Jan. 7, 2000
Postgame Audio
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz and players Allison Curtin and Susan Blauser
Iowa Head Coach Angie Lee and players Cara Consuegra and Lindsey Meder
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 15 Illinois outscored visiting Iowa, 48-26, in the final 16 minutes of the game and pulled out a convincing 86-60 win to remain unbeaten in Big Ten play.
Sophomore Allison Curtin scored 22 of her game-high 27 points in the second half and topped the 700-point mark for her career. Seniors Susan Blauser and Tauja Catchings added 22 and 20 points, respectively, in front of a vocal crowd of 6,182 at Assembly Hall.
Illinois is now 17-3 at home in the month of January under Theresa Grentz and has started Big Ten play 3-0 for just the third time in school history. Senior Shavonna Hunter also was in double figures with 10 points.
The Illini (13-4, 3-0 in Big Ten) pushed the game in their favor late in the first half. Tied at 23-23 at the 2:51 mark, Illinois scored the final nine points of the half. Susan Blauser scored four points in the run, while Hunter nailed a three-pointer with just over one minute to play.
Behind guards Cara Consuegra (19 points) and Lindsey Meder (20 points), Iowa kept it close for 17 minutes. The duo took 37 of the Hawkeyes? 59 shots and played all 40 minutes. In the end the Illini?s conditioning wore them down, and Illinois? fresh legs kept pushing.
Grentz called a time-out at the 16:34 mark and the lead just 38-34. After that the Illini outscored Iowa 48-26. The crowd watched as Curtin dissected the Iowa defense. Curtin scored 11 straight Illinois points in one stretch, hitting a one-and-one, getting a feed from Catchings for a left-handed lay-up, nailing a three-pointer, hitting a base-line jumper, and finishing off a fast break with a lay-in -- all in just over two minutes time -- as the lead reached 62-46.
As if it were a tag team, Blauser took over then, connecting on the next six points ? a short shot off a feed from Catchings, a put back, and a long jumper. Illinois took its biggest lead at 84-57 after an 18-footer by Holly Wilson with 2:21 left in the game.
Illinois converted on many of its 17 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over just five times in the second half. Hunter (5), Catchings (5) and Curtin (4), distributed the ball for a combined 14 assists. Wilson (12) and freshman Karen Hagberg (13) saw some added minutes.
In three career games against Iowa, Blauser has 67 points and 33 rebounds and has made 29 of 41 from the field (.707) and 9 of 11 from the line (.818).
The Illini meet Indiana, an upset winner against Michigan last night, on Sunday. Tip-off is 2 p.m. at the Assembly Hall.
