Nov. 22, 1999

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? Postgame Audio:
Coach Theresa

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Allison Curtin scored 22 points and Susan Blauser had 20 as No. 15 Illinois routed No. 18 Boston College 73-42 Monday night in the third-place game of the Women's Preseason NIT.

Boston College shot only 24 percent in the first half and fell behind 37-19. Tauja Catchings scored 10 of her 13 points in the first half for Illinois (3-1).

Becky Gottstein scored 12 points for Boston College (2-2), which committed 26 turnovers. Curtin grabbed 11 rebounds for Illinois.

Curtin was Illinois' representative on the WNIT All-Tournament Team. For the tournament, Curtin had 71 points, 32 rebounds, and 16 steals. She had 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half on Monday.

A litte more than 24 hours earlier, Illinois had spotted UC-Santa Barbara a 15-0 lead. Monday, against a Boston College team that was playing its fifth game in eight days, the Illini took it to them early. The Illini jolted to a 35-16 lead and led 37-19 at the half. The Illini added a 25-6 run, which began with five straight points from Curtin, and contained a stretch of six straight points from Blauser. That put Illinois ahead, 66-29 with just over seven minutes to play.

The 42 points was the least by an Illinois opponent at home since Southern Illinois-Edwardsville scored just 24 points in March of 1979 and just the eighth time since 1980 that the Illini have held an opponent under 50 points. Earlier in the day, Illinois dropped to 15th in the polls, while Boston College was 18th. The win improved Illinois' record against ranked teams at home to 7-2 over the past three seasons.

The Illini don't get much rest. They board a plane bound for Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, face Duquesne Wednesday, then battle two Top Ten Big East teams in four days. Illinois hosts No. 7 Notre Dame Saturday at 2 p.m. and travels to No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 30.