Jan. 22, 2006
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois held No. 11 Purdue to 32 percent field goal shooting and out-rebounded them 42-36, but in the end 19 turnovers were too much to overcome as the Boilermakers squeaked out a 57-53 victory in front of a season-high 4,916 fans at Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon. Illinois' Erin Wigley led all scorers with 15 points and Maggie Acuna had a career-high 12 rebounds as the Illini fell to 12-6 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten. The loss snapped Illinois' nine game home court winning streak and dropped its home record to 6-1 this season.
From the start, Illinois' defense caused Purdue (15-2, 7-0) problems, as leading scorer Katie Gearlds managed only two points on 1-for-5 shooting in the first half, while running mate Aya Traore was limited to 2-for-11 shooting. As a team, Purdue shot a chilly 29.4 percent from the field in the first half (10-for-34), but was able to grab nine offensive rebounds to take a 30-24 lead into the break. Poor free throw shooting (2-8) and 11 Illini turnovers also contributed to the Illini halftime deficit.
The Boilers looked to be on the brink of blowing the game open in the second half, extending their lead to as many as 12 and holding a 10-point margin as late as 12:25 remaining. But Illinois chipped away at the lead, using an 11-3 run that included four points by Wigley and four by Audrey Tabon to cut the margin to 50-49 with 2:15 left.
Purdue was able to get buckets in its next two possessions to push the lead back to 55-49, but Danyel Crutcher hit a jumper to cut the margin to four with 33 seconds remaining. Maggie Acuna grabbed one of her three steals on the next trip down the floor, but the Illini missed a pair of three-pointers that would have brought the game within one possession. Purdue hit 2-4 free throws in the final seconds to pick its 11th straight win and its sixth straight in Champaign.
Wigley had a game-high 15 points, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line, Lori Bjork finished with nine points and Audrey Tabon had 8 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Illinois finished the game hitting 17 of 46 from the field (.370), 3-11 from behind the arc (.273) and 16-24 from the line (.667). The Illini held the Boilers to just 19 of 59 shooting and just 3 of 12 behind the arc, but 15 offense boards by the Boilers doomed the Illini.
Sunday's game was the second straight against a top-15 opponent as the Illini dropped a 72-61 decision at No. 12 Michigan State on Thursday. Illinois gets a break from ranked foes when they take on Indiana (10-8, 4-3) in Bloomington, Ind. on Thursday. Following that the Orange and Blue will have three straight games against ranked foes - Jan. 29 at No. 7 Ohio State, Feb. 2 vs. Minnesota and Feb. 5 vs. No. 12 Michigan State.
