Feb. 28, 2008
Final Stats
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Illinois led by five points on the road at halftime, but fell victim to an extended Michigan State run in dropping to the Spartans 54-46 in front of a crowd of 7,417 on Senior Night at the Breslin Center on Thursday. The Illini are now 15-13 overall and 7-10 in Big Ten play with one game remaining in the regular season.
Standout forward Jenna Smith scored a team high 15 points after her lowest scoring output of the season (six points vs. Michigan), but struggled in shooting 4-of-18 from the field. However, the sophomore was proficient on the defensive end, holding 6-8 sophomore and Spartans leading scorer Allyssa DeHaan to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
"We knew (DeHaan) was the focal point of their offense so we tried to be physical with her and give her different looks," head coach Jolette Law said. "I think both Jenna and Audrey (Tabon) did a good job of forcing her out of her comfort zone."
Illinois raced to an 11-0 lead right off the bat after three-pointers by Lacey Simpson, Lori Bjork and Rebecca Harris and a steal and lay-up by Simpson in the opening three minutes. The Illini extended the lead to 12 points, 24-12, after a bucket by Smith at the 8:41 mark, but would score just two points the rest of the way, on a putback by senior Audrey Tabon, to take a 26-21 lead into halftime.
Smith led the way with nine points and three rebounds at the break, and played outstanding defense on DeHaan, who had just two points on 1-of-4 shooting and was held without a rebound in the opening 20 minutes. Michigan State was held to just 24 percent from the field and its 21 first half points equaled its second lowest scoring half of the season (low is 14 vs. LSU on Nov. 15).
The difference in the game was a 32-8 Michigan State run that started midway through the first half and extended until the 5:10 mark in the second. Over that span of 26 minutes, the Illini shot 3-of-25 (12 percent) from the field and the Spartans turned a 24-12 deficit into a 44-34 lead. In total, Illinois shot 24 percent (5-of-21) from the field in the second half to Michigan State's 42 percent (11-of-26).
Michigan State (18-12, 10-8) had a distinct advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Illini 46-28 and pulling down 20 offensive rebounds. The Spartans also owned the advantage in the paint, scoring 30 points to Illinois' 12.
Senior guard Courtney Davidson sparked Michigan State in her home finale, coming off the bench and hitting the Spartans only two three-pointers of the game to score a career-high 20 points.
"(Davidson's) two threes in the second half were daggers," Law said. "Tonight was senior night and she refused to go out with a loss. She had that swagger. Tonight she put her team on her back and willed them to a win."
Harris finished with 12 points to join Smith in double figures, while Bjork hit two threes and grabbed six rebounds.
Illinois closes the regular season and honors its seniors at Assembly Hall this Sunday, March 2, when Purdue comes to town for a 3 p.m. televised game (BTN). The Illini then head to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, March 6-9.
