Jan. 27, 2011
Box Score | Printable Illinois-Penn State Box Score 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to second-place Penn State Thursday night at Assembly Hall. The Lady Lions needed a career-night by senior Julia Trogele, who scored a career-high 19 points and hit the game-winning layup with 9.1 seconds left, to escape Assembly Hall with a 67-65 win.
Illinois (7-14, 2-6) had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but Lydia McCully's runner from the right side was off the mark as the buzzer sounded. The Illini led 65-64 with 1:46 left, but had two costly turnovers in the final minutes while trying to get the ball inside to sophomore Karisma Penn, who had a monster game with 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.
The Illini put up a valiant defensive effort against a Penn State team that beat them by 21 points just 11 days ago. The Orange and Blue blocked a school record 13 shots, forced 24 PSU turnovers and held the Lady Lions, who entered the game leading the nation in three-point shooting, to just 2-of-7 from behind the arc. However, Penn State (17-5, 6-2) dominated the boards, 49-29, and was 17-of-19 from the free throw line compared to just 5-of-6 for the Illini
Sophomore Adrienne GodBold led the Illinois block party, swatting a career-high six shots to go along with nine points and a team-high four assists. Penn swatted five PSU shots, while McCully and junior Lana Rukavina each contributed one block, helping break the old school record of 12 set twice last season.
Illinois trailed by three after a sloppy first half despite forcing 14 PSU turnovers. The Illini shot just 30 percent before the break, but came out on fire in the second half, hitting three early threes to pull ahead 38-36 four minutes in. Later in the half, Penn State used a 13-2 run to pull ahead by five, but Illini junior Macie Blinn hit a huge three with 5:10 remaining to end the run and bring Illinois back within 59-57. The game, which featured 13 ties and 14 lead changes throughout, was tight the rest of the way.
Penn hit 10-of-16 from the field and registered her Big Ten-leading 13th double-double of the season, while redshirt freshman Amber Moore hit three three-pointers and scored 17 points. Freshman Centrese McGee added seven points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The Orange and Blue shot 53 percent in the second half and 42 percent for the game, while the Lady Lions hit 38 percent from the field. It was Illinois' fourth-straight loss over all and their third in a row at Assembly Hall.
Up Next: The Fighting Illini host Iowa on Sunday at 2 p.m. in their third annual "Pack the Hall" game. Admission will be free and there will be lots of fun events for fans including halftime and postgame autograph sessions and exciting giveaways like tickets to Assembly Hall events and Illinois apparel.
