CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini women's basketball team closed out the regular-season on Sunday afternoon, falling to Rutgers, 66-56, on Senior Day at State Farm Center.
The game was a back-and-forth affair as the team's jockeyed for seeding in next week's Big Ten Tournament. The Illini (6-19, 1-13) held a slim 27-25 halftime edge and pushed their lead to as many as seven, 36-29, midway through the third. But after six ties and six lead changes, the Scarlet Knights (10-19, 3-14) closed the period on a 14-5 scoring run to regain a lead they would never relinquish despite a valiant comeback effort by the Orange and Blue.
Rutgers pushed its lead to 47-41 in the first minute of the fourth period. The Illini battled back to make it a one-possession game twice in the period. The first was a De'Myla Brown three-point play that cut the score to 53-50 with 5:34 to play. Following a pair of Osh Brown free-throws, Erika Porter's lay-in at the 5:05 mark once again brought the Illini within three, 55-52. The teams combined for a scoreless stretch of more than two minutes before Rutgers rattled off 11 of the game's final 15 points to secure the win.
Junior guard De'Myla Brown scored a team-leading 15 for Illinois. Brown was key to the comeback effort with five points coming in the fourth period. Sophomore Aaliyah Nye, the team's leading scorer added 12 points to match classmate Kendall Bostic. Bostic finished just shy of a double-double, also pulling down a game-high eight rebounds to solidify her hold as the Big Ten's top rebounder.
Rutgers was led by Shug Dickson who tallied a game-high 19 points. Sayani Lassiter added 18 off the bench for the Scarlet Knights, while leading scorer Osh Brown chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds.
Next up, the Fighting Illini travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to open the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Illini will be seeded 14th and are slated to open Wednesday vs. No. 11-1seeded Wisconsin at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
TEAM NOTES
- The Fighting Illini finish the regular season 6-19 overall (1-13 B1G).
- The Illini finish as the No. 14 seed heading into next week's Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, and are set to open Wednesday vs. No. 11-seeded Wisconsin.
- Following the game, the Illini held a Senior Day celebration in recognition of the careers of Sara Anastasieska, Geovana Lopes and Eva Rubin.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior G De'Myla Brown led the Illini with 15 points on Sunday vs. Rutgers. It marks Brown's 11th game of the season in double-figures and her fifth game as the Illini's top scorer.
- Sophomore G Aaliyah Nye (12 points) scored in double figures for a team-leading 14th time this season.
- Nye knocked down two three-pointers, pushing her career total to 89 and moving her past Angelina Williams (87 from 2001-05) into sole possession of 15th in the Illini record book. Nye enters the postseason 11 triples away from becoming the 12th player in program history with at least 100 for her career.
- Sophomore F Kendall Bostic recorded a game-high eight rebounds vs. the Scarlet Knights. Bostic entered the game ranking first in the Big Ten and ninth nationally at 11.6 rebounds per game, and has led the Illini in rebounding in 21 consecutive games, and 24 of 25 games overall this season.
- Bostic has now recorded 286 rebounds on the year, vaulting all the way to sixth on the Illini single-season charts. She enters the postseason just 14 rebounds shy of becoming the sixth player in program history to record at least 300 rebounds in a single season.
- Sophomore F Erika Porter logged a career-high 30 minutes vs. Rutgers on Sunday.
PRESS CONFERENCE
HIGHLIGHTS
