Nov. 14, 2006
Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. - It wasn't pretty, but Illinois was able to pull out a gutsy 53-48 victory over Illinois-Chicago Tuesday night at the UIC Pavilion to improve to 2-0 on the season. Junior Danyel Crutcher had a key bucket to seal the game with seconds remaining and redshirt freshman Lacey Simpson notched her first-career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
"When you come into Chicago, in their gym, you know you're going to get their best shot," said UI head coach Theresa Grentz. "I think we got a little tight in the second half, but we were able to find a way to win."
UIC's LaShonda Grant hit a pair of free throws to make the score 51-48 Illini with 40 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, the Illini ran some clock, but with the shot clock winding down Lori Bjork was trapped on the left baseline. Just an instant before the shot clock buzzer sounded, Bjork was able to fling up a desperation shot that hit off the side of the rim and Crutcher was there for the clinching put-back with seven seconds remaining.
"Lori made a smart play to throw the ball up with the clock winding down and giving Crutch a chance to make something happen," said Grentz of the Illini's last possession. "Crutch did a good job of not giving up on the play."
The Illini were able to overcome 13 second half turnovers with stout defense of their own. The Orange and Blue held a UIC team that scored 87 points in its season opener to just 48 points, 31-percent shooting (18-58) overall and only 21 percent from three-point land (3-14) while forcing 19 Flame turnovers.
Crutcher finished 14 points to lead the Illini, while also adding five rebounds and three blocked shots. Simpson also had three blocks to go along with her double-double. Freshman Jenna Smith reached double-figures (11 points) for the second time in her brief two-game career. For the game, Illinois shot .361 (22-61) from the field and had a slim 45-41 rebounding margin.
Illinois led for nearly the entire first half. An early 8-0 UIC run gave the Flames a brief 10-7 lead, but the Illini reclaimed the lead a few minutes later on an Erin Wigley jumper and never looked back. The lead ballooned as high as 12 (28-16) and Illinois led 32-21 at the break thanks to big halves by Simpson (8 pts., 7 rebs.), Bjork (8 pts.) and Crutcher (8 pts).
The Illini came out flat in the second half, scoring only five points in the first 9+ minutes, but they never lost the lead thanks to constant defensive pressure. UIC inched within two on two occasions and trailed by only three in the final minute before Crutcher's key put-back.
Illinois returns to Assembly Hall on Saturday, Nov. 18 to host Loyola at 2 p.m. Fan with a ticket to Friday's men's basketball game vs. Georgia Southern will be able to get into the women's game for free with their ticket stub.
