Feb. 26, 2009
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Fighting Illini cut a 17-point second-half deficit to four at one point, but Iowa pulled away down the stretch for a 69-56 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday night. Junior All-American center Jenna Smith had 20 points and eight rebounds and freshman Fabiola Josil poured in a career-high 13 points to lead Illinois.
Iowa (19-9, 12-5 Big Ten) led by as many as 17, 43-26, at the 16:39 mark after three straight three-pointers, but Illinois (8-20, 4-13) responded with a 17-4 run to close the gap to four. Smith had seven straight points at one point during the run, which was capped by a Josil three-point play to make it 47-43 with just under 10 minutes remaining. However, the Illini would get no closer, as the Hawkeyes pushed the lead back out to double-figures and cruised down the stretch for the 13-point win on senior day.
"When we were making our run and got it down to four in the second half we made a couple crucial mistakes that gave Iowa extra chances," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "Just like that it was back to 10. We needed to play with a sense of urgency and continue attacking when we had them on their heels."
The game was an emotional one for Law, who helped lead Iowa to four straight Big Ten titles as a player from 1987-90. It was Law's first return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena as a head coach.
"It was very emotional to hear the fans cheering for me and to look up and see those banners hanging," Law said. "Iowa will always be a special place for me because this is where I got my start, but it was bittersweet coming back tonight because I think our team had an opportunity to get a win and didn't."
Smith hit 7-of-15 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line for her game-high 20 points, her 36th straight game in double-figures. Her eight rebounds give her 800 for her career, making her the seventh player in school history to reach the milestone. Smith also had two blocks, and is now tied for third on the Illinois single-season blocks list with 55, just four short of her own school record of 59. She continues to inch closer to Kendra Gantt's 24-year old UI career blocks record of 156, standing just three blocks shy at 153.
Junior Lacey Simpson just missed a double-double, contributing 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. She is now tied for second on the UI career steals list with 246, and is within six steals of tying Allison Curtin's school record of 252. Josil had the best shooting night of her career, shooting 6-of-7 from the field for her career-high 13 points to best her previous high of 10. Freshman Eboni Mitchell, was also a contributor, hitting a big three-pointer in the second half to pull the Illini within seven, 53-46, with 7:51 to play. It was the first three-pointer of Mitchell's career and her first points since Dec. 6 against Bradley.
Iowa's Kachine Alexander had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes, while teammate Kamille Wahlin also scored 13.
The Hawekeys committed just four turnovers to the Illini's 11, and had 18 assists. Illinois shot better than the Hawkeyes from the field, shooting 43 percent (22-of-53) to Iowa's 40 percent (24-of-60). Iowa owned a significant advantage from the charity stripe, however, shooting 15-of-17 on free throws compared to the Illini's 7-of-9. The Hawkeyes also won the rebounding battle 38-29.
It was a tight game for most of the first half, but the Hawkeyes closed the half on a 10-0 to open up a 32-19 lead heading into the locker room. Illinois didn't score in the final 6:02 of the half and shot just 34.6 percent from the field. Smith led the way with seven points and four rebounds, while Simpson had six points, six boards and two steals at the break. Iowa shot 36.1 percent in the first half and held a 24-16 rebounding edge.
The Illini will finish the regular season on Sunday at Minnesota before heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament March 5-8. The game between the Illini and Gophers will tip at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com.
