Jan. 25, 2009

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior All-American center Jenna Smith had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Illinois to a convincing victory over Indiana Sunday afternoon in front of nearly 2,500 fans at Assembly Hall. It was far from a one-woman show, however, as freshmen Macie Blinn and Fabiola Josil each scored in double figures and junior Lacey Simpson had one of her trademark all-around performances for the Illini. Indiana entered the game alone in first place in the Big Ten with a 7-1 record and had won 13 of its last 14 overall.

Smith hit 9-of-14 from the field and 6-of-7 for the line for her game-high 24 points, and added 15 boards, three blocks and a steal. At one point, the Bloomington, Minn., native made seven straight field goals for Illinois (5-16, 1-9). Simpson, the Big Ten steals leader, sat out over 13 minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls, but came back with a huge second half to finish with six points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals.

The Fighting Illini defense was outstanding all day, holding the Hoosiers to a season-low 28.6 percent shooting from the field. After Indiana (14-4, 7-2) made a three-pointer on its opening possession, the Illini forced the Hoosiers into 14 consecutive missed shots over the next nine and a half minutes, but still trailed 12-6 at the 8:38 mark thanks to nine turnovers and cold shooting themselves (20.0 percent). Illinois would pick it up offensively before the break, led by seven first-half points from Blinn, and went into halftime trailing by just two, 22-20. Illinois shot 33.3 percent in the first half and held the Hoosiers to 27.6 percent shooting, but were hurt by 14 turnovers.

In the second half, Illinois used a 15-2 run to turn a 33-33 tie into a 48-35 lead with 6:05 remaining. The Illini made six consecutive shots during the run, which was capped by a Josil three-pointer as the shot clock buzzer sounded. It was Josil's first three-point field goal since Nov. 23 against Temple. Indiana pulled to within eight, 55-47, with 2:21 remaining, but Josil and Smith combined to hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minutes to put the game away. Illinois shot a sizzling 57.7 percent after the intermission and hit 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe to pull away for the upset win, which snapped a 10-game losing streak.

Blinn was back in the starting line-up after a two-game hiatus and responded with 12 points, including 2-of-5 from behind the arc, and played the full 40 minutes for the first time in her career. Josil hit 3-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line to finish with 10 points.

Illinois senior and defensive stopper Chelsea Gordon sat out the entire second half after injuring her right knee on a drive to the basket with 1:34 to play in the first half. She would stay in and make two free throws, but was taken out after that and would not return. Her status for Thursday's game at Northwestern is unknown, as she will have the knee evaluated on Monday.

Smith moved past Lynnette Robinson and is now 13th on the UI career scoring list with 1,345 points, just one point behind Cindy Dallas' 12th place total. The double-double was her sixth of the season and the 28th of her career, which is second among active Big Ten players behind only Indiana senior Whitney Thomas' 29. It was also Smith's 29th consecutive game of scoring in double-figures, the ninth-longest current streak in the nation.

On Sunday, the Illini wore pink shoelaces and pink shooting shirts, and the staff wore pink ribbons, in honor of legendary North Carolina State coach Kay Yow, who passed away on Saturday after a 22-year battle with breast cancer. There was also a moment of silence before the game in remembrance of Yow. Illinois will wear pink uniforms for its Feb. 22 game against Penn State as part of the WBCA Pink Zone campaign, which raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Fans who wear pink to that game will be admitted for free.

The Illini will hit the road once again, as they'll head to Evanston, Ill., in search of their 18th straight victory over Northwestern on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 6 p.m. Illinois will then have the first of two byes on the conference schedule before hosting Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 5, at Assembly Hall.