assisted on seven of nine first-half field goals, and senior Kyley Simmons dished four of them.
"I'm proud of our team," Bollant said. "We didn't start the game defensively the way we needed to defend, but I thought we played a great second and third quarter and we outscored them in those periods. We were able to cut it to six in the third, but Michigan hit two threes that were big."
The Orange and Blue used an 8-0 run in the third quarter to help cut down the Michigan lead, but Michigan went on a run of its own to keep its distance. Sarah Hartwell and Kennedy Cattenhead used consecutive three-pointers to help the Illini end the quarter on a 10-2 run and cut the Wolverine advantage to just seven.
White put up 12 of Illinois' 19 fourth-quarter points in the game, but the Illini could not catch up to Michigan to close out the game. The Orange and Blue forced 18 Michigan turnovers and grabbed 11 second chance points on Sunday.
Illinois returns to Champaign for a rematch against Indiana on Feb. 10. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Stay tuned to FIGHTINGILLINI.com for all the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
Notes
-Illinois was on fire from the charity stripe on Sunday, making 14-of-14 shots in the first half of play. The Illini finished 20-for-25 on the game.
-Junior Ashley McConnell saw a season-high 26 minutes on the floor on Sunday. She finished with five points and two assists, going 2-for-2 from the free throw line
-Sophomore Chatrice White earned her second 30+ point scoring game of her career as she recorded 35 points in the game. The number marks a new career-best, and the second time she has dropped 30 or more points against Michigan in her career. The last time an Illini scored 35 points, was in 2001 when Allison Curtin scored 35 points against Iowa.
-White knocked down a career-best 11 free throws on 11-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe.
-White is now in sole ownership of sixth all-time on Illinois' single-season double-doubles list as today marks her 15th double-double of the year.
-Two Illini were perfect from the free throw line, Ashley McConnell and Brooke Kissinger didn't miss a shot.
