Jan. 27, 2005

Box Score

Champaign, Ill.- Illinois' women's basketball team defeated Indiana 53-43 tonight in front of 1,863 fans at the Assembly Hall. With the victory, Illinois moves to 12-6 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play while Indiana has its record fall to 8-10 overall and 1-7 in the conference. Angelina Williams led the Illini with 21 points and Tiffanie Guthrie added 13 points.

The Fighting Illini used a 15-3 run over the final 10:08 of the first half to take a 27-13 advantage at the half. During that time, the Hoosiers were held scoreless for 4:34 and held without a field goal until 1:59 remained in the half. Illinois' strong defense limited Indiana to just 20.8 percent shooting (5-of-24) and forced 12 Hoosier turnovers.

In the second half, the Orange and Blue built a 16-point advantage at the midpoint of the stanza. The Hoosiers were able to whittle their deficit to nine with four minutes remaining, but were unable to get closer than eight the rest of the way.

Illini freshman Danyel Crutcher, coming off the bench for just the second time this season, grabbed 11 rebounds, including five of the team's 10 offensive boards. For the game, the Illini out-rebounded Indiana 37-30 and held the Hoosiers to 30.6 percent shooting. On the season, the Fighting Illini improved their record to 9-0 when holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting for the game.

This game marks the 16th consecutive contest that Guthrie has reached double-digits in scoring and the 12th time in a row that Williams went for 10 or more. The streaks are the second and third longest in the conference.

Cyndi Valentin led Indiana with 22 points.

Illinois' next game is this Sunday when third-ranked and Big Ten leading Ohio State (20-2, 7-1) invades the Assembly Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.