Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Back on the Road for Lone Meeting with Illinois
2/15/2019 3:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
» Michigan is back on the road for its lone meeting of the season with Illinois. It is Michigan's first trip to Champaign since an 86-70 win on Feb. 1, 2017.
» The Wolverines have won their last five games to push their Big Ten record to 8-6, putting them in a tie for fourth place with Northwestern.
» Hallie Thome is just one point away from becoming the third 2,000-point scorer in program history.
THIS WEEK
Sunday, Feb. 17 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 2 p.m. CST
Live Scoring | BTN Plus | Listen (WTKA 1050 AM)
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team (17-9, 8-6 Big Ten) is back on the road, heading to Champaign to face Illinois (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) for the only time this season on Sunday (Feb. 17) at the State Farm Center. Tip is set for 2 p.m. CST.
• Michigan has won its last five games to bring its Big Ten record to 8-6, good for a tie for fourth place in the league. It is the first five-game winning streak in Big Ten action for U-M since winning six in a row from Jan. 10-28, 2018. It is just the fifth time in school history that Michigan has won at least five consecutive Big Ten games. Three of those five instances have come under seventh-year head coach Kim Barnes Arico.
• Senior Hallie Thome is closing in on becoming the third member of the 2,000-point club at Michigan, entering the contest with 1,999 points after her fourth double-double of the season (14 points, 11 rebounds) against Indiana (Feb. 14). Thome is third all-time at Michigan in scoring and fourth in rebounding (844). Katelynn Flaherty (2,776) and Diane Dietz (2,076) are ahead of Thome on Michigan's all-time scoring list. Thome made the cut for the top 10 for this year's Lisa Leslie Award, given to the nation's top center.
• Junior Akienreh Johnson has hit her groove the past few games, reaching double figures in three of Michigan's last five contests. The first double-digit scoring game featured her tying a career high with 19 points against No. 13 Iowa on Feb. 1. Against Nebraska (Feb. 7), Johnson turned in 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, three boards and three assists in 28 minutes off the bench. She also recorded a career-best six steals in the contest. After being held to five points at Penn State (Feb. 10), the junior scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting in her second start of the season against Indiana (Feb. 17). Johnson has appeared in the last 23 games, twice as a starter, after missing the first three games of the season with a hand injury.
• At Illinois, Michigan will be playing in its fourth pink game of the month. The Wolverines will wear pink shoes and accessories, with the coaching staff wearing pink shoes and T-shirts on the sidelines. In addition to its own pink game, U-M played at Wisconsin (Feb. 1) and Penn State (Feb. 10) during their pink games.
• Michigan has four games remaining in the regular season before the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis (March 6-10). U-M will face a pair of first-time opponents in Illinois (Feb. 17) and Rutgers (Feb. 21) before closing against second-time foes Michigan State (Feb. 24) and Wisconsin (March 3). U-M is tied for fourth in the conference with an 8-6 record.
• Illinois (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) is coming off an 88-66 loss at Iowa on Thursday (Feb. 14). The Fighting Illini feature a pair of double-figure scorers in Alex Wittinger (15.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Brandi Beasley (11.4 ppg), with Arieal Scott chipping in 9.9 points per contest. Illinois is averaging 69.0 points per contest on 41.8 percent shooting while allowing 70.3 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting. Illinois leads the all-time series against Michigan, 40-32, but the Maize and Blue has won 14 of the last 16 in the series, including the last three.
