11/26- Illini Women Fall at the Buzzer in Caribbean Challenge Opener

CANCUN, Mexico - Illinois dropped a heartbreaker to Montana on day one of the Caribbean Challenge Wednesday afternoon at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico. Mandy Morales hit a running 15-footer with 0.7 seconds left in overtime to give Montana a 59-57 victory and drop Illinois to 3-2 on the season. The Fighting Illini had a chance to win at the end of regulation with the score tied 49-49. Illinois got the ball to junior All-American Jenna Smith with less than five seconds left, but Smith was double-teamed at the high post and found an open Lacey Simpson on the baseline. Simpson got a good look from 15 feet, but her shot rattled in-and-out as the buzzer sounded sending the game to overtime. In the extra period, redshirt freshman Lydia McCully got an open three for the lead with 8.3 seconds left but it was off the mark, setting up Morales heroics. Smith picked up two quick fouls in the first half and played only six minutes, scoring no points and taking just one shot. Freshman Lana Rukavina filled in nicely in Smiths absence, hitting all four of her shots and scoring eight consecutive UI points to help the Illini jump out to a 14-6 lead, but she too got in foul trouble, picking up three fouls of her own in six minutes. After Rukavina went to the bench at the 8:02 mark, meaning both UI post players were now on the bench, coach Jolette Law played a bulk of the final eight minutes with four freshman guards (Fabiola Josil, McCully, Macie Blinn and Eboni Mitchell) and Simpson on the floor. The quick line-up helped force 17 first-half Montana turnovers, but the Lady Griz controlled the glass (20-12) and went into the break with a slim 26-25 lead. In the second half, Montana stretched the lead to as many as five, 35-30, at the 15:47 mark, but Illinois battled back behind the stellar play of Smith, who would hit 7-of-10 from the field in the second half and overtime and would finish with 19 point and seven boards. The game was nip-and-tuck over the final 15 minutes, with 13 ties and seven lead changes occurring. For the game, Illinois forced 23 Montana turnovers and turned that into a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers, but the Lady Griz held a 42-30 edge on the glass. Illinois shot 38 percent for the game (23-of-61) and was 0-of-13 from three-point range, while Montana (3-0) shot 42 percent overall (22-52) and was 1-of-9 from downtown. The Illini held Morales, Montanas star player, in check for most of the game, but she scored on the Ladys Grizs final three possessions in overtime to finish with 17 points, six rebounds and five turnovers. Illinois senior Chelsea Gordon did not play for the second straight game after injuring her ankle in the Nov. 19 win over Missouri. Her status for the rest of the tournament is day-to-day. The victory was the 700th of Montana coach Robin Selvigs career. He is the ninth coach in NCAA history to reach the 700-win milestone. Todays game was the first of three games in three straight days for Illinois at the Caribbean Challenge. Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, the Fighting Illini will face South Dakota State (4-1) at 8:30 p.m. CT and then will close out the tournament by facing 10th-ranked Maryland (4-1) on Friday, Nov. 28, at 8:30 p.m. CT. Maryland was a 68-56 winner over South Dakota State in Wednesdays opening game.