Jan. 22, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored 14 points and No. 11 Purdue beat Illinois 57-53 on Sunday, snapping the Illini's nine-game home winning streak.
Aya Traore added 12 points for the Boilermakers (15-2, 7-0 Big Ten), who shot just 32 percent from the floor. They forced 19 Illinois turnovers, however, and withstood an Illini rally that trimmed a 10-point deficit to one with 2:15 left.
Purdue won its 11th straight game and seventh in a row at the Assembly Hall, a streak that dates back to Dec. 28, 1997.
Illinois (12-6, 4-3) lost its second straight to a ranked team after dropping a 72-61 decision at No. 12 Michigan State Thursday night.
Erin Wigley scored 11 of her 15 points after halftime for Illinois. Maggie Acuna had 12 rebounds.
Illinois trailed 43-33 with 11:52 to go, but Acuna was fouled in the process of making a 3-pointer and converted the free throw. That started a 14-7 run, and Illinois closed the gap to 50-49 on Audrey Tabon's layup off a pass from Danyel Crutcher with 2:15 left.
But the Illini would score only two more baskets. Katie Gearlds' 3-point play with 46 seconds left sealed the win for Purdue. Gearlds, the Boilermakers' leading scorer at 14.1 points per game, was held to nine. Wisdom-Hylton made 6-of-12 shots.
Janelle Hughes, Illinois' leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, went 1-for-7 from the floor and scored only four points.
The Illini hit 10-of-18 free throws in the second half after missing six of eight in the first. The Boilermakers led 30-24 at halftime.