Jan. 8, 2006
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Freshman Lori Bjork had a big day, scoring 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting as Illinois kept Northwestern winless in Big Ten play with a 64-55 victory in front of a season-best crowd of 3,565 at Assembly Hall. Janelle Hughes led the Illini with 15 points, and Illinois salted away its 13th straight win against the Wildcats by hitting 9-of-10 free throws in the final 49 seconds.
The Orange and Blue used an 11-0 run near the midpoint of the first half to take a 17-6 lead, but NU used a 9-2 run to cut the lead to two before a three-pointer by Bjork gave Illinois (10-4, 2-1) a 26-23 lead at halftime. The Illini dominated the paint in the first half, outscoring the Wildcats 10-4 inside the lane, and shot 44 percent in the first 20 minutes, but 13 turnovers kept them from pulling away.
Northwestern (4-10, 0-4) charged out of the gates after halftime, using a 12-4 spurt to grab the lead for the first time and push it as high as five. But Illinois responded with a 12-2 run of its own to regain the lead at 42-37 and never relinquished it from there as Hughes scored nine of her 15 points in the final 5:30 after picking up her fourth foul with 6:30 remaining. Meanwhile, Bjork found the range that escaped her during December, hitting 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
Illinois out-rebounded the Wildcats 42-38, including a game-high 14 from Audrey Tabon, one short of her career high. Maggie Acuna tied her career high with eight rebounds to go along with six points and four steals. The key to the game was free throw shooting, especially in the second half. After not attempting a shot from the charity stripe in the first half, the Illini made 15-of-20 while NU managed only 4-of-6 from the line the entire game.
The Illini defense helped offset 21 UI turnovers, forcing 17 miscues by Northwestern and pestering the Wildcats into 24-for-69 shooting from the field (.348), improving Illinois' record to 6-0 when holding its opponent under 35 percent shooting. NU also shot 20 percent from behind the arc, hitting only 3-of-15 shots, the fifth time the Illini have kept a foe under 30 percent from long distance.
Up Next: Illinois will host Penn State (7-8, 1-3) Thursday at Assembly Hall at 7 p.m. before heading to Wisconsin for a match-up with the Badgers on Sunday in Madison.
