Jan. 9, 2000

Box Score

Postgame Audio:
? Coach Grentz, Forw. T. Catchings, Guards A. Curtin & S. Curtin
? Indiana Head Coach Jim Izard

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? It was like a tornado ripped through the Assembly Hall Sunday. In a way it did, over 1,300 fans from Allison Curtin?s hometown of Taylorville, Ill., the home of the Tornadoes, turned out to watch their favorite daughter lead Illinois past visiting Indiana, 91-61.

Curtin didn?t disappoint with 15 points and six rebounds, and sister walk-on Suzanne Curtin provided the exclamation point with a three-pointer late in the game.

Six Illini players in all reached double figures. To be truthful, the 6,039 fans watched an All-American in the making. Senior Tauja Catchings put on some moves that were worthy of the next level. She finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and four steals and made 8 of 15 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. That came on the heels of a 20-point, eight-rebound, five-assist performance two days earlier against Iowa.

Catchings moved past Krista Reinking for ninth on the all-time Illinois scoring list (1,225) and remains just two assists shy of 300 assists for her career. <\p>

Blauser added 12 points and a season-best 14 rebounds. Freshman Shavonna Hunter set a career-high with 15 points to go along with six assists. Freshman Kristi Faulkner (10 points) and senior Kylie Martin (10 points) also reached double digits.

Illinois (14-4, 4-0) made 19 straight free throws during one stretch and 30 of 35 shots from the line overall (.857). The Illini also out-rebounded the Hoosiers, 46-30. The win was the 10th in 11 games at home for Illinois.

Illinois exploded to leads of 11-2 and 18-7, but the Hoosiers hung tough thanks to sophomore Heather Cassady, who scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the first half. The Illini led 44-32 at the half.

Indiana forward Jill Chapman, who was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team last year, was mired in foul trouble, and finally fouled with over 13 minutes to play with just four points. Illinois held Cassady to just two points in the second half as the Illini outscored Indiana 47-29 in the second 20 minutes. In the last three games with the Hoosiers, Illinois has outscored Indiana 291-195.

The win sets up a showdown for the Big Ten lead with No. 5 Penn State (13-2, 3-0). Tip-off at the Bryce Jordan Center is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CST.