WBB vs Illinois: Wasn't this supposed to be a blowout?

 

Opponent: Illinois (9-10, 3-6 B1G)

Result: Loss, 77-64

Record: 14-8, 5-5 B1G

Date:  1/31, Home

Starters: Laila Phelia, Lauren Hansen, Jordan Hobbs, Chyra Evans, Elissa Brett (7 starts together this season)

Injuries/inactives: none

• Sollom and Brown dressed, but did not play

Offense:

• Illinois hassled the ball effectively throughout the game. On one possession, Hobbs got the ball poked out while she was holding it at the top of the key, then fouled the Illinois layup attempt
• Chyra had a nice drive from the three point line into the paint that she finished with a slip pass to Cam Williams for the layup
• Michigan was getting out quick in transition to start the game. They went away from this later in the game, which did not seem to help them
• Cam Williams had 10 points in the first quarter and got Michigan within 2 on the last bucket of the first quarter. However, she then had no points until there were 3 minutes left in the third quarter
• Elissa Brett had a three pointer blocked. Chyra also almost got blocked too, but the Illinois player was called for the foul 
• Taylor Williams got the ball ripped out in the post for a turnover
• Hansen and Phelia scored back to back layups in the fourth and Illinois called timeout. This was the last of Michigan’s offensive pressure

Defense:

• Illinois got their first bucket by passing around the horn for an open corner three, which Michigan failed to close out after switching on the passes
• To start the game, Illinois shot 6-6 to take an 8 point lead into the first media timeout
• Illinois seemed to be able to shake defenders loose on the dribble throughout the game
• Hobbs got blown by on a drive, but recovered for a block that Michigan then lost out of bounds
• Illinois went up 12 on a Makira Cook 3 that Phelia didn't recover to in time in the third quarter
• Hobbs drew a charge on Bryant early in the fourth quarter for Bryant’s fourth foul
• Crockett intercepted a pass, but then couldn't get the ball to a Michigan player, Illinois recovered the ball for layup
• Michigan broke out the 1-2-2 press in the fourth quarter with Crockett at the top
  • Tipped ball but didn't create turnover
  • Cam Intercepted a pass in garbage time

Notable stats:

• Turnovers and fouls were pretty even, but Illinois beat Michigan on rebounds 33-23
• Phelia and Hansen led the team with 17 points each
• Michigan shot 4-20 (20%) from three-point range on a night where they sorely needed more scoring

Overall: 

• Michigan hosted Illinois at home, a team they had beat on the road by 36 points. Instead of a comfortable win, Michigan never got going and only got within 2 at the beginning of the second quarter before Illinois pulled away. Illinois seemed the much more competent team both offensively and defensively, while Michigan once again could not sink the open shots they got. 

Miscellaneous: 

• Before the game, KBA presented Laila Phelia with a game ball to commemorate her 1000th point against Maryland

Up next: 

• 2/3: away at Penn State (15-5, 6-3 B1G) at 6pm on Big Ten Network 
  • Penn State has 6 players averaging double digit points, including senior guard Tay Valladay who is shooting 56% from three point range this season
  • After playing three years at Maryland, Ashley Owusu transferred to Virginia Tech last season, but broke her pinkie in December of 2022 and played limited minutes the rest of the season. She then landed at Penn State for her final year, but has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and made her season debut in late January, leading Penn State to 3 straight wins and averaging 19 points per game in the process
  • Penn State has lost to 3 ranked teams this season (USC, Ohio State, Indiana) as well as a couple unranked teams (Michigan State and West Virginia). They only lost to USC by a point and took Ohio State to overtime, but couldn’t finish either off for a signature win. Since losing to Indiana on 1/14, they’ve won five straight over Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Maryland to move up to 4th in the Big Ten, 2 games back from the top 3
• 2/6: home vs Nebraska (13-7, 5-4 B1G) at 7pm on B1G+
  • Second meeting, first was an away loss 62-43. Since then, they have lost to both Penn State and Iowa
  • In their first meeting, Nebraska used a balanced offensive attack and stingy defense to win. Michigan will mostly need to produce on offense to win, as their defense can definitely hang with Nebraska
  • Junior center Alexis Markowski leads the team in points and rebounds and is averaging a double-double with 16.8 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game. 
  • Senior guard Jaz Shelley is second in points per game (12.5) and leads the team in assists (5.2 per game) and steals (1.8 per game)

Most recent bracketology: 

• ESPN has Michigan as the “first team out” (updated 1/30)
• College Sports Madness has Michigan as an 11 seed (1/29)
• Her Hoop Stats has Michigan as an 11 seed (1/24)