CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team closed out the regular season on Friday at State Farm Center, upending the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 72-64, behind a balanced scoring attack that saw all five starters score eight or more points, including a near triple-double effort from sophomore guard Jeanae Terry.
After playing to a 35-35 halftime time, and sitting knotted at 51 with just under 2 minutes remaining in the third, the Illini began to take control of the game by closing the period on a 6-0 run to hold a 57-51 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Illini's run continued early in the final period when sophomore guard Jada Peebles' third three-pointer of the night opened the scoring. Eva Rubin's layup at the 5:18 mark of the fourth pushed the Illini lead to double-figures for the first time, 54-64, with 5:18 left in the game, and the Illini defense would hold the Gophers at arm's length the remainder of the contest to seal the victory.
Terry, filled up the stat sheet, scoring 11 points, and pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with nine assists. Rubin led the Illini offense with 16 points on 8-for-13 shooting, followed closely by Peebles, who tallied 15 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 showing from beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Aaliyah Nye added nine points for the Illini, while sophomore forward Kennedi Myles narrowly missed out on a double-double with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Minnesota was led by Sara Scalia's 12 points. Gadiva Hubbard and Alexia Smith each added 11 points each, and Grace Cumming notched 10 points off the bench for the Golden Gophers.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Fighting Illini took control of the game during a 6 minute, 59 second stretch from the 1:59 mark in the third quarter to the 5:00 mark of the fourth. During that period, the Orange and Blue allowed Minnesota to shoot just 1-for-8 overall (0-2 3FGs) and outscored the visitors 13-3 to take a double-digit lead.
TEAM NOTES
- Illinois scored 44 points in the paint tonight. This is the most in a game this season, eclipsing the 40 points in the paint tallied vs. Valparaiso on Dec. 20.
- The Illini scored 72 points on the evening. This is the third time this season Illinois has passed the 70-point mark.
- Illinois allowed 64 points in the victory, the first time this season that the Illini won a game in which their opponent eclipsed the 60-point mark.
- Illinois made 30 field goals on the night, tying the season-high mark set Jan. 28 vs. Penn State.
- The Fighting Illini committed just eight turnovers. That matches a season-low for the team (Dec. 10 at Nebraska)..
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Jeanae Terry recorded her seventh double-double on the season, and first since last matchup vs. Minnesota (Feb. 10) in Minneapolis.
- Terry finished one assist shy of a triple-double after posting a line of 16 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists in the first game at Minnesota.
- Terry's 10-rebound game marked her seventh of the year, and her first since Feb. 4 at Michigan State (also 10), a span of seven games.
- Jada Peebles played all 40 minutes of tonight's game vs Minnesota. Peebles ranks third in the conference in minutes, averaging 35.7 minutes per game. She has played a full 40 minutes in four games this season.
- Eva Rubin's 16 points were one shy of matching her career high set Jan. 3 vs. Iowa, but her 8 field goals and 13 attempts on the evening each marked career-high for the redshirt-junior center.
- Kennedi Myles pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points and three assists. Myles has notched 10 or more rebounds five times this season and 15 times in her career in Orange & Blue\.
NEXT UP
The Fighting Illini will face off against the Wisconsin Badgers in the opening game of the 2021 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday evening at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, with the winner advancing to play the No. 5 seed in the second game of Round 2 on Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday's tournament opener will air live on Big Ten Network. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on WDWS 1400 AM. Streaming audio and live stats will also be available at FightingIllini.com..
