Dec. 4, 1999
Box Score
Getting into foul trouble on the road proved harmful to the
Fighting Illini, who fell to the Texas Longhorns 87-84 in Austin, Texas
Saturday afternoon.
Losing the services of senior Tauja Catchings and sophomore Allison
Curtin to fouls down the stretch, No. 10 Illinois could not maintain its
slight edge in the final two minutes of the contest. Sophomore Dawn Vana's
jumper with 1:55 left in the game gave the Illini their final lead of
84-82. Texas answered on a three-pointer from sophomore Asha Hill. The
Longhorns increased its lead to 86-84 after senior Edwina Brown drained one
foul shot. On the next trip down the floor, Vana drove the lane to attempt
a jumper, which was called a jump ball with the possession going to Texas.
Following a free throw by freshman Alisha Sare, Illinois got the ball to
freshman Kristi Faulkner, who could not get the shot off before the buzzer.
"We played hard," Head Coach Theresa Grentz said. "The way we
responded in this environment says a lot about this team's character."
Senior Susan Blauser led Illinois with 21 points, going 7-of-17
from the field and 7-of-10 from the line. In her third straight
double-digit scoring game, senior Kylie Martin recorded 18 points and led
the team on the boards with a career-high nine rebounds. Curtin went
7-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc for 16 points and
tied a career high of five steals.
Leading all scorers with 22 points, junior JoRuth Woods was one of
four Longhorns in double figures. Brown added 19 points while junior Carla
Littlejohn snared 12 rebounds.
Hurting Texas with its zone defense, Illinois went on a 11-0 run
late in the first half, extending the lead to 41-29. Texas responded with
a 9-2 sprint into halftime, trailing 43-38. The Illini would maintain the
lead, going up by as many as nine in the second half. The Longhorns fought
back and took their first lead of the second half on a Woods' layup at
7:15. Catchings would foul out at 4:00 and Curtin was whistled for her
fifth with one minute remaining.
"Give Texas credit, they hit the shots," Grentz said. "We'll learn
from this one and get ready for the next one."
