CHAMPAIGN - Fighting Illini women's basketball used a strong third-quarter effort to take a late lead over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday afternoon, but the push wasn't enough as Minnesota outlasted the Illini to earn an 84-75 victory. Illinois was led by junior Alex Wittinger who posted 20 points and three rebounds on the day. Redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead and sophomore Brandi Beasley were also in double-figures, each adding 10 points. Cattenhead also contributed six rebounds and three assists on her senior day. The Illini close regular season play with a 9-21 record and a 0-16 mark in league play.
"I think one thing you've noticed in this team is the competitiveness we've shown in the last few games, in particular," head coach Nancy Fahey said after the game. "I think those three games we've been in every game and we've been trying to get over the hump. We took the lead tonight. That's exactly what I told the team in postgame; the Big Ten Tournament is a new season and we have to approach it that way."
Minnesota pulled ahead to an early advantage on Sunday, but Cattenhead started off the scoring for Illinois. The Orange and Blue were led in the opening frame by Wittinger and Cattenhead who combined for 11 of Illinois' 14 points. Sophomore Petra Holešínska led Illinois on the boards with four rebounds to open the game.
Trailing by 10 to start the second quarter, UI used a 14-3 run to close the gap and pull within one possession before halftime. Beasley combined with freshman Addaya Moore for eight points in that run, while sophomore Courtney Joens added five points. The Orange and Blue outscored Minnesota 16-14 in the second quarter, but the Gophers maintained their advantage to take a 37-30 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.
Illinois held Minnesota to just 25-percent shooting in the first half, knocking down 30.6-percent of their own shots. The Gophers took advantage of offensive rebounds, recording 10 second chance points before the break.
The Illini continued to pick up momentum out of the halftime break as the Orange and Blue put together a 13-2 run to start the second half and take the lead from the Gophers. Illinois outscored Minnesota 25-16 in the quarter and took a 55-53 lead into the final quarter. Wittinger was huge for UI in the third frame as she posted 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, also adding a three-pointer. Redshirt sophomore Cierra Rice and Holešínska also knocked down shots from distance as UI went 3-for-4 from three-point range in the third quarter. Cattenhead added four points and three rebounds to her tally in the third quarter, heading into the fourth quarter with eight points, five boards and two assists. The Illini shot 55.6-percent from the floor and forced three Minnesota turnovers in the quarter.
Despite the strong Illini push in the third quarter, Minnesota knocked down six-straight points to end the frame, and continued their run in the final period. Rice knocked down a three-pointer to stop the 14-0 Minnesota run, and worked to swing the momentum back in favor of Illinois. The Illini used four three-pointers in the fourth quarter to cut the Minnesota lead to just five, but Minnesota used 13-of-17 shooting from the charity stripe to hold on to the win.
Illinois shot 40-percent from the floor on Sunday afternoon, holding Minnesota to 33.8-percent shooting. The Illini scored 11 points off of 12 Gopher turnovers and assisted on more than 53-percent of their field goals. The Gophers finished with 17 second chance points, and scored 30 points off of free throws.
Prior to Sunday's game, Illinois honored its senior class, including Kennedy Cattenhead and Alli Ball, in the annual senior day celebration. Cattenhead has made 111 career appearances during her time at Illinois, while Ball, who transferred to Illinois from Akron, has played in 26 of Illinois' contests this season.
"I think what you want out of your seniors is leadership and what you want out of your seniors is a team first attitude," Fahey said. "Those guys inherited me and they had a choice, and I feel like they are understanding what we're trying to do here. I think you can hear that from Kennedy, if you talk to Alli it's the same thing. If you have seniors that do the opposite of that, you have a bigger problem than, quite frankly, what our record shows right now. I think those guys have battled through this year and I've told them that with that foundation we can repay them in the future."
The Orange and Blue will be the No. 14 seed at the Big Ten Tournament and are set to face the No. 11 seed, Penn State, on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Stay tuned to FightingIlllini.com for the latest on Illinois women's basketball.
Team Notes:
- 25 third quarter points is the most by the Illini in a quarter in a Big Ten game this season
- Illinois hit their first 10 shots to start the third quarter, shooting 7-7 from the field and 3-3 from three-point range
- The Illini tallied 16 bench points in the second quarter
Individual Notes:
- Redshirt senior Kennedy Cattenhead and senior Alli Ball suited up for their final games inside the State Farm Center on Sunday afternoon
- Cattenhead started her 21st game of the season for the Orange and Blue, giving her 111 career appearances and 73 career starts. Ball came off the bench for the Illini, marking her 26th appearance with UI.
- Junior Alex Wittinger scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and 25th time this season, finishing with 20 points. It's her sixth 20-plus point game of the season and the 14th of her career.
- Freshman Addaya Moore hauled in a career-best six rebounds
