SAN LUIS OBISPO, California – Fighting Illini women's basketball dropped a hard-fought battle to the Sacramento State Hornets, 109-107, on Saturday afternoon at the Cal Poly ShareSLO Holiday Beach Classic. After trailing early on, the Orange and Blue used a 37-point third-quarter effort to close the gap and pull ahead of Sacramento State. Freshman Arieal Scott netted a late three-pointer to keep the game tied with six seconds to play, but the Hornets clinched the victory with a last-second layup. Five Illini scored in double-figures in the matchup, led by Alex Wittinger who knocked down a career-best 32 points and added 14 rebounds on the day. Junior Brandi Beasley also recorded a double-double in the contest, dishing 10 assists and closing the game with 12 points. The Illini move to 4-1 on the season.
"We're disappointed right now," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "We came up here to win two games, and all we can do right now is rebound. We're going to do that and get back to work on Monday."
The two teams got off to a fast start on Saturday afternoon inside Mott Athletics Center. Junior Courtney Joens started the scoring for Illinois, but the Sacramento State Hornets used their three-point shooting to gain an advantage over the Orange and Blue. The Hornets knocked down eight treys in the first quarter, shooting 40-percent from distance to start the game and take a 24-23 lead into the second quarter. Wittinger led Illinois with eight points and three rebounds in the first frame, and Scott added seven points of her own.
Sacramento State continued to pressure the Illini and push the pace in the second quarter. Wittinger added 10 more points and three blocked shots before the halftime break to help cut into the Hornet advantage, and Scott knocked down two three-pointers in the period. Sacramento State continued to see success from distance as the Hornets netted 14 threes in the first half to build up a 62-48 advantage at the break. The Illini scored 28 points in the paint in the first half, but gave up 16 points off of turnovers.
"I think really the game was in the first two quarters, that's what cost us," Fahey said. "We spotted them 14 at halftime, and we gave up too many offensive boards. I thought that was a point of emphasis going into the second half, you can't give them more than one opportunity and that's what brought us back into the game."
Illinois came out strong to start the second half, pressuring the Hornets and working to stifle their three-point shooting. Illinois combined for a 13-0 run in the period to cut into the Hornet lead and pull ahead. Joens and redshirt junior Cierra Rice combined for eight points in that run. Illinois and Sacramento State traded the lead in the quarter, but free throws put Illinois back on top. The Illini made 12-of-12 from the charity stripe and outscored the Hornets, 37-18, in the frame to lead 85-80 before the fourth quarter.
Sacramento State pressured to cut into Illinois' lead to start the last period, but graduate transfer Sarah Shewan responded with a three-pointer for the Orange and Blue to keep Illinois ahead. Wittinger and Shewan combined for a 6-0 Illini run to continue to extend the Illini lead in the frame, but the Hornets responded with a run of their own to tie the game and regain the advantage. The two teams traded buckets to keep the game close until the final buzzer. Scott netted a clutch three-pointer for Illinois with six seconds on the clock to tie the game at 107, but a late layup secured the victory for Sacramento State.
Illinois' 107 points on the day mark the most for an Illinois squad since scoring 112 against Alcorn State on November 17, 2014. The Orange and Blue shot 54.5-percent from the floor in the contest and scored 62 points in the paint. Five Illini scored in double-figures in the game, including Wittinger (32), Scott (18), Shewan (15), Beasley (12) and Rice (10).
NEXT UP
The Illini will continue their road trip next week, heading to Clemson for a 6 p.m. matchup on November 28. The two teams will meet for the fifth time in program history, with the all-time series tied, 2-2. Illinois has traveled to Clemson, South Carolina for three of the previous four matchups, winning the most recent meeting against the Tigers, in a 61-50 victory. The Illini are 4-7 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, most recently hosting Virginia Tech during the 2017-18 season.
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GAME NOTES
-Illinois scored a season-high 107 points on Saturday, marking the first time an Illinois squad has recorded 100 points or more since Nov. 17, 2014 in a 112-28 victory over Alcorn State. Illinois' 107 points mark the fourth-most in a game in Illinois history.
-Illinois outrebounded Sacramento State, 56-48, marking the fifth consecutive contest that Illinois has outrebounded its opponent.
-Senior Alex Wittinger led Illinois with 32 points on the day to earn a new career high and her second career game scoring more than 30 points. Her previous career-best (30) was set against Ohio State on Feb. 13, 2018. Wittinger added 14 rebounds to her stat line, earning her third double-double of the year and the 29th of her career.
-Wittinger netted a career-best 15 field goals in the contest, and also attempted a career-high 27 shots.
-Freshman Arieal Scott recorded a new career-best with 18 points on the day. It marks her third career double-figure scoring game.
-Junior Brandi Beasley recorded her fourth-career double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. She has recorded double-figure assists in three career games.
-Senior Alex Wittinger and junior Brandi Beasley's two double-doubles in the contest mark the first time the Illini have seen two players record double-doubles since November 30, 2016 in a 76-70 loss to Wake Forest. Wittinger finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in that contest, and Beasley tallied 14 points and 11 boards.
-Graduate Transfer Sarah Shewan netted an Illinois career best with her 15 points. It marks her first double-figure scoring game in the Orange and Blue.
-Illinois shot 80-percent from the free throw line on Saturday, seeing perfect appearances from four different players.
