Feb. 25, 2001

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Two teams battling for seeds for the Big Ten Tournament squared off Sunday in Champaign. The Iowa Hawkeyes were trying to sew up second place in the conference, while the Illini needed a win to have a shot a fifth and a bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Iowa used deadly three-point shooting and a commanding advantage in rebounding to come back and defeat Illinois, 75-64, in front of 5,386 at Assembly Hall. The Hawkeyes made 4 of 8 three-pointers in the second half, including two 25-footers from reserve Mary Berdo (14 points). Lindsey Meder led the Iowa in scoring with 23 points and made 4 of 9 three-point shots.

Illinois played a solid first-half, bolting to a 41-33 lead at the intermission. The Illini forced 11 first-half turnovers and had a balanced scoring attack. Allison Curtin scored nine of her 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. Junior Holly Wilson scored a career-high 13 points, including nine points in the first half. Two other players scored in double figures for Illinois on the day - Dawn Vana (11) and Cindy Dallas (10).

Curtin broke a 28-28 tie with a short-range jumper then hit two free throws to make it 32-28 with 4:37 to play. The lead reached 36-30 on a basket by Shavonna Hunter. The Illini had a great defensive effort on the last series of the half. Anne O'Neil got the rebound, was fouled with one second left, and made 1 of 2 free throws.

Iowa had 20 offensive rebounds and 48 total boards to the Illini's 33, which was another factor in the Hawkeye's comeback. Iowa outscored Illinois 42-23 in the second half. Illinois led 51-47 with 13:11 left when Iowa surged in front. The big blow came on a long three by Berdo, which gave Iowa its first second-half lead at 52-51. Consecutive treys from Meder and Berdo made it 58-53. When the run was over, the Hawkeyes had out-scored the Illini 20-6 over a seven-minute period to take a commanding 67-57 lead.

Illinois finishes in a tie for sixth in the league at 9-7. The Illini win the tiebreaker with Indiana based on Thursday's victory over the Hoosiers. Illinois meets Northwestern at 7 p.m. CST in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday night. The winner plays Wisconsin at 7 p.m. the following night.