UI Women Live

FINAL: Indiana 67, Illinois 54

With Minnesota's loss Sunday, the Illini had a chance to escape the Big Ten cellar. It was an opportunity squandered. 

The Hoosiers (13-10, 6-6) broke open a close game in the final eight minutes and cruised to a victory at the Assembly Hall. With the game tied at 42 with 8 minutes remaining, the Hoosiers scored 17 of the next 21 points.

Illinois' (12-11, 4-9) hopes ended in a storm of turnovers (23) and missed shots (27 percent shooting). Jenna Smith had nine points while shooting 3 of 16. She also established a career high with 20 rebounds. Lacey Simpson had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Indiana got 23 points from Jori Davis. The Hoosiers overcame 36 percent shooting.

HALFTIME: Indiana 22, Illinois 20

The Illini and Hoosiers are in the process of setting back college basketball three decades or so. In an awful display of halfcourt offense, the teams are shooting 24 percent (Illinois) and 25 percent (Indiana) while combining for 17 turnovers.

The Illini managed to build a five-point lead until collapsing in the final 5 minutes. The Hoosiers ended the half on a 9-2 run, polished off by Jori Davis' three-point play with :00.3 on the clock.

Indiana's zone has forced Illinois to the perimeter, and the Illini have been content to fire up three-pointers. Illinois, which averages 12 three-point tries a game, has taken 12 (made 3). Jenna Smith is 1 for 7 for 3 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds. Lacey Simpson has seven points. Davis leads Indiana with 11 points.

The best moments came before tipoff. Students from Next Generation School in Champaign sang the national anthem. Smith (1,000 rebounds) and Simpson (1,000 points) were honored in pregame ceremonies for their recent achievements. And Department of Intercollegaite Athletics staffer Kathy Hug, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, and her family presented coach Jolette Law with the game ball to a round of hearty applause. 

PREGAME:

Greetings from the Assembly Hall, where the Illini women hope to begin their Super Bowl party with a victory against the Hoosiers.

Basketball takes a backseat today in the big picture because this is the program's "Pink Zone" game to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer. Those that wear pink get in free, and the Illini are wearing their pink uniforms (Indiana will be wearing its home whites.) There are a number of other activities planned, all for a great cause. I don't own anything pink, but I have a Kay Yow Fund pin that's stuck to my sweater. There is a lot of pink in the crowd among the early arrivals.

--On the court, the action should be competitive. These teams played an entertaining game in Bloomington last month, one that Illinois led most of the way before faltering at the end. The Illini tried to run at every opportunity in that game, and it'll be interesting to see if they try a similar tactic today. Worked pretty well last time. 

--Spent Thursday and Friday at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis participating in an NCAA-sponsored "mock bracket" selection with members of the committee. There were 21 of us -- mostly media, with a few head coaches -- who took part. The session was led by Sue Donohoe, vice president of women's basketball for the NCAA, and committee chairwoman Jane Meyer of Iowa. I'll be writing about the experience for next Sunday's paper. Check it out on HQ, too.

--Interested to see how Indiana's Hope Elam performs today. The former Champaign Central star is playing here for the first time, so she naturally would be pretty jacked up. Elam's been playing well lately, including a 24-point, 10-rebound performance against Penn State.

 

 

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