Illinois hands Gophers fourth straight loss

The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team came up short against Illinois 69-62 on the road on Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center. Alanna ‘Rose’ Micheaux secured her ninth double double of the season, registering 24 points and 11 boards while Mara Braun added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.

Micheaux’s performance came on a night where the sophomore shot 11-of-16 from the floor and collected 10 defensive rebounds while blocking two shots and turning the ball over just twice in nearly 35 minutes of action. For Braun, all three of her threes came in the first half. Isabelle Gradwell had her best Big Ten performance off the bench, scoring nine points on 3-of-6 shooting and adding two assists and two boards in nearly 20 minutes of play.

Illinois came out strong in the opening quarter, getting an early 10-6 edge on the Gophers by the first media timeout. Illinois’ lead was as much as eight during the opening quarter before the Gophers scored eight straight to tie the game at 14. During the run the Gophers got two triples and Micheaux tied it up at the 1:23 mark in the first. Illinois ended the quarter with a three and a bucket in the paint to take a 19-14 lead into the second.

The second quarter was an efficient one for the Gophers, both shooting the ball and taking care of it. With zero turnovers during the 10 minutes of play the Maroon and Gold outscored the Illini by five, scoring 21 of their own on 7-of-15 shooting while holding Illinois to just 5-of-23 (21.7 percent). Minnesota was unable to take the lead, but held the Illini scoreless in the final 2:20 of the first half to make it 35 all at the break.

Out of the half the Illini turned it up on the defensive end, holding Minnesota to 2-of-13 from the floor and after hitting six threes in the opening half held the Gophers to 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Fighting Illini scored six of the second half’s first eight points to take a 41-35 advantage early in the second half. Minnesota was able to collect themselves to cut the lead to just four with 1:54 in the quarter, but Illinois closed strong again and took a 53-45 lead into the fourth.

The final quarter of play was a game of runs between the two squads with both teams scoring nine straight in the final quarter. Minnesota was able to tie the game at 60 with 1:51 to go, but Illinois closed the game on a 9-2 run to earn the home victory.

As a team the Golden Gophers shot 22-of-60 (36.7 percent) and hit 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The team shot well from the charity stripe, 12-of-14, and won the rebound battle 40-39. For the game Illinois shot 27-of-65 (41.5 percent) and hit 4-of-13 from the 3-point line while hitting 11-of-16 from the line.