The Illini (5-3, 0-1) started off their conference play against the Wolverines on Sunday in Champaign, suffering a tough 84-48 defeat. This matchup was certainly a challenging one for the team, going against their competitors who are bigger, faster and more physical than what they’ve played against so far.
To kickstart this Big Ten matchup, a familiar five took to the court in the State Farm Center with a beaming atmosphere. Senior guard Genesis Bryant, senior guard Makira Cook, junior guard Adalia McKenzie, junior forward Brynn Shoup-Hill and senior forward Kendall Bostic were filled with excitement and anticipation for their first conference competition.
Illinois started off immediately with the tipoff win and a layup by Bostic. Even in just the first minute of the quarter, it was already showing to be a quick and intense game, with Michigan playing strong man-to-man defense.
The crowd went crazy after Cook made a killer crossover move to score a three-pointer for her first points of the game. Illinois was moving quickly when it needed to get back on offense and McKenzie was playing with her standard aggression to drive to the rim.
The team saw more fouls than usual in the first 10 minutes. Michigan was playing tough and very physical, a visible obstacle for Illinois. At the 1:40 mark of the first quarter, Illinois was down 13-9 with head coach Shauna Green showing her frustration from the sidelines.
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Illinois was down by six points heading into the second quarter, something the team wasnʼt used to, especially with home-court advantage. The Illini were taking shots that came their way, but they werenʼt falling, going 7-21 in field goals.
The second quarter started off rough for the Illini, with the Wolverines driving to the hoop and scoring layups, increasing their lead to 10 (19-9). The Illini took their first timeout three minutes into the quarter, still not having scored yet in this second stretch of the game. Green was visibly unhappy with the team’s performance so far, as well as with the fouls they were not receiving.
Illinois finally scored a field goal from Shoup-Hill nearly halfway through the second quarter, but Michigan immediately responded with another three-pointer. Shortly after, Michigan scored another three-point shot, increasing its lead to 15 over Illinois.
Green called another timeout when Michigan scored its fourth three-pointer. Illinois’ defense was lacking, and with all of Michigan’s shots falling, it was clearly struggling on both ends of the court.
“You cannot let your offense dictate your defense,” Green said. “We gotta be able to hit shots. That’s how Toledo beat them … It gets frustrating when we have some good looks and they just don’t go, or we get shots at the rim and they don’t go. Look at them, they shot lights out. We gave them open shots, but you gotta give them credit, they made them. We had open shots and we didn’t make them.”
With two minutes left in the half, the Illini were down by 20, the Wolverines holding them to only seven points in the second quarter. The half ended with the Wolverines leading 39-16, leaving a lot to discuss in Illini’s locker room during halftime.
The second half began with a shot by Bostic, but Michigan fired back with another three-point shot. Michigan was shooting 40% from behind the arc, while Illinois had only made two three-pointers at this point.
Each time the Illini scored to bring a burst of energy to the arena, the Wolverines responded with points of their own, never giving the home team a chance to catch up.
“We gotta fight,” McKenzie noted. “We’re not called the Fighting Illini for no reason. I don’t care if they’re taller, bigger or stronger, we are Illinois and our identity is being relentless, so we have to apply that on the floor and be consistent with that.”
With three minutes left in the third quarter, the Wolverines were up 34 points (63-29) over the Illini. Illinois struggled to make any shots and get even an inch closer to Michigan’s score.
The team went into the fourth quarter down 70-37. Michigan dominated in all aspects of the game, never pumping the brakes once.
Michigan held Illinois to 11 points in the fourth quarter. The team’s leading scorer was Cook with 14 points, and following her was McKenzie with 11. The team has a week off from competitive play before their Braggin’ Rights game on Dec. 17 against Missouri.
@tess_eken
