Illini hold off Wake Forest 95-82
By: Aaron Bennett
Updated: November 29, 2012
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.
- Illinois finished the game on a 27-12 run that included 14 points
from senior Karisma Penn and eight from sophomore Ivory Crawford to pull
away for a 95-82 victory over Wake Forest
in the sixth-annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The victory pushes Illinois'
season record to 4-2 and its all-time mark in the Challenge to 3-3.
However, the ACC took the Challenge victory, going 7-5 against the Big
Ten.
"I'm so proud of
our girls for the way they played tonight," Illinois head coach Matt
Bollant said. "They really battled, especially in the second half, and
it was great to see the smiles in the locker
room after this one. Our defense isn't where we want it to be, but we
showed a lot of toughness and and had great effort tonight."
The 95 points
mark the most for the Illini since a 104-point output against Cal Poly
on Nov. 22, 2010, and the most against a BCS conference team since
posting 96 against Ohio State on Feb. 13, 2001. Illinois
salted the game away at the free-throw line, hitting 23-of-26 (88.5
percent) in the game, 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) in the second half and
12-of-14 (85.7 percent) in the game's final eight minutes. Wake Forest
shot only 19 free throws in the game, making 11 (57.9
percent).
Penn finished
with a game-high and season-high 30 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds for
her fourth double-double in six games. Crawford poured in 26, Amber
Moore added 13 and Kersten Magrum scored 11 in her
return from a shoulder injury that had sidelined her for the last three
games. Alexis Smith dished a career-high 14 assists against only three
turnovers.
The Illini pulled
out to a 48-42 lead at halftime thanks to 7-of-15 shooting from beyond
the three-point arc and a 16-4 run near the middle of the half during
which Moore supplied eight points.
Wake started
strong in the second half, scoring the first four points to cut a
six-point Illini halftime lead to 48-46. Illinois gained some distance,
extending the margin to eight on a nifty stop-and-go
fast-break layup by Crawford on which she got fouled and made the free
throw for a three-point play that gave the Illini a 57-49 lead with
16:09 remaining.
The Demon Deacons
continued to battle, cutting the margin to one or two points three
different times in the next four-plus minutes. But Magrum keyed a 7-2
spurt that pushed Illinois' lead to 67-60, scoring
five points, grabbing a pair of rebounds and taking a charge during that
stretch.
Wake showed great
resiliency, though, scoring eight straight points off three Illini
turnovers and a shooting foul to grab a 68-67 lead, only its second of
the game and its first since the 18:36 mark of
the first half. But after the Demon Deacons took a 70-68 lead at the
8:25 mark, the Illini made a run.
Crawford sank a
pair of free throws and, after a missed jumper by Wake's Lakevia Boykin,
who finished with 28 points on the night, Penn nailed a pair from the
stripe to put the Illini up 72-70. A run-out
by Crawford and a layup by Penn were sandwiched around a three by
Boykin, then Penn added two more free throws. Amber Moore - who played
he last 9:57 despite having four fouls - then drained a three to cap a
13-3 run that turned a two-point deficit for Illinois
into a 81-73 lead with 4:47 left in the game.
Wake cut the
margin to six with a layup at the 2:29 mark, making the score 84-78, but
Moore sank a layup, Penn hit 1-of-2 free throws then drained a pair
after a Demon Deacon turnover, pushing the margin
over 10 at 89-78. The Illini rolled from there, hitting their free
throws as Wake couldn't hit from distance, expanding the final spread to
95-82.
The Illini have a
quick turnaround as they return to the Assembly Hall court on Saturday
when they host Colorado at 1 p.m. It is UI Faculty and Staff Day, as
University of Illinois faculty and staff and
their family members will receive $2 tickets with a valid I Card.
