Feb. 9, 2006
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois mounted a late comeback but was unable to climb out of a 13-point hole as Wisconsin picked up 66-61 victory in front of 4,128 fans at Assembly Hall Thursday night. Illini freshman Lori Bjork ripped the Badgers once again, scoring a career-high 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but uncharacteristically poor free throw shooting (61 percent) led to Illinois' seventh consecutive loss. It is the Illini's longest losing streak since dropping seven straight in the 1992-93 season.
Early in the game, the exact opposite of the teams' previous meeting in Madison appeared to be happening as Wisconsin pulled out to early leads of 8-2 and 17-4. Illinois went scoreless for 8:03 of the first half, missing 12 straight shots and committing four turnovers as the Badgers went on a 9-0 run over 5:47 to reach the 17-4 margin. The Illini pulled within six after a pair of Bjork free throws with 1:01 remaining in the period, but a three-pointer by Ashley Josephson gave Wisconsin a 29-20 lead at halftime. Illinois made only seven field goals on 28 attempts in the first 20 minutes (.250) and hit only 1-of-7 beyond the arc (.143).
The teams played back-and-forth to the first media timeout of the second half before Illinois used an 8-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 37-34 after Erin Wigley completed a three-point play. But Wisconsin kept an even keel before ballooning the lead back to 13 points off a 13-4 run. But that was when Bjork began to shoulder the load for the Illini, scoring eight of their next 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting. Her eight, along with a bucket by Danyel Crutcher and a trey by Chelsea Gordon, accounted for a 13-4 Illinois run that brought the Orange and Blue within 62-58 with 0:33 left. But the Badgers kept Illinois at arm's length, hitting 4-for-6 from the line and grabbing a huge offensive rebound off a FT miss to take the 66-61 victory.
For the game, Bjork had 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, as well as 7-for-7 from the line. It is an Illini season high and the second time she torched the Badgers after going off for 24 points on 5-for-6 three-point shooting in the Jan. 15 meeting in Madison. Erin Wigley had another solid game for the Illini, going for 17 points and nine rebounds, including 11 in the second half. In addition to hitting the three-pointer with 33 seconds left, Gordon also had a career-high eight boards, six on the offensive glass.
Up Next: Illinois (12-11, 4-8) hits the road Sunday to face Penn State (10-13, 4-8). The Illini defeated the Nittany Lions 66-57 at Assembly Hall on Jan. 12 behind 15 points from Janelle Hughes and 14 from Crutcher. The game will be televised by Comcast Sport Net Chicago with the tip-off set for 1 p.m. (ET)/noon (CT).
