1/29-UI women win 2nd straight, 45-44

EVANSTON, Ill. - The junior duo of Jenna Smith and Lacey Simpson led the Fighting Illini to their second straight win Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, a 45-44 thriller over Northwestern. Smith led all scorers with 19 points and also added 12 rebounds, while Simpsons late steal and assist proved to be the difference in the nail-biting victory. It was Illinois 18th straight victory over NU and was the 10th straight on the road against the Wildcats. With game tied 43-43 and just over a minute to play, Simpson stole the ball from NUs Jenny Eckhart and passed ahead to freshman Fabiola Josil, whos fast break lay-up with 1:13 remaining proved to be the deciding points. A frantic final minute ensued that included 1-of-2 free throws by NUs Kristin Cartwright with 1:05 left, an offensive foul by NUs Erin Dickerson with 27 seconds left, a turnover by the Illini with 24 seconds on the clock and then a traveling call on NUs Cartwright with four seconds left. After the Wildcat turnover, Illini freshman Macie Blinn went to the line with 2.4 second left and Illinois leading 45-44. She missed the front end of a one-and-one, but with no timeouts left, the Wildcats were unable to get across half court before the final buzzer. "It wasnt pretty, but Im proud of my team for finding a way to win," Illini head coach Jolette Law said. "It was a hard-fought game on both ends and were happy to come away with a victory." With Illinois trailing 27-24 at the half, Simpson sparked a 7-0 UI run to start the second half that gave the guests a 31-27 lead. Simpson started the half with a steal and a coast-to-coast lay-up, and had two points, three rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in the first four minutes of the second half to give Illinois control of the game. For the game, Simpson had 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, six steals and two blocks. It was her sixth double-double of the season and marked the fourth time that Smith and Simpson have both notched double-doubles in the same game. All four of those games have come in Big Ten play. "Lacey is a phenomenal player," Law said. "She played great defense tonight and found open players. She was really the catalyst for us in the second half. Im grateful to have a player of her caliber on my team." Smith struggled from the field, hitting just 8-of-22 overall, but still managed to notch her 30th straight game in double-figures and her 29th career double-double, which ties her with Indianas Whitney Thomas as the conferences active leader. Smith now has seven double-doubles on the season, including a conference-best five during Big Ten play. She also moved up to 12th on the Illinois career scoring list with 1,364 points, passing Cindy Dallas total of 1,346. Illinois (6-16, 2-9) played stellar defense all game, holding Northwestern to 34.7 shooting and 11.1 percent from behind the arc. The Orange and Blue forced 20 Wildcat turnovers, converting those into 20 points on the offensive end, and held NUs star center Amy Jaeschke to just eight points and six boards on 4-of-13 shooting. The Illini shot 34.0 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from downtown. NU held a 37-32 rebounding advantage. Northwestern (5-16, 1-9) came out of the gates fast, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes. Illinois battled back to an 11-11 tie behind strong early play from Smith, but the hosts went on an 8-0 run after that to take a 19-11 lead just over halfway through the first half. The Illini responded with a 10-0 run to take a 21-19 lead after back-to-back three-pointers by Blinn. NU would end the half on an 8-3 mini-run to go into the break leading 27-24. Smith led Illinois at half with 11 point and six rebounds. Illinois was without lone senior Chelsea Gordon, who sat out the game after suffering a knee injury in Sundays victory over Indiana. In Gordons absence, Blinn stepped up with nine points and tied her career-high with three three-pointers on the night. Law used her bench for just five minutes in the game, all from freshman Eboni Mitchell, and didnt sub in the final 30 minutes of the game. The Illini are off this weekend before returning to Assembly hall next Thursday, Feb. 5, when Michigan State comes to town for an 8 p.m. tip.