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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois took a one-point lead with 5:30 left in the game and was within one point with 90 seconds left, but Purdue made 8-of-8 free throws in the game's final 1:04 to take a 62-55 win in front of a season-high crowd of 2,548 at State Farm Center on Sunday.

Ivory Crawford led Illinois with 16 points - 12 in the second half - and nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kyley Simmons, Jacqui Grant and Chatrice White each had 10. But Purdue out-rebounded the Illini 54-34 and made 23-of-29 free throws (79.3 percent), compared to 11-of-22 (50 percent) by Illinois.

"That's a disappointing loss for us," Illinois head coach Matt Bollant said. "We had a great crowd and an opportunity to get a win against a good basketball team, but we just didn't make enough plays to make that happen. Give Purdue credit. They did a better job on the glass and making more tough plays down the stretch. We've got to have the courage to step up and make a play. We didn't have enough of that."

After shooting just 20 percent in the first half (7-of-35), Illinois rebounded to make 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) in the second half, including 3-of-8 from long range, while limiting Purdue to 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from the floor in the second half and holding the Boilers without a field goal for over 11 minutes across both halves. But the Boilers made 15-of-18 free throws in the final 20 minutes and had three players finish with double-doubles on the afternoon.

The Illini led 4-2 early but Purdue went on an 8-0 run to go up 10-4. A Simmons three-pointer cut the margin in half but the Boilers scored consecutive buckets for a 14-7 advantage. After Crawford hit a runner in the lane, both teams went cold for the next 3 minutes.

Purdue broke the drought first and went on an 8-2 run that pushed its lead to 22-11 at the 8:00 mark. With the Boilers leading 27-12 under four minutes left in the half, Simmons made 1-of-2 from the line then Amarah Coleman stole an inbounds pass and went the other way for a layup. A couple possessions later, Coleman toed the three-point line on a long jumper then - after Purdue made 1-of-2 at the line - made 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds left to finish the half on a personal 6-1 spurt to pull the Illini within 28-18 at the break.

Purdue's Bridget Perry started the second half by making 1-of-2 at the line but White made two jumpers and a free throw to cut the Boiler lead to six, 29-23. Whitney Bays hit a jumper at the other end, snapping a Purdue field-goal drought of 11:42.

The Boilers pushed their lead back out to nine at 37-28 but Brittany Carter drained her only three-pointer of the game to cut into the deficit. After a Purdue bucket, White made 1-of-2 at the line and Crawford converted a three-point play. After two empty Boiler possessions, Crawford got a bucket in the paint to pull within 39-37 at the 11:33 mark.

Purdue responded by scoring the next five points, but Jacqui Grant made a layup and Simmons drained a trey to get within 44-42 at the 7:59 mark. Purdue hit two free throws but Grant got another one to fall and White tied the game at 46 with a jumper at 6:15.

The Illini continued to clamp down on defense and went ahead when Grant made 1-of-2 at the line. But the Boilers scored the next five points to go up 51-47. Crawford cut the deficit to two with a runner in the lane but Ashley Morrissette drained a trey to push the Purdue lead to 54-49.

Crawford got another bucket down low and missed the free throw for the three-point play, but Carter got a steal and Crawford drew a foul. She missed the front end but made the second, then Grant got a defensive rebound and made 1-of-2, cutting Purdue's lead to 54-53. But White fouled Liza Clemons and she made both free throws, then Simmons missed a three and Clemons hit two more freebies, pushing the Boiler lead to 58-53. The Illini continued to miss shots and had to foul, allowing Purdue to ice the game from the line and finish the 62-55 victory.

Illinois returns to action on Jan. 4 at Penn State with a 1 p.m. CT tipoff.