Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Bested At Illinois, 53-43
1/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Cyndi Valentin scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists on the evening. Junior forward Angela Hawkins grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior guard LeeAnn Stephenson was the other IU player to score double-figures with 11 points.
With Illinois leading 12-8, Valentin made a spinning lay-up, weaving through a pair of defenders, to cut the margin in half at 10:08 of the first half.
The Illini went on a 12-0 run over the next 4:18 to open their lead to 22-10. Senior guard LeeAnn Stephenson connected on a free throw to stop the spurt at 5:34.
Illinois scored the next four points to widen its margin to 26-11, its largest lead of the half.
Sophomore guard Annika Boyd rebounded her own miss and scored down in the post with under two minutes to play, for the Hoosiers final basket of the frame. The Illini added a free throw and went into the halftime break with a 27-13 advantage.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half as the Hoosiers were 5-of-24 (21%) and the Illini went 9-of-25 (36%). The difference in the half was free throws, as Illinois was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, compared to Indiana, who was just 3-of-4. The Hoosiers committed 11 turnovers in the stanza.
"Our turnovers and poor ball handling in the first half was the difference in the game," Head Coach Kathi Bennett said. "We had some poor shots and some quick shots without much penetration. I thought defensively we were tough, but they really hurt us in transition."
Freshman center Nikki Smith nailed a three-pointer and Hawkins made one free throw to cut the lead to single digits, 31-22, just under four minutes into the second half.
Valentin completed a three-point play to trim the Illinois lead to 33-25 with 14:22 to play.
The Illini went on a 10-2 run over the next 4:02 to push their advantage to 43-27.
The Hoosiers got within nine points, 45-36, on a three-pointer from Valentin at 7:09. Senior forward Angelina Williams responded for Illinois, knocking home a pair of baskets, to push the margin back to 49-36.
Boyd drained a three-pointer with a 1:28 left to make the score 51-43, but the Hoosiers would get no closer.
Williams led Illinois with 21 points, while freshman forward Danyel Crutcher corralled a game-high 11 rebounds.
Indiana will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m., against No. 8/8 Michigan State in Assembly Hall. The game can be heard live on WHCC (105.1) with Jeremy Gray calling all the action.
Game Notes: Sophomore center Sarah McKay returned to the court after missing the last five games with a knee injury... she played nine minutes in her first game back... IU held Illinois 15 points below its season average of 68 points per game... Valentin had 20 points or more for the sixth time this season... Valentin fouled out of a game for the first time this season... it was only the third time that she has fouled out in 75 career games... LeeAnn Stephenson scored in double-figures for the fifth time this year... IU will play its sixth ranked opponent of the season when No. 8/8 Michigan State comes to Bloomington on Saturday.
