Cold spell foils Illini on road

West Lafayette, Ind. – Illinois blocked a school-record 12 shots and held Purdue to 27.0 percent shooting, but it wasn't enough in a 53-48 loss in Big Ten women's action.

The Illini committed 23 turnovers and went almost eight minutes without scoring during one second-half stretch.

"This wasn't a pretty game," UI coach Jolette Law said. "I want to give Purdue a lot of credit. They played hard and grinded out a win, which is what you have to do at home.

"I think we played well defensively in the second half, but offensively we were going too fast. We missed a lot of easy layups and had some careless turnovers."

Senior Jenna Smith had seven of the Illini's 12 blocks to break the school record of six previously shared by Smith, Jonelle Polk and Kendra Gantt.

Senior Lacey Simpson and freshman Kersten Magrum led Illinois (12-10, 4-8 Big Ten) in scoring with 12 points apiece. Simpson also pulled down 10 rebounds for her 16th career double-double and became the program's career games played leader with 123.

Magrum, who was 5 of 9 from the field, eclipsed her previous career high of seven points.

"I think I'm gaining confidence and my teammates are really helping me learn to play the guard position," Magrum said.

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