March 26, 2008
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MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Jolette Law's first season at the helm of the Fighting Illini came to a close Wednesday night in Milwaukee with a 72-64 loss to Marquette in the third round of the WNIT. Junior Lori Bjork scored 19 points and sophomore Lacey Simpson had her fourth career double-double to lead a balanced Illini attack. Illinois finished 20-15 overall and advanced to the postseason for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons.
The Fighting Illini ended the first half on a 14-0 run to lead by five at the break, 36-31, but the Golden Eagles came roaring out of the locker room with a 15-0 run during the first five minutes of the second half to take control of the game, 46-36. The Illini would fight back to within four on two occasions late in the game, but the hosts salted the game away with free throws in the final minute.
"We went on a run and went into the locker room up, but we weren't the same team in the second half," said Illini head coach Jolette Law. "Marquette looked to attack in the first five minutes of the second half and went on a run, and we stopped dictating on defense and doing the little things that helped get us the lead."
Simpson had 12 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for her double-double, and was all over the court, notching a pair of steals and dishing out four assists. Bjork connected on three three-pointers to bring her season total to 77, the second most in school history, and finished with 19 points. Senior Rebecca Harris and sophomore Jenna Smith each added 14 points for the Orange and Blue.
For the game, the Illini shot 40 percent compared to 41 percent for Marquette, but the Golden Eagles held a 43-35 edge on the boards and a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint. Even more telling were Illinois' 21 turnovers that turned into 26 points on the other end for Marquette, many of them of the fast break variety. The Golden Eagles scored 20 fast break points, by far the most the Illini allowed in a game this season (12 at Eastern Illinois).
The Illini fell behind early, missing their first four field goal attempts as Marquette pushed out to a 9-0 lead over the first three minutes. It continued to get worse for Illinois, as the Golden Eagles extended their lead to a 25-12 advantage with 9:38 remaining.
From there though, Illinois turned up its defense, closing out the first half on a 24-6 run to turn the 13-point deficit into a five point halftime lead. Junior Chelsea Gordon gave the Illini their first lead of the game when her three-pointer made the score 33-31 with 2:10 to play.
During the run, the Illini were led by eight points from Lori Bjork and six points from Jenna Smith, but sophomore Lacey Simpson was the catalyst, leading the way with eight points, 12 rebounds and four assists in the first half. Simpson was limited to 12 minutes in the second half due to foul trouble.
The game marked the last game for Illini seniors Rebecca Harris, Stephanie Chelleen and Audrey Tabon, who helped lead Illinois to its first 20-win season in eight years and nearly to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003 with a magical Big Ten Tournament run to the title game.
"Our record doesn't indicate how much we've grown this year," Law said. "Overall there were a lot of positives this season, especially these last few weeks. The challenge now is to carry this over and build on it for next year. I'm so proud of our seniors for everything they've given this program and I am excited about what we have coming back."
