March 5, 2011
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INDIANAPOLIS - The Fighting Illini's Cinderella run in the Big Ten Tournament game to a close Saturday night with a 79-65 loss to No. 2 seed Penn State in the semifinals at Conseco Fieldhouse. The 11th-seeded Illini were within three midway through the second half, but the Lady Lions pulled away down the stretch with a 13-0 run to end Illinois' season.
Things looked bleak for the Illini midway through the first half. With PSU leading 25-15 at the 7:52 mark, second team All-Big Ten forward Karisma Penn picked up her second foul and went to the bench. The Lady Lions would extend the lead to 33-17 with 4:41 remaining, but the Fighting Illini roared back with a 16-2 run to end the half, capped by an Amber Moore three at the halftime buzzer that pulled Illinois within 35-33.
Moore had eight points during the run, while sophomore Adrienne GodBold score five points and made several key defensive plays that helped change the momentum. Junior Lana Rukavina also hit a big three less than a minute before halftime to cut the deficit to five before Moore's trey to end the half.
Illinois kept the momentum going at the start of the second half, taking a 37-36 lead after a three-pointer by GodBold with 16:45 remaining. The Lady Lions responded with a 14-4 run to pull out to a 50-41 lead, but the Illini weren't done fighting back yet. Moore hit threes at the 11:39 and 9:00 marks to cut the deficit to 54-51, but Penn State's Maggie Lucas hit a three the ensuing possession, sparking a 13-0 Lady Lion run that pushed the lead back to 16 and ended Illinois' hopes for an upset.
Moore hit five three-pointers and led Illinois with 19 points. GodBold had 16 points and three steals, while Penn and junior Lydia McCully each added 11 points for the Orange and Blue. Penn pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with her 11 points, her 18th double-double of the season, and also tied the Illinois Big Ten Tournament record with five blocks. McCully also tied an Illinois tourney record with seven assists on the night.
The Illini shot 40 percent overall and 38 percent from downtown, while Penn State shot 42 percent overall and 43 percent from three-point range. The Lady Lions pushed the tempo, leading to a 14-2 edge in fast break points, and outrebounded the Illinois 41-32. They also shot 30 free throws, hitting 25 (83 percent), while Illinois was just 10-of-15 from the charity stripe (67 percent).
Lucas led Penn State (24-8) with a game-high 23 points, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc to break the Big Ten record for threes made in a season (108).
Illinois ends the 2010-11 season with a 9-23 overall record. The Fighting Illini made history by being the first No. 11 seed to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Illinois upset No. 6 seed Wisconsin in Thursday's opening round, 63-56, and followed that up by upsetting No. 3 seed Michigan in the quarterfinals, 55-47.
