Texas Tech hasn’t had much trouble slowing down opponents so far this season. The Illinois women’s basketball team would like to end that when it heads to Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday night.
The Red Raiders have held their opponents to 49.6 points per game so far this season, good for 13th in the country, but they haven’t played a team with an offense as high scoring as the Illini. Illinois averages 76.1 points per game but has struggled with offensive consistency against BCS opponents.
Two days after scoring 95 points against Wake Forest, Illinois barely recorded 60 in a 69-62 loss to Colorado on Saturday. The Buffaloes were able to neutralize the Illini’s top-three scorers: Karisma Penn, Amber Moore and Ivory Crawford.
Illinois only scored 50 points in a loss to Iowa State, the only other Big 12 member on Illinois’ schedule.
Illinois had trouble scoring late in the game against Colorado. After leading 60-57 against the Buffaloes with three minutes left, the Illini didn’t score another basket until four seconds remained in the game. The Illini allowed 12 points during that drought.
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“Our defense needs to improve overall and just our mentality,” Penn said. “A lot of times I think we just lack toughness as a team and that can’t happen. We are talented, but other teams are talented as well, and if we’re weaker than them mentally, we’re going to keep losing games. We need to be stronger.”
T starting point guard Alexis Smith turned the ball over eight times. Taylor Tuck, her backup, added five giveaways.
The trip to Lubbock will be Illinois’ first road game of the season. Texas Tech (6-1) suffered its only loss of the season at New Mexico. The Red Raiders won their season opener at Arizona State and have won five in a row.
The Illini lost to the Red Raiders last season 70-64 at the United Center in the only meeting between the two programs. In the loss, Penn, Moore and Crawford all scored in double figures.
Although this will be Illinois’ first true road game, the Illini have played two games outside of Champaign. The team played Tulsa and Iowa State at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas on Nov. 23 and 24.
Texas Tech is one of the nation’s leading programs in attendance. The Red Raiders averaged 6,693 fans per game last season, ranking 11th in the country, despite failing to qualify the NCAA tournament. Bollant said he thinks the hostile environment will prepare his team for Big Ten play.
