Feb. 3, 2005
The Purdue women's basketball team dropped its third home game overall and second of the Big Ten season with a 66-56 loss to Illinois on Thursday. The defeat dropped the Boilermakers to 12-9, while the Fighting Illini improved to 13-7 with the victory, their first in Mackey Arena since Jan. 22, 1984. Both teams saw their Big Ten records move to 5-5 with the outcome.
Illinois, which had lost 18 in a row in West Lafayette and 12 consecutive in the series, survived a six-point first-half deficit and being down 25-24 at halftime to win its seventh game on the road in 10 tries this year. Though the Illini scored first and were in control for the first nine minutes of the contest, Purdue managed to take a lead on two free throws by sophomore forward Erin Lawless at the 11:27 mark. A transition basket by sophomore guard Katie Gearlds assisted by Lawless one minute later put the Boilermakers ahead 10-8, and they stayed on top for the remainder of the half.
Purdue was lucky to own even a slim lead after 20 minutes. Lawless and Gearlds, Purdue's two leading scorers for the season, both scored just two points on a combined 1-of-13 shooting from the field (Lawless scored her two points at the free throw line). Lawless and Gearlds weren't the only Purdue players to struggle shooting. As a team, the Boilermakers finished the first 20 minutes at a woeful 26.5 percent from the field (9-34). What kept Purdue in front was its 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line.
The Boilermakers' one-point lead lasted through 15 minutes of halftime, but not much more, as Illinois stormed out of the gates in the second half on a 6-0 run. The surge took exactly 86 seconds, and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Purdue did come back. The Boilermakers trailed by as many as eight with 15:41 remaining before knotting the score at 41-all five minutes later. A 9-0 Illinois run dashed that comeback and put the visitors ahead 50-41 with 7:25 to play.
Despite facing their largest deficit of the game to that point, the Boilermakers fought back once more, cutting the Illini lead to two with 4:11 left.
Purdue was still in the game late. Trailing by four with less than one minute remaining, junior Sharika Webb got a steal in Illinois' backcourt and passed to senior Emily Heikes. Heikes took the ball to the basket and stopped for a six-foot jumper but missed. By making the shot, Heikes would have made the score 58-56 with 49 seconds to go.
But the attempt failed, as did Purdue's last three shots of the game. Meanwhile, Illinois finished the game making all six of its free throw attempts and added a layup with two seconds left in its 10-point win.
All five of Purdue's Big Ten losses have come by double digits.
One need not look past the stat sheet to realize where Purdue fell short. The Boilermakers shot 29.9 percent from the field, making just 20 of 67 shots. Lawless, Gearlds and freshman Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, Purdue's top three scorers, finished with 15 points - more than 20 below their combined average - on 5-of-32 shooting.
Illinois, on the other hand, shot 48.1 percent from the field and made 80 percent of its free throws.
Another problem for Purdue: rebounding. The Illini posted a 42-38 advantage on the boards and became the eighth straight team to outrebound the Boilermakers.
The game was not without a significant Purdue highlight, however, as junior Aya Traore scored a career-high 20 points.
But Illinois senior Angelina Wililams outshined everybody, scoring 24 points in 32 minutes. Janelle Hughes pitched in 14 points off the bench.
Purdue will play No. 23 Penn State on Sunday in Mackey Arena. Tipoff against the Lady Lions, who beat the Boilermakers 77-54 in January, is at 1 p.m.