ANN ARBOR, MICH. – Fighting Illini women's basketball kicked off a two-game road swing on Saturday in Ann Arbor, falling to the Wolverines, 86-42. Illinois moves to 9-12 overall and 0-7 in Big Ten play. The Orange and Blue return to action on Tuesday at Penn State, facing the Nittany Lions at 6 p.m. CT.
"The frustration got the better of us in different situations," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "I don't have much to say other than it was a tough loss. However, this is done and we have to leave that one in the locker room here."
Illinois spread out its scoring as nine players netted at least one field goal in the contest. Redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice and junior Alex Wittinger led Illinois with eight points each. The two also led Illinois in rebounding as Wittinger tallied eight boards and Rice grabbed seven. Sophomore Courtney Joens was also a main contributor for UI, knocking down seven points and grabbing five rebounds. She also added a team-high two steals and a blocked shot.
Illinois netted five-consecutive points right out of the gates on Saturday evening, however, Michigan responded with a 9-0 run, to take a lead they would not surrender. The Wolverines shot 53-percent to start the game, holding Illinois to just 29.4-percent shooting in the first quarter. Five Illini scored for the Orange and Blue in the opening frame, but Michigan held a 24-12 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The Illini added another 12 points in the second quarter, and held Michigan to just 13 points on 29.4-percent shooting in the period. At the half, Illinois trailed Michigan 37-24. Wittinger and junior Jaelyne Kirkpatrick led the Orange and Blue with six points each, and Wittinger added six rebounds to UI's total. Illinois outrebounded Michigan 14-11 in the second quarter.
"I thought the first two quarters we were rolling, we were down 13, but I didn't think we played particularly well," Fahey said. "The Michigan defense, obviously, caused us a lot of problems in scoring. We talked about that a lot before the game; their 2-3 zone covers a lot of area and they were not going to let Alex beat them."
Michigan played tough defense out of the halftime break, holding the Illini to just four third-quarter points. Michigan posted 20 points in the frame, extending its lead, 57-28 before the final period. The Orange and Blue worked to hold off the Wolverines in the closing quarter, but UM came away with the victory.
Illinois grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the contest, scoring 13 second chance points. The Wolverines shot 50-percent from the floor, holding Illinois to 27.3-percent shooting. Michigan capitalized with 31 points off of Illinois turnovers, and limited the Illini to just two points off of 13 Wolverine miscues.
Stay tuned to FightingIllini.com for the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
