Jan. 17, 2002

Box Score

Illini Wrap - VIDEO | AUDIO
courtesy of WCIA-TV, Channel 3, Champaign

MADISON, Wis. -- Despite 11 lead changes and nine ties the Illini could not stop the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers in the battle for the top spot in the Big Ten, falling by a 74-69 margin. Illinois moves to 11-5 overall, 4-2 in conference play. The Badgers retain their perfect record against the Big Ten (7-0), while improving to 16-1 overall.

Sophomore Iveta Marcauskaite played another stellar game on the offensive side of the ball. the Big Ten leader in shooting percentage (.632) hit 11-15 from the floor en route to leading the Illini with a career-high 27 points. Cindy Dallas added 15 for the Illini on 6-10 shooting while Dawn Vana hit on 6-9 shots for 14 points.

Shavonna Hunter grabbed four steals to move into third on Illinois' career steals list with 201 career swipes. Dallas also recorded four steals in the contest as the Illini forced 17 Badger turnovers while Wisconsin only mustered nine steals.

Wisconsin held a 35-29 halftime advantage, but the Illini stormed back after the break, tying the game at 38 with 16:49 remaining. It was a seesaw battle from there as the largest lead of the second half was only by seven points as the Badgers held a 61-54 lead with 7:38 to play. A Dallas free-throw with 3:12 remaining gave the Illini their final lead of the contest, 66-65, before Wisconsin closed out the game with a 9-3 run to win by a final score of 74-69.

"I thought it was a real fun game, and I thought my team played pretty well," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "We did some very, very good things. It came down to the end of the game. We had some turnovers that we should not have and we should have taken better care of the ball."

The Illini visit Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m.