Lopes, Peebles Key Late Comeback in Loss at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Fighting Illini fell to Purdue on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena, 70-66, despite a valiant comeback effort that saw the Orange and Blue storm back to tie the game after trailing by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter.

Three players finished in double-figures scoring for Illinois (3-17, 1-16 B1G), led by 13 points from sophomore guard Jada Peebles. Junior post Geovana Lopes sparked the Illini comeback by notching a career-high-tying 12 points, all in the fourth quarter, while redshirt-junior center Eva Rubin added another 10 points.

Purdue (7-14, 4-13 B1G) was led by the starting guard duo of Brooke Moore (17 points) and Kayana Traylor (16). Ra Shaya Kyle and Madison Layden, each notched 10 points for the Boilermakers.

Purdue led 29-27 at halftime, and used a pair of big third-quarter scoring runs – a 12-0 stretch and a 9-0 run – to push their lead to double-figures heading into the fourth quarter. Traylor opened the final period with a layup to push the Illinois deficit to 16, 58-42, with 9:31 left to play.

The Illini responded in a big way, scoring 13 straight and 19 of the game's next 22 points, overall, to knot the game at 61 with 2:27 remaining. Lopes scored 10 during that stretch, while Peebles tallied six points during the run, including a jumper from just inside the three-point line off a Lopes offensive rebound.

The Illini pulled within one twice in the final 97 seconds – first on a three-pointer from senior Lyric Robins and later on a pair of Lopes free-throws with 46 seconds on the clock – but Peebles' would-be go-ahead three at the 10-second mark came up just a bit short. Traylor hit her next two at the stripe to ice the game and secure the series split.

STAT OF THE GAME
Illinois' 13-0 scoring run to pull within three at the 4:42 mark of the fourth quarter, marked the team's largest scoring run of the season. The Illini had previously notched runs of 10-0 or great four times this season. The previous season-high was 11-0 first accomplished at Michigan State (Feb. 4), and most recently in a late comeback effort vs. Northwestern on Wednesday (Feb. 24).

TEAM NOTES

• Illinois tallied 17 assists on Sunday, tying for the third-highest mark by the team this season. The Illini also dished out 17 helpers vs. Northwestern on Wednesday, and the 34 combined assists in the last two games are the most in any two-game stretch by the team in 2020-21.
• With the loss, the Illini split the season series with the Boilermakers. Illinois won the first matchup, 54-49, at State Farm Center on Feb. 7, and entered Sunday's game in search of their first regular-season sweep of Purdue since the 1983-84 campaign.
• the Illini finish 0-10 on the road in 2020-21. It marks the program's first season without a win on the road since an 0-12 mark during the 2016-17 campaign.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Geovana Lopes' 12-point effort matched her career-best set in her Illini debut vs. Indiana State on Nov. 25. Lopes also pulled down six rebounds, tying her personal-best in an Illini uniform, which she set in the opener vs. ISU and matched at No. 9 Maryland on Feb. 17.
• Jada Peebles' 13 points marked her 20^th-career double-digit scoring game, and her team-leading 14^th this season. Peebles has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in six of the Illini's last eight games.
• Eva Rubin reached double-figures scoring for the fifth time as an Illini, and the first time since Jan. 28, 2021 vs. Penn State (10 points).
• Sophomore F Kennedi Myles pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with five assists and five steals. Her five assists tied a career-best (at Michigan State, Feb. 4), while her five steals were one shy of a personal-high set as a freshman at North Carolina (Dec. 5, 2019).  

NEXT UP

The Fighting Illini close the regular season on Friday at State Farm Center, hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Illinois will also celebrate Lyric Robins and Nancy Panagiotopoulou with a postgame celebration for Senior Day. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on Big Ten Network+. Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on WDWS 1400 AM. Streaming audio and live stats are also available at FightingIllini.com.