Tweet: #illini women’s basketball couldn’t contain Ohio State’s barrage of 3-point shots

The Ohio State women’s basketball team’s ability to hit from beyond the arc throughout the game was a major contributing factor in Illinois’ 117-74 loss to Buckeyes.SO

Ohio State launched 29 3-point attempts and connected on 16, the most 3-point makes ever against an Illinois team.SO

The 3-point barrage was led by guard Kelsey Mitchell, who was 8-for-9 from long distance. She is now tied at 3.6 with Minnesota’s Rachel Banham for most 3-point field goals made per game in the Big Ten.SO

Guard Amersyt Alston was second on the Buckeyes with five 3-pointers made, and she and Mitchell combined to score 74 points in the game.SO

“I have never given up 74 (points) to two players,” head coach Matt Bollant said. “That was as good as I have ever seen.”

Illinois couldn’t compete with Ohio State’s shooting performance. The team made four of its 20 attempts with guard Brooke Kissinger and center Chatrice White leading the team with four attempts apiece. While Kissinger was able to nail three of her 3-pointers, White hit only one.SO

Fighting back in the fourth

After being outscored 32-15 in the third quarter, the Illini showed some fight in the fourth and were able to outscore their opponent.SO

With Mitchell on the bench for the entire quarter, the Illini put up 19 points and held the Buckeyes to 18. White helped lead the charge by scoring 11 of her 18 points in the quarter, but by that point it was too little too late.SO

White, who struggled to find her rhythm in earlier quarters, received support from freshman Alex Wittinger. Wittinger scored 19 of her 21 points in the first three quarters but turned over the majority of the scoring load to White in the fourth.SO

“Alex was great and shot a really good percentage,” Bollant said. “Against Ohio State, you have to shoot a great percentage because they are so good offensively. I thought Alex played really well.”

Illini sit in last in Big Ten

Illinois has two games left in the regular season: Wednesday against Michigan State (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten) at home and at Iowa (17-11, 7-9 Big Ten) on Saturday. The Illini are yet to face either of those teams this season.SO

The team hoped to get a boost heading into its final week of the season after winning its second conference game against Wisconsin on Feb. 17.SO
 It was the team’s first win since it last beat Wisconsin exactly a month ago.SO

Although the team’s morale took a hit in its loss to Ohio State, Bollant is optimistic that the team can rebound against the Spartans if it plays tighter defensively.

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