Feb. 22, 2007
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Sophomore Lori Bjork led a balanced Illinois attack in a 56-46 upset of No. 20 Michigan State Thursday night at Assembly Hall. The win was the first against a ranked opponent this season for Illinois, who has now beaten at least one ranked opponent for 13 consecutive seasons. Illinois clinched at least a tie for fourth place in the Big Ten and ended the Spartan's six-game winning streak with the victory.
"Obviously this is the win we've been looking for all year," Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz said. "... In my estimation Michigan State was the hottest team in the league, and we were able to get them tonight."
Illinois (18-9, 8-7 Big Ten) held a comfortable 31-21 lead at halftime after going on a 15-0 first half run to take control of the game. The Illini trailed 12-8 after MSU's Victoria Lucas-Perry hit a three-pointer at the 15:19 mark, but would hold the Spartans scoreless for the next 9:35 and opened up a 23-12 lead.
Michigan State's 6-foot-9 freshman center Allyssa DeHaan helped give the Spartans a big push after the break, starting the second half with back-to-back baskets to get MSU within six. Bjork answered with a 3-pointer for the Illini and DeHaan hit another jumper for MSU to make it 34-27 Illinois, but DeHaan, who is the reigning Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, picked up her third foul soon after. Both teams went scoreless from the field over the next 5:48, but Illinois still outscored the Spartans 6-0 over that time with DeHaan on the bench.
Later in the half MSU would pull to with in four, 42-38, with 6:19 to play, but Illinois kept its composure and put the game away with an 8-0 run over the next 3:46. Chelsea Gordon scored the last two buckets of the run to put Illinois up 50-38 with only 2:33 remaining.
The UI defense was stifling, limiting the Spartans to their lowest point output of the season and holding them to just 35 percent from the field. Illinois centers Jenna Smith and Erin McCarthy combined to shut down DeHaan, who was coming off a 25 point, nine rebound, and five block performance in MSU's upset win over #4 Ohio State last week. The Illini duo held her to a pair of free throws in the first 20 minutes, and eight points overall.
Bjork tied her career-high with three steals in the game, and hit 2-of-6 from behind the arc to extend her nation-leading streak of consecutive games with at least two three-pointer to 27. Gordon and Wigley each scored nine points and Smith added seven for the Orange and Blue. Wigley now has 995 points in her UI career with a chance to surpass the 1,000 point barrier in her last regular season game at Assembly Sunday afternoon against Purdue.
Illinois racked-up seven blocked shots on the night, led by Lacey Simpson's three swats, to tie the Illinois record for blocked shots in a season. The Fighting Illini now have 137 blocks on the year, equaling the mark set by 2001-02 squad.
Victoria Lucas-Perry led Michigan State (21-7, 12-3) with 14 points and six rebounds, while guard Mia Johnson added 11 points.
Illinois closes the regular season with another tough game on Sunday, when No. 15/15 Purdue (24-5, 13-2) comes to Assembly Hall for a 2 p.m. tip. Lone senior Erin Wigley will be honored before her last home game. Following Sunday's game, Illinois will head to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind., Mach 1-5.
