Illini women stumble in Lubbock
By: Aaron Bennett
Updated: December 5, 2012
LUBBOCK, Texas.
(UI Release) - Illinois came up short in their first match of their two game road
trip this week, losing 75-56 to Texas Tech (7-1). As a result the
Fighting Illini fall to .500 on the young season
at 4-4. The Orange and Blue shot 36.7% from the field and 75.0% from the
free throw-line but just 2-14 from beyond the arc. Amber Moore led the
team with her 21 points on 6-13 shooting from the floor, her fifth
double-digit scoring game on the year. Karisma
Penn and Ivory Crawford also recorded double-figures with 18 and 11,
respectively.
"Give Texas Tech
credit, they're a good basketball team," said head coach Matt Bollant.
"Chynna Brown was a difference-maker in the game."
Texas Tech made a
pair of shots at the shot-clock buzzer early the second half, one a
three-pointer, to nullify two good defensive possessions by the Illini
and extend the margin to 47-37 at the 11:47 mark.
The Lady Raiders nailed another trey at the buzzer with 11:15 and added a
layup in transition, pushing their lead to 52-38 at the 10:30 mark as
Bollant called timeout.
The Lady Raiders
continued to find holes in the Illini defense and took advantage of some
Illinois turnovers on the way to a 12-4 run that salted the game away,
putting Texas Tech on top, 70-50, with 3:04
left in the game.
Illinois
attempted to take advantage of a rare four-point play when a personal
foul was called on one Lady Raider and a technical was called on
another, allowing Moore to shoot four straight free throws
and drain them all, bringing the Illini within 70-56. But Tech scored
the next five points to finish the game with a 75-56 Lady Raider
victory.
After a sloppy
first half in which the two teams combined for 26 turnovers and only 17
field goals, the Lady Raiders went on a 16-4 run to close out the half
and take a 30-22 lead to the locker room.
"I felt good
about our first 12 minutes of the game except for the foul trouble,"
continued Bollant. "Then we had to rotate and we didn't get much from
our bench. We've been asking our girls to fight and
they fought for longer periods of time tonight than they had in the
past, it just wasn't enough."
The Illini head
back out on the road this weekend when they travel to Memphis for a 2
p.m. tip on Sunday. The Tigers are 3-3 on the season and play
Arkansas-Little Rock Friday in Memphis.
