Jan. 8, 2012 Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois had one of its best offensive first halves of the year Sunday against Wisconsin, shooting 68 percent and scoring 39 points, but Wisconsin came back for a 70-67 victory at the Assembly Hall.

Sophomore Kersten Magrum scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the first half, which included three three-point baskets, while adding six rebounds and two assists. Unfortunately, Magrum was hit in the head on a foul with just over 11 minutes to play and did not return for precautionary reasons.

Junior Karisma Penn scored 10 of her 18 points in the second half and added 12 rebounds for her 27th career double-double. Penn moved past Lacey Simpson and into seventh on the all-time Illinois scoring list, now with 1,182 and past Sarah Sharp into 12th on the all-time career rebounding list, now with 645.

The Illini came out on fire, making 15 of their first 21 shots in taking a 35-26 lead with 3:17 to play in the first half. Magrum made her first seven shots, three of which were from long-range, while Penn made her first four from the floor while grabbing six rebounds in the first 16 minutes. Illinois led by as many as 12 in the first half, using that hot shooting to build a 22-10 advantage.

Wisconsin (5-11, 1-3 in the Big Ten), meanwhile, had its second-best scoring game of the season, and was paced by 19 points from Taylor Wurtz. Veteran post player Anya Covington added 18 points and Morgan Pagie contributed 13. The Badgers used an 11-4 run just before halftime to close to within 39-37 at the break.

"Today shouldn't have been a close game," Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. "We have to make sure when we have a team down, to keep them down. Wisconsin out-played us. We let a team that plays hard and has nothing to lose stick around and left an opening for them to come in here and steal a win from us today."

Although the game had seven ties and just three lead changes, Illinois led for most of the game. After Wisconsin took its first lead at 51-49 with 10:06 to play, the Illini responded with eight straight points to go back in front 57-51. The Badgers, however, responded with an 11-0 run, taking advantage of Illinois turnovers to post its biggest lead at 62-57.

Back-to-back baskets by Penn and Ivory Crawford brought the Illini to within one at 62-61 with 3:09 to play. The teams exchanged baskets with a pair of free throws from Paige with seven seconds left giving the Badgers a three-point lead. On Illinois' final possession, Amber Moore's three-point attempt missed in the waning seconds.

Although Illinois falls to 6-11 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, this is the third straight game that came down to a shot at the end.

"At the end of games, it comes down to how much we want it," Law said. "Down the stretch, we are making too many mental errors. We have to do a better job taking care of the basketball. We are going to focus on executing and being mentally tough. Right now we're lacking mental toughness."

The Illini will have eight days to regroup before a Jan. 16 game at Northwestern.

"We have to keep fighting," Moore said.