CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women's basketball team fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes, 107-68, Sunday afternoon at State Farm Center despite a career scoring day for redshirt-junior Eva Rubin.
Rubin paced the Illini (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) with a personal-best 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. Sophomores Jada Peebles and Solape Amusan joined Rubin in double-figures scoring with 10 points each. Sophomore Jeanae Terry posted team-highs with eight rebounds and eight assists, while also chipping in with nine points. Â
The Hawkeyes (7-1, 3-1 B1G) were led by junior Catilin Clark (21 points, four rebounds) and sophomore Mckenna Warnock (18 points, seven rebounds). Monica Czinano (15 points) and Megan Meyer (10) also scored in double-figures for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes stormed out to a 35-10 first quarter lead thanks to 58 percent shooting (7-for-12) from three-point range to open the game. Rubin led the Illini early, scoring all 10 Illini points in the first quarter, but it was not enough to keep pace with the Hawkeyes attack.
STAT OF THE GAME
Iowa was white hot from beyond the arc on Sunday shooting 14-for-33 (.424) from distance overall. Iowa hit 7-of-12 three-point attempts in the first quarter. The 14 three-pointers made, and the .424 shooting percentage from beyond the arc, both marked season bests for an Illini opponent. The Illini did not connect on their first three-pointer until the fourth quarter, after missing 13 attempts through the first three periods.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois was short-handed in today's matchup, playing without junior F/C Geovana Lopes, redshirt-junior F Nancy Panagiotopoulou, and freshmen guards Aaliyah McQueen and Aaliyah Nye.
- The Illini posted their largest scoring run of the game, a 6-0 stretch, over the final 1:32 of the fourth quarter.
- Illinois scored 32 points in the paint on Sunday, the second-best total on the season (40 vs. Valpo).
- The Illini reserves tallied 21 points off the bench, the team's third game of the season with 20+ bench points.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Redshirt-junior C Eva Rubin finished the game with a career-best 17 points, marking the third time in her career she has reached double-digit scoring. Rubin tallied all 10 Illini points in the first quarter, and added two rebounds and a steal on the day.
- Sophomore G Jada Peebles recorded her 10th career double-digit scoring game, and fifth this season, after posting 10 points. Peebles completed the game with a game-high total of three steals, two rebounds, and two assists.
- Sophomore F Solape Amusan came away with 10 points of her own on the day, reaching double-figures for the second time in her career. Amusan also grabbed five rebounds.
- Sophomore G Jeanae Terry led the team in rebounds with eight and was one point shy from reaching double-figures. Terry also led the Illini with a career-high eight assists.
NEXT UP
The Illini are back at the State Farm Center on Thursday, Jan. 7 to take on the No. 17/15-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network Plus. Mike Koon will call the action on WDWS 1400-AM.
