Feb. 21, 2015

Box Score | Printable Box | Bollant Press Conference | Locker Room Celebration

West Lafayette, Ind. - Despite being held to just 16 points in the first half, the Fighting Illini came roaring back to defeat Purdue, 47-46, in Mackey Arena. The win marks the Illini's first victory in West Lafayette since Feb. 3, 2005, and just fifth ever in program history. Illinois (14-14, 5-11 Big Ten) takes over sole possession of ninth in the Big Ten standings, while Purdue falls to 6-21 (3-13 Big Ten).

"I'm happy for our team," said head coach Matt Bollant. "I thought we showed a lot of resiliency, being down 13 in the first half. We got off to such a poor start offensively, but we hung with it."

Chatrice White posted her sixth double-double of the season with a team-best 14 points, 10 rebounds and five steals, while Jacqui Grant was one point shy, grabbing 10 rebounds including five key boards during the Illini's comeback run.

Ivory Crawford was limited to single-digit points (7) for the first time since the third game of the season (not including her five minutes vs. Iowa before getting injured), but had five assists, five rebounds and five steals in the game, including three swipes that led to seven points in the final 10 minutes, including the game-winning bucket.

It was Kyley Simmons who hit the game-winning shot with 1:16 remaining in the game, one of three treys in the game for the Illini point guard, who finished with nine points, four steals and three assists.

"I thought, the end of the first half, cutting it to eight gave us a little momentum," said Bollant. "Chatrice got us started in the second half, getting some baskets inside. And then a great lesson for basketball players. Ivory really struggled offensively, but a couple of steals on the defense led to a couple of big baskets, so keep playing defense, keep fighting. And then Kyley made a really big three late in the game."

The Illini shot just 15.8 percent in the first half, going 6-for-38 including a brutal 0-for-20 stretch, but rebounded to hit 40.0 percent (12-for-30) in the second half for an overall efficiency of 26.5 percent. Despite scoring the least points, making the fewest field goals, and shooting its worst field goal percentage of the season, the Illini defense topped Purdue 18-4 in steals and grabbed 21 offensive boards to put the Illini in a position to win.

Cold shooting hurt the Illini in the first half, as the Orange and Blue went 8 minutes and 40 seconds without a field goal (0-for-20) to fall behind 22-11. The Illini grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the stanza, but converted them to just six second-chance points, all of which came in the final five minutes of the half. The Illini hit their final two field goals of the half while Purdue finished out the frame 0-for-6, but the Boilermakers took a 24-16 lead into the break.

A hot start to the second half allowed the Illini to pull within three, 24-21, but Purdue replied to hit 4-of-6 to push back ahead, 34-25. The Boilermakers made 41-32 at 11:27, when the Illini turned the tables, using a 9-0 run, including a pair of steals-to-breakaway-layups by Crawford, to tie the score at 41 and force a Purdue timeout.

A free throw by Whitney Bays put the Boilermakers back in front, 42-41, but with just over a minute to play, Crawford intercepted a pass in the back court and Simmons sunk it for three to give the Illini their first lead of the game, 47-46.

Over the final one minute and 16 seconds, the Illini defense did not allow the Boilermakers to take a shot from within the perimeter, including forcing a shot clock violation with 45 seconds remaining, as Illinois held on for the exciting one-point win.

"I'm really proud of our team," Bollant added. "We've lost a lot of close games and had a lot of heartbreaking losses, so it was really great for Illinois to get one."

The Illini return home next week for a two-game homestand to close out the regular season. Michigan State visits State Farm Center at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, then the Illini host Michigan at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28 for Senior Day.