Illinois Springfield Women's Basketball played Illinois in an exhibition Friday night at the State Farm Center. The No. 23/22-ranked Fighting Illini won 88-44.
UIS head coach
Olivia Birt said the matchup offered valuable experience and a chance to measure the team against a Big Ten opponent.
"With 15 of our 17 kids from Illinois, it's such a cool experience to be able to play in their gym. They're really good right now, and they ran a lot of things that gave us trouble. I think it exposed some of the things we need to get better at, and I think we even got better at those things as the game went on," said Birt.
UIS was tied with Illinois at 9-9 after
Molly Knight's jumper with 4:26 left in the first quarter, but Illinois answered with the next nine points. Knight added another layup at 2:13, though the Prairie Stars finished the quarter with seven turnovers and trailed 25-11.
Illinois turned takeaways into nine points in the second quarter and outscored the Stars 29-11.
Kayla Rice and
Addison Tarr each hit a 3-pointer in the quarter. UIS entered halftime trailing 54-22.
Illinois held an 18-12 scoring advantage in the third quarter.
Kace Urlacher opened Illinois Springfield's scoring with a jumper, and
Julia Mingus,
Julia Sollberger and
Allison Wheeler added baskets during the quarter.Â
The Prairie Stars were held to 10 points in the fourth quarter while committing six turnovers. Rice scored inside off a Urlacher assist and Mingus added a 3-pointer, but the rest of Illinois Springfield's scoring came at the free-throw line. The Fighting Illini closed out the game with an 88-44 win.
Mingus scored a team-high eight points and added three rebounds. Sollberger finished with seven points and two steals while making 3 of 4 shots from the field.
Makenna Yeager recorded a team-high three steals and added a block. Knight posted team highs with three assists and two defensive rebounds while scoring five points.Â
Coach Birt was proud of the Prairie Stars' ability to stay competitive and find ways to adjust.
"I'm really proud of our effort. There were a lot of times where we could have quit, but we continued to fight and found ways to be competitive. Normally, we're able to shoot really well and knock down threes. Today, we had to do things a little differently, but we still found ways to compete," said Birt.
Birt pointed to several players who stood out, particularly against Illinois' pressure and size.
"Molly Knight did a great job handling their pressure. She's made big improvements in her ball control and confidence. Kace Urlacher is a big addition for us at the five, and Alandyn Simmons battled in the post. Makenna Yeager has only been practicing for three days, and what she gives us defensively is something we don't have anybody else who can do at that level," said Birt.
Next, Illinois Springfield goes to SIUC on Tuesday for an exhibition to wrap up the preseason.
Â
