Jan. 24, 2008
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A familiar scene played itself out at Assembly Hall Thursday night. Illinois and Michigan State went down to the wire, and for the third straight game the Illini fell victim to a bucket by the opposition in the final seconds. This time, the Spartans escaped with a 65-62 victory after a put-back basket by MSU's 6-9 center Allyssa DeHann broke a 62-62 tie with 9.2 seconds left. Sophomore Jenna Smith again led the Illini with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Illinois fell to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play.
Illinois led 60-59 with just over a minute to play, but Spartans guard Mia Johnson converted an old-fashioned the three-point play to give Michigan State a 62-60 advantage. Illini guard Rebecca Harris hit a jumper just inside the three-point arc on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 62-62 with 38.8 seconds remaining, but those would be Illinois' last points.
DeHaan's game winning basket came after she missed twice but collected both offensive rebounds, finally finishing on the third try with 9.2 seconds to play.
After an Illini timeout with 5.0 seconds on the clock, Illini guard Chelsea Gordon had her inbounds pass picked off by Kalisha Keane, and Illinois had to commit three fouls before MSU reached the bonus. Eventually, Spartans guard Brittney Thomas went to the free throw line with 2.0 seconds left. She hit one-of-two shots to give Michigan State a three-point advantage. Illinois had one last chance with 1.1 seconds to play, but Smith's length of the court desperation pass was intercepted, giving Michigan State (12-9, 4-5) the victory.
The Illini defense was sluggish in the first half, allowing the Spartans to shoot 63 percent from the field (15-of-24) and push out to a 40-33 lead at the break. Illinois led 29-28 late in the half after a jumper by Danyel Crutcher, but MSU closed with a 12-4 run to go into the locker room up seven.
Illinois came alive in the second half, especially on the defensive end, holding the Spartans to 27 percent shooting. A jumper by Danyel Crutcher with 7:04 to play gave the Illini their first lead of the second half at 56-55. Illinois went up three at the 4:13 mark after a three-pointer by Lori Bjork made the score 60-57. But it was all Spartans from that point on, as guests went on an 8-2 run down the stretch to close out the game.
Illinois shot 46 percent on the night to the Spartans' 41 percent. The teams were even in both rebounds (33) and points in the paint (24).
For Smith it was her 10th double-double of the season, and she extended her Big Ten leading double-digit scoring streak to 21 games. Harris finished with 16 points for the Orange and Blue, and Crutcher scored 11 to join Smith and Harris in double figures. Freshman Chelsea Buher played a career-high 17 minutes, all in the first half, contributing four points and two rebounds. Michigan State had four players with double scoring, led by Johnson's 20.
The Fighting Illini head to Purdue on Sunday, Jan. 27, for a 2 p.m. ET/1 CT tip. They'll return to Assembly Hall on Thursday, Jan. 31 when #15 Ohio State comes to town.
