University of Missouri
Illinois
Mizzou Suffers 65-55 Loss to Illinois
11/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 19, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Missouri women's basketball team kept the game tight throughout but fell to the Illinois Fighting Illini 65-55 in Champaign, Ill., on Wednesday night. The loss drops Mizzou to 0-2 on the year while Illinois improves to 3-0.
Senior Alyssa Hollins led the Tigers with 16 points while junior Jessra Johnson added 10. Sophomore RaeShara Brown pulled down nine rebounds to post a career high and redshirt freshman Bekah Mills dished out five assists.
Missouri ran out to an 8-2 lead with 15:53 on the clock after Hollins, Johnson and sophomore Shakara Jones all hit baskets and Johnson knocked down two free throws. Johnson then scored her sixth point with 14:55 left in the half after grabbing an offensive rebound to put Mizzou up 10-2.
After the Illini cut their deficit to 10-7, the Tigers ran off six straight points, capped by a breakaway layup for freshman Kendra Frazier off a feed from Mills. The run gave Missouri an 11-point advantage, 18-7, with 10:17 remaining in the first stanza.
Illinois came roaring back to take a one-point lead, 23-22, with 4:49 left after finding its rhythm offensively in a 16-4 run. The Fighting Illini eventually entered the break with a 30-26 lead after Lydia McCully made a layup with six seconds left.
Hollins hit two three-pointers in the first few minutes of the second half to give Mizzou a 34-32 lead with 16:38 remaining in the contest. The Illini responded with a three of their own but Jones hit back-to-back baskets, the last off an assist from Mills after Frazier nabbed a steal, for a 38-35 Tiger lead with 14:57 on the clock.
With the Tigers down 48-44, Hollins again hit a three-pointer to bring the squad within one, 48-47, with 8:16 left in the game. However, Illinois' Macie Blinn nailed a trey on the next possession to put the Fighting Illini back up four, 51-47. The shot kick started an 11-0 run for the Illini, as the home team opened up a 59-49 led with just under four minutes remaining.
The Illini maintained their lead for the remainder of the contest to give the team a 65-55 win.
The Tigers return to Mizzou Arena for a 6:30 p.m. contest against Indiana on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Then Mizzou travels to Evanston, Ill., for the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational to face Holy Cross and host Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 29 and Sunday, Nov. 30, respectively.
