Dec. 10, 2008

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Redshirt freshman Lydia McCully hit a 15-foot jumper with 3.4 seconds left to give Illinois a thrilling 63-61 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday night at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee. McCully finished with 13 points and junior All-American center Jenna Smith had 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Fighting Illini ended a six-game losing streak.

Illinois (4-6) led by 10 at the half and by as many as 20 in the second half before the hosts made a furious rally to tie the game in the final minutes. After UWM's Traci Edwards scored on a putback with 14.7 seconds left, tying the game at 61, the stage was set for McCully's heroics. With the Illini out of timeouts, McCully took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the floor, came off a screen at the top of the key and looked for Smith rolling to the basket. Smith was double-teamed, however, so McCully pulled-up from the right elbow and drained the shot to put the Illini up two with 3.4 to play. After UWM timeout, junior Lacey Simpson stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory.

"I know that Lydia is a warrior," said Illini head coach Jolette Law. "During our last huddle she said `We will win this game' and I trusted her to make a play at the end. She tried to look for Jenna first and did a good job of attacking, reading the defense and then stopping and popping."

"I knew we had no timeouts left, so I came off a screen and looked for Jenna," McCully said of the game-winning shot. "She had two people on her and then I glanced at Chelsea and Lacey on the wings, but I was open so I took the shot and thankfully it went in. I think this is a huge win for us because it gives us confidence going into the break before UNC and the Big Ten season."

Illinois fell behind 10-2 out of the gates, but responded with a 19-0 run to take control of the game. The Illini defense keyed the run, as UWM was held scoreless for over eight minutes. Simpson had three steals and Smith had 10 points during the surge, which gave Illinois a 21-10 lead with 9:18 left in the half. The Orange and Blue led by 10 at half, 35-25, thanks to an 18-2 advantage in points in the point and a 12-2 edge in bench points, led by freshman Macie Blinn's eight points. Smith had 10 points and eight boards at the break to lead the Illini.

Illinois then opened the second half on a 14-4 run to open up a 20-point lead, 49-29, with 14:12 remaining. However, Milwaukee (3-5) responded with a 26-6 run over the next 10-plus minutes to tie it at 55 with 3:30 to play. The Illini went back up 61-57 with 1:07 left after a lay-up by Chelsea Gordon and a jumper by Simpson, and then Edwards and McCully provided the fireworks in the final minute.

"We've been in this situation before where we've blown a big lead," Law said, "but this time we were able to keep our composure and make the plays we needed to down the stretch. It was good to see the team pull together like that and pull out a win that we really needed."

Illinois shot 46 percent from the field and had four players in double-figures. Smith hit 10-of-15 from the field for her 20 points and also added 12 boards, a season-high five assists and a career-high tying four steals. The double-double was the second of the season and the 24th of Smith's career, which ranks second among active Big Ten players.

The Illini posted season-highs with 20 assists and 14 steals, which helped lead to a season-high 10 fast break points. Simpson filled the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Blinn provided much-needed outside shooting with 12 points on 3-of-5 from downtown. McCully with the other Illini in double-figures with 13 points.

"I think this win will help the girls see that if we do the little things and let the defense get things started for us, we can be a pretty good team," Law said. "Now during this next week we have some time in practice to work on some things and build off of this win."

The Illini are now off for nine days during final exams. They'll return to the floor on Sat., Dec. 20, when they face No. 2 North Carolina at the Carolina Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Illinois opens Big Ten play two days later on Dec. 22 when No. 21 Purdue comes to Assembly Hall.