Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoIt’s hard to tell what seemed to take longer for Illinois’ women’s basketball team getting back to the mainland for its next game or scoring in the second half during it.
The second-half malaise for the No. 24-ranked Illini which included a 10-minute field-goal drought was enough for Kansas to win, 73-60, Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Illinois lost in specific categories shooting worse than Kansas, having more turnovers and grabbing fewer rebounds but Illinois coach Theresa Grentz was general in discussing the Illini’s biggest problem.
“The second half,” Grentz said bluntly when asked what went wrong for her squad, which dropped to 2-2.
Grentz was hard pressed to determine which seemed to take longer, the Illini’s recent trip back from Hawaii or dead time between baskets for the Illini in the second half.
Illinois’ Anne O’Neil, who scored a team-high 20 points, scored 53 seconds into the second period to give Illinois a 41-32 lead. But it was exactly 10 minutes before Illinois scored another field goal.
Aminata Yanni hit a free throw halfway into the bucket-less streak, and by then Kansas had taken a 47-42 lead.
“We were stuck on 42 forever,” Grentz said. “We kept making switches, hoping to get something done. I just wanted to get off 42.”
Illinois’ scoring lull wasn’t the only “42” giving the Illini problems. Kansas’ No. 42, Jaclyn Johnson, scored a game-high 24 points one off her career high as Kansas improved to 4-1.
“They played well, especially inside,” O’Neil said.
Kansas outscored Illinois in the paint, 34-22.
| Illinois | 38 | 22 | 60 |
| Kansas | 32 | 41 | 73 |
Attendance: 1,500.
Grentz didn’t blame the loss on getting pummeled by 49 points by Tennessee at the Maui Invitational on Saturday. And she definitely didn’t want the 21-hour trip from Maui to Kansas City, Mo., to be the scapegoat.
Illinois shot 42.9 percent from the field (24-for-56).
“I don’t like excuses,” Grentz said. “In the first half we passed well, we made the extra pass well and we shot well. We did none of that in the second half.”
Illinois looked like it would cruise early. It made eight of its first 12 shots to gain a 16-10 lead. The Illini took a 38-32 lead into halftime.
“We were fine after the first half,” O’Neil said. “We just didn’t come out with the same intensity as Kansas did in the second.”
Three-point goals: 3-8 (Yanni 1-1, Curtin 1-2, Hunter 1-4, Marcauskaite 0-1). Assists: 14 (Curtin 5, Hunter 3, Vana 3, O’Neil 2, Dallas). Turnovers: 19 (Hunter 5, O’Neil 4, Dallas 3, Curtin 2, Marcauskaite 2, Vana 2, Yanni). Blocked shots: 1 (Marcauskaite). Steals: 11 (Dallas 5, Curtin 3, Marcauskaite, O’Neil, Hunter). |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-point goals: 2-8 (Hilgenkamp 1-1, Jackson 1-2, Johnson 0-2, Bosi 0-3). Assists: 25 (Hilgenkamp 9, Bosi 5, Reves 4, Jackson 3, Johnson 2, Geoffroy, Scott). Turnovers: 16 (Reves 4, Johnson 4, Geoffroy 4, Hilgenkamp, Jackson, Bosi, Brown). Blocked shots: 2 (Reves, Johnson). Steals: 12 (Johnson 5, Hilgenkamp 2, Scott 2, Reves, Geoffroy, Bosi). |
