Michigan
6-22 (0-16)
Illinois
14-13 (6-10)
Wolverines Fall to Fighting Illini in Regular-Season Finale
2/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 67-57 loss to Illinois Sunday afternoon (Feb. 26) at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines (6-22, 0-16 Big Ten) held a slim lead late in the first half, but the Fighting Illini (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten) closed the half with an 8-0 run and kept a comfortable lead the rest of the way thanks to a 13-2 outburst early in the second frame.
Sophomore Janelle Cooper (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance HS) set a new career high in scoring for the second straight game, recording a game-high 24 points aided by 3-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Freshman Ashley Jones (Southfield, Mich./Martin Luther King HS) played perhaps her best game of the season, finishing with career-best totals of nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Illini stormed out the gates and scored the game's first nine points, including five straight from Lori Bjork. Michigan got on the scoreboard at 17:54 with a driving basket by freshman Melinda Queen (Oak Forest, Ill./Carl Sandburg HS), and freshman Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) followed with back-to-back hoops. Illinois, however, was able to keep a 16-6 lead with 14:18 left in the first half.
The Wolverines responded with nine unanswered points during the next three minutes of action. Freshman Jessica Minnfield (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic HS) opened the surge with a short pull-up jumper before Jones knocked down a jump shot of her own in transition. Cooper then reeled off five straight points, including her first triple of the contest, to cut the Illini lead to 16-15 with 11:04 to play in the first half.
The Maize and Blue was able to stay within striking distance over the next three minutes thanks to the play of Jones, who scored on a strong move to the hole after canning her second career three-pointer.
The Wolverines erased a 25-20 deficit by going on a 6-0 run over a span of 3:10. Cooper capped off the run with a pair of free throws, which gave Michigan its first and only lead of the game, 26-25, with under five minutes remaining until halftime.
Illinois closed out the half with 8-0 run to take a 33-26 lead into the locker room. U-M was held scoreless for the final 4:48 of first frame. Cooper scored nine first-half points to lead Michigan, while Bjork accounted for nearly half of the Illini's points with 15.
A three-point play by Audrey Tabon on the opening play of the second half pushed the Illinois lead back up to 10 points at 36-26, but Cooper countered with five straight points to bring U-M within five. The Illini turned a 36-31 advantage into a comfortable 49-33 lead thanks to a 13-2 run over the next four minutes of action.
Michigan scored nine of the game's next 13 points, including a triple by sophomore Krista Clement (St. Ignace, Mich./LaSalle HS), to trim the Illinois lead to 53-42 with 9:46 left on the clock. Cooper scored 10 of Michigan's final 15 points, but the Wolverines were never able to get closer than 10 points of the Illini lead in the remaining minutes of the game.
Michigan will head into the Big Ten Conference Tournament as the No. 11 seed and will face No. 6 seed Indiana in the final game of the first day (Thursday, March 2). Game time is 25 minutes after the end of the previous game (approximately 7:30 or 8 p.m.), and the game will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The tournament will be played March 2-6 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
