Feb. 3, 2011

Box Score | Printable Illinois-Northwestern Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Fighting Illini saw a familiar scene play out Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. When Northwestern's Amy Jaeschke hit a contested, turn-around, fall-away, 15-foot bank shot with 1.4 second left to give the Wildcats an 80-79 win it marked the fourth time this season that Illinois lost a game where it led or was tied with less than 10 seconds left.

Included in those four games is the first meeting against Northwestern on Jan. 9 at Assembly Hall. In that game, NU's Beth Marshall hit a game-tying three as time expired in regulation. Then in overtime Illinois missed two chances to tie in the 69-66 loss.

Tonight, the Illini took a 79-78 lead with 29.7 seconds left after junior guard Lydia McCully hit a pair of free throws. Illinois' defense was stellar after that, forcing an NU timeout with 13.3 seconds left and then forcing the improbable shot by Jaeschke that proved to be the game-winner. Illinois had one last chance with 1.4 seconds left, but was unable to get a shot off after a full court pass attempt was picked off.

"It's tough to lose these types of games, but I keep telling my team that it shouldn't come down to a final shot," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "We need to play with a sense of urgency for the whole game so we're not in this position. All we can do is learn from this and keep building. We're a young team, but we're not looking for moral victories. We need to learn how to finish strong and win ball games."

The game with close throughout with 11 ties and 15 lead changes. Neither team led by more than seven and both teams shot over 50 percent from the field.

McCully and junior Lana Rukavina both had career games to help the Illini cause. McCully registered her first career double-double with 10 points, a career-high 11 assists, a season-high five steals and no turnovers. In the last two games, McCully has scored 21 points, dished out 20 assists, racked up nine steals and has just two turnovers.

Rukavina, meanwhile, shattered her previous career-high of 13 points by pouring in 22 against the Wildcats. She hit 9-of-14 from the field, including a career-best 2-of-2 from three-point range, and also added a career-high three assists. Illini star Karisma Penn had her usual productive game with 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

"Karisma was getting swarmed tonight and still produced," Law said, "but I was happy how the rest of the team stepped up as well. Lana Rukavina played like I know she's capable of playing. She played with confidence and had a career game tonight. Lydia McCully has been playing like a true point guard the last two games. Tonight she was efficient as the floor general and dictated on defense with five steals. If she keeps playing like this, I think we're poised for a strong finish to the season."

Sophomore Adrienne GodBold provided a big spark off the bench with 15 points in 16 minutes and redshirt freshman Amber Moore nearly made it five Illini in double figures with nine points. Freshman Centrese McGee tied her career-high with three steals, while the Illini nearly equaled their season-high as a team with 13 thefts on the night.

The first half was fast-paced and close throughout with five ties and seven lead changes. Illinois (7-16, 2-8) jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Wildcats used a 7-0 run later in the half to take a 22-21 lead at the 9:18 mark. It was tight the rest of the way, with NU taking a slim 39-38 lead into the lockerroom. Rukavina had 11 first-half points and GodBold gave the Illini a big spark with eight points.

In the second half, Northwestern (15-8, 4-6) pulled out to a 47-40 lead, but the Illini came roaring back to take a 55-51 lead with 13:23 left behind nine straight points from Penn. Neither team led by more than four the rest of the way as both Illinois and Northwestern kept up their hot shooting throughout. Illinois shot 52.5 percent for the game (31-of-59) and 54.5 percent from behind the arc (6-of-11), while NU was at 57.4 percent overall (27-47) and 58.3 percent from downtown (7-of-12).

The different in the game was free throw shooting, as the Wildcats knocked down 19-of-26 from the line compared to 11-of-16 for the Illini. It marked the first NU win over Illinois in Evanston since the 1995-96 season. Northwestern was led by Jaeschke's 22 points.

The Fighting Illini will now to Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 6, for a 2 p.m. ET/1 CT tip before returning home next Thursday to host Indiana at 7 p.m.