Jan. 21, 2001
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Purdue's Katie Douglas was not worried when Illinois, its home crowd roaring, got within one point midway through the second half.
She was laughing.
Douglas hit a 3-pointer, then made four straight assists, as sixth-ranked Purdue fended off a second-half challenge to beat Illinois 72-64 Sunday for its ninth straight victory.
"We have enough veterans that we have that calming effect on our freshmen," said Purdue junior Kelly Komara, who scored 14 points in the second half. "You just have to put that in the back of your mind. We knew we were going to get our run."
Komara finished with 16 while Douglas had 15 points and seven assists for the Boilermakers (17-3, 7-0 Big Ten) in a battle of the conference's top two teams in the standings.
Iveta Marcauskaite led Illinois (9-9, 4-2) with 20 points, all in the second half as the Illini fought to stay in the game.
Allison Curtin added 15 points for the Illini, who lost for the fourth time against a Top 10 opponent this season.
Illinois used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to get within 47-46. Douglas and Komara each hit 3-pointers to push Purdue back ahead 55-46 with nine minutes left.
"We were so concerned about the boards, we forgot about the 3-ball," Illinois' Dawn Vana said. "They made a couple that killed us."
That's also when Douglas looked to others, handing out five of the team's last six assists, and Komara got nine of her points.
"They just kept collapsing on Katie and that's perfect for someone like me who's a spot-up shooter," Komara said.
Marcauskaite hit a short jumper to make it 67-61 with 1:03 left but the Illini could get no closer.
Marcauskaite was a force inside late in the game, scoring almost all of her 20 points in the paint and getting to the foul line often. But she missed six of her 10 free throws in the second half.
"I thought there were some things we did to ourselves, particularly in the first half, when we made mistakes and got mad at ourselves," Grentz said. "We can't do that. That's where we need leadership."
The Boilermakers outrebounded Illinois 47-34, but Purdue coach Kristy Curry said her team should not have allowed Illinois 15 offensive rebounds.
"We're not invincible and I'm going to make sure we know that," Curry said.