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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois finished the game on a 26-8 run and held No. 17 Iowa to only three field goals over the final 10 minutes of the game as the Fighting Illini pulled away for a 73-61 win at State Farm Center on Thursday. It marked the Orange and Blue's second win over a ranked opponent this season and Illinois held Iowa to its second-lowest point total of the season. Illinois improves to 11-4 on the campaign, its best start in seven years, and 2-1 in Big Ten play.

"What a great win for our program," Illini head coach Matt Bollant said. I thought the end of the first half was huge. At the media timeout, we said `Hey, let's give ourselves a chance in the second half. We're down 14, let's play a great four minutes. Let's compete, get some stops and see what we could do going to halftime.' I was thinking we would get it to nine or eight, and we cut it all the way down to five.

"Then at halftime, we challenged them `Now go play like that in the second half. You were the most aggressive team and you wanted it more in the last four minutes. Do it again. And honor Ivory and the way she plays with great toughness and great joy,' and we did that.

"Jacqui (Grant) was a monster on the boards and made a lot of big plays. Kyley (Simmons) got us where we needed to be and hit some really big shots, and Chatrice (White) hit some really big shots as well in that second half. (Bethany) Doolittle is a really good basketball player and she struggled a little bit from the field, and part of that was Chatrice and the four blocks she had in the first half, and just the length we have."

Illinois did it largely without senior guard Ivory Crawford, who was injured after playing just nine minutes in the first half. But White was dominant, posting 22 points, six rebounds, five steals and four blocks, while Brittany Carter had 19 points, four boards, five assists and five steals. Grant grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and Simmons notched 16 points and four assists. Both Carter and Simmons played the full 40 minutes.

Illinois shot a blistering 65.2 percent (15-of-23) in the second half, its best shooting percentage in a half this season, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. For the game, the Illini hit 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and 8-of-20 (40 percent) from deep. Illinois also forced Iowa into a season-high 22 turnovers, including 14 Illini steals. Illinois held a 32-22 advantage in the paint and 26-15 off turnovers.

Illinois held Iowa scoreless in the final 4:10 of the first half and again for 4:51 after the midpoint of the second half when the Illini used a 12-0 run to turn the tide. The Orange and Blue then used an 11-2 burst to push the lead from three to 12, salting the game away.

Iowa led 9-5 early but the Illini grabbed their first lead at 10-9 after a Brittany Carter free throw, a floater by Carter and a Chatrice White layup off a nice feed from Carter. Bollant called timeout as Ivory Crawford went down with an injury after Iowa's Whitney Jennings hit a three-pointer, but Iowa continued on a 13-0 run as the Illini went 0-for-4 from the field and made three turnovers, giving the Hawks a 22-10 lead.

Kyley Simmons hit a three-pointer and Carter got a layup after tipping a ball to Chatrice White, but Iowa scored the next seven points to go up 29-15 with 8:56 left in the half.

With Iowa leading 35-21, Brittany Carter drained a three from the left wing then Simmons got a layup. After consecutive Hawkeye turnovers, Carter took one coast-to-coast for a layup. Iowa missed another shot and Grant got the rebound, then the Illini corralled three consecutive offensive rebounds with Grant finishing the possession by finishing in the paint to pull Illinois within 35-30 at halftime.

White drained a trey to start the second half and after an Iowa layup, Carter made a layup. The Hawks missed a jumper and Grant cleared the rebound. Taylor Tuck drove and made a layup, tying the game at 37. After the teams traded empty possessions, Iowa got a layup but Simmons gave Illinois its first lead since the 11:51 mark with a three-pointer from the right wing, pushing the Illini up 40-39.

Iowa used a 9-2 run to go up 48-42 but White hit one free throw then nailed a jumper a couple of possessions later to pull within 48-45. But the Hawks hit another three to go back up six, 51-45.

Illinois would not be deterred, though, as Grant found White with a nice post-to-post pass. After an Iowa layup, Simmons hit another trey from the right wing and Grant made a 15-footer to cut the Iowa lead to one, 53-52. That's when Simmons hit her spot on the right side again, draining a long trey to put the Illini up 55-53 with 7:56 to go.

After the media timeout, Iowa turned it over and White scored off a pretty feed from Simmons. A couple of possessions later, Carter hit a jumper at the 5:28 to finish the key 12-0 run. Iowa's Melissa Dixon hit a three with 5:11 to go, cutting the Illini lead to 59-56 but White answered with a trey of her own then Grant stole a wild pass. She pitched it ahead to Simmons who found Carter for a layup as Illinois pushed the lead to 64-58 with 3:46 left.

Iowa got a layup then the teams traded empty possessions for nearly two minutes, with time dwindling under 1:30 when Grant made another steal and Taylor Tuck knifed through the Iowa defense for a layup and a 66-58 lead.

After another Iowa turnover, Simmons drained two free throws. Iowa missed a pair of shots before Carter could clear the rebound and draw a foul. She made two more freebies, pushing the lead to 70-58 with 38 seconds left and effectively icing the victory. Dixon hit a three with 34 seconds left but that was all Iowa could muster thanks to a huge offensive rebound by Tuck, who pulled the ball away from four Hawkeyes after Simmons missed a free throw. Then Tuck cashed in two from the stripe. Carter added 1-of-2 from the line for the final 73-61 margin.

The Illini return to action Sunday when they host No. 19 Nebraska at 2 p.m. in the annual Pack the House game. All fans receive free admission and parking, and kids can enjoy face-painting and poster-making stations on the concourse level.