Feb. 11, 2007

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - For the third game in a row, Illinois put a scare into a nationally ranked team, but for the third game in a row it came up short, falling to #4 Ohio State, 69-60, Sunday afternoon in front of a season-high 6,227 fans at Assembly Hall. Last week, the Fighting Illini came up just short in games at #23 Michigan State and #13 Purdue. Sophomore Lori Bjork led the Fighting Illini (16-8, 6-6) on Sunday with 17 points.

Ohio State (23-1, 12-0) led by six at halftime and pushed that lead to double-figures quickly in the second half. However, Illinois hung around, keeping the deficit between 8 and 12 points for the next 10 minutes. The Illini continued to chip away, finally battling back to within four after a Bjork three-pointer made the score 54-50 with 5:37 remaining, but that was as close as the Illini would get. Illinois caused a turnover on the next OSU possession, but missed a chance to keep the momentum rolling when Bjork missed a jumper that would have cut the Buckeye lead to two.

OSU's All-American center Jessica Davenport scored 28 points, despite drawing Illinois' defensive focus for most of the game. Late in the game, after Illinois closed to within striking distance, Davenport found outside shots for senior Stephanie Blanton when the Illini defense collapsed in on her. Blanton buried two huge threes in the final four minutes that put the game out of reach.

"If you're doubling somewhere, there's going to be somebody open," Illinois coach Theresa Grentz said. "You're taking your chances and you're going to hope Blanton doesn't knock those shots down, but she did. You're rolling the dice."

Illinois jumped out to an early 14-8 lead after a Lacey Simpson three-pointer at 11:56 mark of the first half. The game remained close for most of the half, with the lead changing hands several times, but the Buckeyes closed the first half with a 9-2 run to open up a 31-25 lead at the break. Davenport led all scorers with 14 points at halftime, while Bjork led Illinois with 10 points.

"We started off slow, then after the first few minutes we matched their intensity," said Bjork, who has now hit at least one three-pointer in 31 straight games after going 4-of-6 from behind the arc on Sunday. "But you can't just play hard. You've got to execute and find a way to win."

Illinois out-rebounded the Buckeyes, 41-31, led by Danyel Crutcher's 10th career double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), but shot just 38 percent from the field. The Illini also hit just 8-of-15 from the free throw line.

Ohio State, which entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage, shot 47 percent for the game, led by Davenport's 10-of-15 shooting from the field. OSU was with out senior guard Brandie Hoskins, who suffered a season-ending injury Thursday night at Minnesota, but her absence was made up for by Marscilla Packer's 17 points and Blanton's timely shooting.

Illinois will now hit the road for a pair of games, first heading to north to face the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The Orange and Blue will then travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.