Feb. 3, 2005

Box Score

West Lafayette, Ind.- Illinois' women's basketball team snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Purdue Boilermakers tonight, defeating the Boilers 66-56 at Mackey Arena in West, Lafayette, Ind. The Illini were led by Angelina Williams' 24 points and clutch free throw shooting, most notably by Janelle Hughes, who had 14 points. The Illini improved their record to 13-7overall, 5-5 in conference play while the Boilers fell to 12-9, 5-5.

The Fighting Illini used a 9-0 run over 4:39 in the second half and hit clutch free throws in the final minutes to leave with a victory. During that run, Angelina Williams, who had 17 second half points, scored seven of the nine to take the Illini from a 41-41 tie with 11:14 to a 50-41 lead with 7:25 remaining.

Over the final 1:10, the Orange and Blue went a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to seal the win. Hughes, who entered the game as a 52 percent free throw shooter, hit 4-of-4 over that time. She also went 5-of-6 from the field for the game.

Illinois' defense held Purdue's Erin Lawless and Katie Gearlds, who each entered the game averaging double figures, to a combined 2-of-23 from the field. Williams harassed Gearalds into 2-of-11 shooting while Erin Wigley limited Lawless to just six points on 1-of-12 from the field.

Tiffanie Guthrie added a double-double for the Fighting Illini, scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. She also swiped four steals. With her 10 points, Guthrie moved to 13th on Illinois' all-time scoring list, passing Krista Reinking.

Illinois' last win in the series came on Dec. 28, 1997 in Champaign while the Boilermakers had won the previous 18 games at Mackey Arena.

The Illini are back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. vs. Michigan State.