CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team closed out its home season Wednesday night (Feb 26) against the Michigan State Spartans, falling 72-58, at State Farm Center despite double-figures scoring from senior forward Ali Andrews (16) and freshman guard Jeanae Terry (10), and a nine-point, 10-rebound effort from freshman forward Kennedi Myles.
After Michigan State (15-13, 8-9) opened the game on a 7-0 run, Illinois (11-17, 2-15) battled back to knot the contest at 10 midway through the first quarter. The Illini remained within striking distance of the Spartans well into the second, and took a 22-21 with 7:41 left before the half on a reverse layup by redshirt junior guard Petra Holešínská off the Myles feed. But a 10-0 MSU run to close out the half turned their 26-25 lead into an 11-point deficit that Illinois could not overcome.
In addition to her 16 points, Andrews pulled down seven boards, while Terry added six rebounds to go with her 10 points. Myles' nine points left her one shy of her eighth double-double, after setting an Illinois freshman record with her seventh of the season at Nebraska on Saturday. Holešínská, the Illini's leading scorer, chipped in with nine points.
Michigan State was led by senior guard Shay Colley's 14 points. Sophomore guard Nia Clouden recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman guard Moira Joiner added 11 points of her own.
Next up, Illini travel to Evanston, Ill., for a Saturday matchup against Northwestern in the regular-season finale for both squads. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network..
Team Notes
- With the loss Illinois moves to 11-17 overall and 2-15 in Big Ten play.
- The Fighting Illini close the home season with a record of 9-9 at State Farm Center, the best home record for the program since finishing 10-5 in home games during the 2014-15 season.
- Illinois committed just eight turnovers in the contest, the team's lowest total in the past six games and the third-lowest total this season, one shy of the season-low seven recorded Dec. 10 in a 75-72 win vs. Merrimack, and matched at Purdue on Jan. 16.
Individual Notes
- Senior forward Ali Andrews knocked down a trio of three-pointers to move into sole possession of sixth place on the Illini career charts with 152. Andrews broke a tie with Kyley Simmons (149; 2015-16). It also marked the ninth game of the year for Andrews with multiple three-pointers.
- Andrews scored in double-figures for the 11th time this season and the 35th time in her Illinois career, finishing with 16 points.
- Andrews' seven rebounds also marked her best output since she pulled down 10 boards on Dec. 10 vs. Merrimack, a span of 19 games.
- Freshman forward Kennedi Myles (10 rebounds) notched her ninth game of the season with double-figures in boards, and finished one point shy of extending the Illinois freshman double-doubles record which she established with her seventh such game in the teams' previous game at Nebraska (Feb. 22).
- Myle's 10 rebound effort gave her back-to-back games with double-digit boards for the first time since stringing together three such games Dec. 10 vs. Merrimack (12), Dec. 15 vs. Evansville (20), and Dec. 20 at Mizzou (13).
- Freshman guard Jeanae Terry's 10 points marked her seventh game of the season in double-figures scoring. Her six rebounds are the most for the rookie since recording a season-high with eight boards in back-to-back games vs. Maryland (Jan. 23) and at Rutgers (Jan. 30).
