MU women's basketball team loses to Illinois

COLUMBIA — For the third straight game the Missouri women’s basketball team had a poor showing in the second half, this time leading to a 66-52 loss to Illinois on Wednesday at Mizzou Arena.

The Tigers trailed by only two at halftime, but the Illini opened the second half with a 19-9 run to put the Tigers in a 12-point hole, and Illinois went on to lead by as many as 20.

The scoring imbalance that has plagued Missouri all season struck again. Sophomore forward Amanda Hanneman scored the Tigers' first six points, but from there the trio of Alyssa Hollins, Jessra Johnson and Shakara Jones accounted for all but 13 of the Tigers' points.

Missouri couldn’t contain Illini center Jenna Smith. The sophomore had a double-double and led Illinois with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Sophomore forward Lacey Simpson added 14 points on seven-of-11 shooting for Illinois.

The loss was Missouri’s seventh straight to Illinois and the Tigers are now 3-7 all-time against the Illini.

The Tigers will play next on Dec. 28 when they face Marshall in the opening round of the Marriott Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va.