PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Fighting Illini women's basketball continued the Big Ten slate on Wednesday, taking on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Illini fell 76-37 to Rutgers in Piscataway, moving to 9-8 on the season and 0-3 in league play.
Junior Alex Wittinger led Illinois in scoring and on the glass, posting 16 points and adding eight boards. She also contributed two blocks and two steals on the night. Sophomore Petra Holešínská netted six points and added five rebounds for Illinois, while redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice tallied five points and five boards as well.
"I thought the game plan early was, defensively, working," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "The first quarter we did what we wanted to do, but the second quarter we just disappeared. I think that the one thing we tried to do, and I thought they did better, was we kept fighting. It doesn't look like that with the reflection of the score, but it did feel like the kids fought through the whole 40 minutes."
Illinois was tough defensively to start the game, holding Rutgers without a point for almost five minutes to open the contest. The Illini had pulled ahead to a 5-0 lead in that span, but the Scarlet Knights tied it up for the first media timeout. Rutgers took the lead with a free throw out of the break, but Illinois continued to push. Wittinger put the Orange and Blue back in the lead with a layup in traffic before the end of the quarter, but a 6-0 Scarlet Knight run made it 16-11 to their advantage heading into the second frame.
The Scarlet Knights outscored Illinois 12-3 in the second quarter, pulling ahead to a 28-14 lead at the half. The Illini defense continued to pressure before the break as Illinois held Rutgers' leading scorer, Tyler Scaife (21.6 ppg), to just three first-half points. Holešínská led the Illini with five points and two rebounds at halftime, while Rice also contributed four points and five rebounds. Wittinger racked up two steals and a block before the half. Rutgers capitalized with 13 points off of 12 Illini turnovers in the first half of play and tallied eight first-half steals.
Wittinger led the Illini out of the halftime break, posting eight points in the third quarter. She has reached double-digit scoring numbers in nine-straight games and 14 times this season. Rutgers pressured Illinois in the third quarter, extending its lead, 55-24 on 66.7-percent shooting in the frame.
Wittinger added six more points for the Illini in the final frame, but an 11-0 Rutgers run put the game away. Illinois shot 28-percent on the night, facing 46.8-percent shooting from the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers scored 25 points off of Illinois turnovers, and held the Orange and Blue to just one three-pointer in the contest.
The Illini will kick off a three-game homestand on Sunday, hosting the Iowa Hawkeyes at 1 p.m. The game will air live on the Big Ten Network, and will mark Youth Hoops Day, Kids Club Day and ChambanaMoms Day. Illinois will give away fidget spinners to fans in attendance, and the squad will sign autographs on the court following the contest.
