CHAMPAIGN, Ill – The Butler women's basketball team took a 78-66 setback at Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity White led the offense with 21 points.
Celena Taborn and
Zoe Jackson each added 10.
How It Happened
Butler attacked from behind the arc early in the contest. White hit a deep 3-pointer to open up the BU scoring and
Kendall Wingler would add a triple to give BU six points at the first media timeout.
Illinois went on a 7-0 scoring run to double Butler up at 12-6. BU was able to fight back with a
Tenley Dowell 3-pointer followed by three-straight points from
Alex Richard to make the game 15-12. BU would miss a shot with nine seconds left in the quarter and Illinois pushed the ball up the floor to beat the buzzer, giving the home team a 17-12 advantage at the break.
Butler got the ball at the start of the second quarter and Wingler would dial up from long distance on the first possession to give BU some momentum.
Trinity White scored four-straight points to knot the score at 19-19 and her second 3-pointer of the day would give BU a 22-21 lead at the media timeout.
Butler outscored Illinois 10-4 over the first five minutes of the second quarter. The final five minutes however would belong to the Illini. A 10-0 scoring run would regain the lead for the home team. Richard scored on the left block to interrupt the scoring spree. Richard's fifth point pushed the scoreboard to 31-24 at the half.
The second half got off to a great start for Butler. The Bulldogs were responsible for the first five points thanks to a 3-pointer by Wingler followed by a nice drive by White.
Zoe Jackson then got going offensively with five points. The 'Dawgs battled back to tie the game at 37-37 after a
Sydney Jaynes bucket. The field goal would force Illinois to call a timeout with 6:27 to play in the third.
The game took a turn over the next two minutes of action. De'Myla Brown scored 10-straight points for the Illini to give Illinois a 49-41 lead. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers forcing Butler to call their first timeout of the contest.
Brown would cool off for the remainder of the third, but Adalia McKenzie would keep the lead for Illinois. McKenzie scored 10 points to give Illinois a 10-point cushion heading into the fourth.
Each team saw their offense take a step in the right direction in the second half. BU scored 24 points in the third after just scoring 24 total in the first half. Six different Bulldogs scored a field goal in the third.
The four overtime game against Denver on Friday night may have impacted Sunday's matchup as well. Illinois led by 11 at the final media timeout and that lead would last late into the action. Butler continued to use full-court pressure at the State Farm Center, but Illinois would exit the arena with a 78-66 victory.
Adalia McKenzie would lead all scorers with 23 points. Brown ended the game with 16 points off the bench.
Stat of the Game
Bench points favored Illinois 26-7.
Inside the Box Score
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Celena Taborn scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds
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Alex Richard posted nine points and eight rebounds
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Kendall Wingler hit three 3-pointers for nine points
- Butler went 16-for-20 from the free throw line
- Taborn and
Sydney Jaynes each had two blocks
Up Next
Final exams are next week for the Butler student-athletes. The next game on the schedule is the final non-conference matchup of the season. The Bulldogs will host the Evansville Purple Aces on Dec. 22.
