Dec. 22, 2008
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini opened Big Ten Conference play Monday night at Assembly Hall with a 53-42 loss to Purdue. Junior forward Lacey Simpson tied her career-high with 18 points and added seven rebounds and four steals, while Jenna Smith scored in double-figures for the 20th consecutive game in a defensive struggle with the Boilermakers.
With memories of last year's last-second loss to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament title game still lingering, Illinois (4-8, 0-1) came out of the gates strong, going toe-to-toe with the preseason conference favorites. Illinois led 16-13 midway through the first half after a lay-up by Simpson and was stifling the Boilers defensively, but went cold for the rest of the half. After a lay-up by freshman Fabiola Josil at the 6:57 mark of the first half, knotting the score at 18-18, the Illini would muster just one field goal the rest of the half, a three-pointer by freshman Macie Blinn with 56 second left. Fortunately, the defense kept the team in the game, allowing just seven points during that span as Purdue (7-4, 1-0) went into the break with a 25-21 lead.
Illinois shot 35 percent in the first half (9-of-26) and 30 percent from three (3-of-10), while Purdue hit 37 percent from the field (10-of-27) and 33 percent from behind the arc (2-of-6) before halftime. Simpson led the Illini at the break with seven points, while Lakisha Freeman led the Boilermakers with nine.
The Illini remained cold at the start of the second half, as Boilermakers slowly pulled out to a 12-point lead, 39-27, with under 12 minutes to play. The Orange and Blue would get no closer that eight from that point, as Purdue cruised to the 11-point win.
Illinois struggled to 30 percent shooting in the second half and was 32 percent for the game, while Purdue improved to 46 percent after halftime and finished at 42 percent for the game. The Boilers held a 36-32 advantage on the boards behind Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton's 13 rebounds. Freeman led the guest's offensive attack with 19 points.
For Illinois, Simpson hit 7-of-14 from the field for her big game, while Smith was again swarmed by two or three defenders all night but was still able to reach double-figures in points for the 20th straight game and the 48th time in the last 49 games, while also adding six rebounds and three blocks. Josil finished with eight points for the Illini.
The Fighting Illini will now have a few days off for the holidays before returning to the court on Dec. 28 at Penn State. They return to Assembly Hall for a pair of games to kick-off the new year. On Jan. 1, Wisconsin will visit the Hall for a 7 p.m. game, and then on Jan. 3 Illinois will try to "Pack the Hall" when Minnesota comes to town for an 11 a.m., nationally televised game on CBS. Free tickets for "Pack the Hall" are available at the UI Athletic Ticket Office, WDWS/WHMS Radio, the News-Gazette or both GameDay Spirit locations.
