MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start on the road Wednesday night, falling 83-73 to Minnesota at Williams Arena, despite a career scoring night from sophomore guard Jada Peebles.  Â
Peebles finished with a personal-best 21 points, including five three-pointers, and added four rebounds. Backcourt mate Jeanae Terry finished just two rebounds shy of a triple-double with 17 points, eight boards, and a career-high 10 assists, while sophomore forward Solape Amusan, from nearby Woodbury, Minn., tallied 10 points for the Illini (3-12, 1-11 B1G).
The Gophers (6-9, 5-8 B1G) jumped out to a 9-0 lead before a Terry three-pointer got the Illini on the board at the 5:54 mark of the first quarter.
Minnesota's lead reached as many as 29, midway through the third period before the Illini found an offensive rhythm. Fueled by the team's full-court pressure, the Orange and Blue closed the period on an 18-7 run to pull within striking distance of the Gophers, 64-46.
Illinois closed the gap to eight points, 74-66, after a pair of Peebles free-throws capped a 9-0 run with 2:21 remaining. Peebles' final three-pointer of the game, with just 39 seconds remaining, cut the deficit to 80-73, before Minnesota' s Sara Scalia closed out the with a layup and a free-throw.
Scalia led Minnesota with a 20 points. Jasmine Powell added 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Kadiatou Sissoko chipped in with 16 points and six boards.
STAT OF THE GAME
Illinois allowed Minnesota to shoot 44 percent (11-for-25) from three-point range on Wednesday night. It is the highest three-point percentage allowed by the Illini this season, surpassing the 42.4 percent (14-for-33) posted by Iowa (Jan. 3). The Gophers connected on 11 of 21 attempts from three-point range though the first three quarters, before going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the final frame.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois grabbed a season-high 19 offensive rebounds, the most in a game since Dec. 15, 2019 vs. Evansville (20). The 19 offensive rebounds are the most in a conference game since Feb. 13, 2018 vs. #16 Ohio State (21) and the most in a conference game on the road since Feb. 21, 2015 at Purdue (21).
- The Illini's 29 points off the bench marked a season high and the most in a game since Jan. 30, 2020 at Rutgers (31 PTS).
- Illinois dished out a season-high 20 assists. The last time the Illini recorded at least 20 assists was Nov. 30, 2019 vs. Presbyterian (22 AST) and it was the most in a conference game since Jan. 26, 2016 at Minnesota (24 AST).
- The loss snaps a two-game win streak for the Illini vs. the Gophers. Illinois had defeated then-No. 12-ranked Minnesota, 66-62, in their previous visit to Williams Arena (Jan. 6, 2019), and picked up a 74-71 win over the Gophers in last year's matchup at State Farm Center (Jan. 12, 2020). Â
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Jeanae Terry recorded her sixth-career double-double with 21 points and a career-high 10 assists. She nearly recorded a triple-double finishing with eight rebounds. She is the sixth player (seventh occasion) to put up at least 16 PTS, 8 REB and 10 AST in NCAA Division I women's college basketball this season. The last Illini player to have those numbers was Ivory Crawford on Feb. 5, 2015 vs. Minnesota. No Illini player has accomplished that on the road since at least 1999-2000.
- Terry is the first Illinois player with a points-assists double-double since Brandi Beasley on Nov. 24, 2018 vs. Sacramento. She is also the first Illinois player with 10 assists in a game since Brandi Beasley on Jan. 9, 2019 vs. Rutgers (10 AST).
- Jada Peebles scored a career-high 21 points in the contest. She matched her career best with five three-pointers (Jan. 28, 2021 vs. Penn State). The last Illini player to connect on at least five three-point field goals in two conference games in a season was Petra Holesinska who did it three times in conference play during the 2016-17 season. Peebles recorded her sixth effort of the season with at least 15 points. She has reached double-figures scoring 10 times this season and 15 times in her career.
- Solape Amusan contributed 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting (.500), her third double figure scoring game of the season.
- Lyric Robins swiped a career-high three steals against Minnesota. She had appeared in 75 career games entering tonight.
NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini return to State Farm Center, hosting No. 15/14-ranked Indiana on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff between the Illini and the Hoosiers (12-4, 10-2 B1G) is set for 2 p.m. CT. The game, which has been designated as Illinois' annual Play for Kay Pink Game, will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on WDWS 1400 AM. Streaming audio and live stats are also available at FightingIllini.com
