Feb. 25, 2015

Box Score | Printable Box | Press Conference

Champaign, Ill. - A blazing start by Michigan State's offense proved enough to defeat Illinois on Wednesday, as the Illini's second-half comeback fell just short, 67-65. The Orange and Blue defense forced 34 turnovers and scored 29 points off the takeaways, but MSU shot 54.2 percent from the field to hang on for the two-point victory. The win lifts the Spartans to 14-14 (6-11 Big Ten), while Illinois drops to 14-15 (5-12 Big Ten).

"I guess, tough one," said head coach Matt Bollant. "Give Michigan State credit. Start of the game, I thought they were really good. Jankoska made a bunch of shots and got going. We weren't very good defensively to start the game. That's on us as a coaching staff to do a better job of having them ready to play. We just weren't very good to start.

"The way we fought back with heart and energy--I think that says a lot about their resiliency and heart. I thought they did enough against Purdue, the shot to win it. Today just wasn't quite our day. I'm really proud of this team that they haven't hung their head. The teams have been making shots, and they stay with it and keep fighting and give ourselves an opportunity. We just beat Minnesota, beat two really good teams at home and had a great opportunity today to but didn't get it done. We have to be ready to go against a really good Michigan team."

Senior Ivory Crawford paced the Illini offense with 18 points in the game, while Brittany Carter and Jacqui Grant each had 13 and Chatrice White tallied 11. White (7) and Grant (6) combined for 13 rebounds, while Carter led the team with four assists. All five Illini starters had at least two steals in the game, led by Kyley Simmons with four, while Grant, White and Carter each had three. With her three swipes, Carter passed Shavonna Hunter (1999-00) into ninth place all time with 79 this season.

After breaking the all-time freshman scoring record on Saturday at Purdue, White set another rookie record this evening, passing Karisma Penn (2009-10) to become the all-time freshman blocking leader with 58 after blocking a pair of Spartan shots. Additionally, she moved into seventh place among all Illini in single-season blocks.

As a team, the Illini led 34-17 in turnovers, one shy of Illinois' season high for takeaways and the most in Big Ten play, and capitalized for 29 points off the Spartan miscues, also a season high in conference play. Michigan State topped the Illini in rebounds, 41-25, although Illinois did lead 12-10 in offensive boards.

Both teams relied on the three, as the pair combined to put up 19 treys, but Michigan State impressed by going 11-for-23 from the perimeter, including 6-of-8 by Tori Jankoska. The sophomore guard led both teams with 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 9-for-12 from the field and posting four assists. Aerial Powers, who came in ranked third in the nation in double-doubles, registered her 21st of the year with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Illini defense had her number in transition, forcing a season-high 13 turnovers from the sophomore forward.

The Spartans got off to a hot start, racing to a 10-4 lead and extending it to 21-10 at 14:09 after scoring on eight of their first 10 possessions. Illinois limited Michigan State to just three points over the next four minutes to pull within six, 24-18, but the Spartans were successful for 12 points on the next five possessions to forge ahead, 36-23.

Five quick points by Crawford pulled the Illini back in striking distance, 36-28, with six minutes remaining. The Illini ramped up their defense in the final seven minutes of the half, holding the Spartans to just six points while forcing 11 turnovers, but the Orange and Blue offense was unable to make up the difference, as the Illini headed into the break trailing, 42-30.

A 10-0 run for the Illini early in the second half cut the deficit to just three points on a great feed from White to Grant, making it 49-46 with 11:19 to go, but Michigan State countered to go back ahead 56-49.

The Spartans extended their lead to 67-58, when the Carter grabbed an impressive near-out-of-bounds offensive rebound then forced Simmons and Crawford forced a pair of turnovers for six quick points to pull back within three, 67-64.

With eight seconds to go, Crawford headed to the foul line. She made the first but missed the second, as the Spartans got the ball back holding a two-point lead. Jankoska missed a free throw with six seconds to go and White grabbed the board and chucked it down court to Carter. The senior guard had a chance for the win at the buzzer with an open three from the right side, but the shot didn't fall, as the Spartans survived the Illini comeback to win, 67-65.

Illinois closes the 2014-15 regular season at home on Saturday, Feb. 28, against Michigan (16-12, 8-9 Big Ten). A win against the Spartans, who have clinched the eight seed for the Big Ten Tournament, could secure a first-round bye for the Illini, who currently sit in 10th in the Big Ten standings.