Hoosiers beat Illini at Pink Zone Game

Although they had a season-high 2,482 fans, the Illini fell 67-54 to the Hoosiers of Indiana University in their fourth annual WBCA Pink Zone game. Senior Jenna Smith recorded a career-high, 20 rebounds, and fellow senior Lacey Simpson added her second straight double-double, but even that couldn’t make up for Illinois’ 23 turnovers and 27 percent shooting.

 The shooting wasn’t just ugly for the Fighting Illini, in the first half both teams had rough starts. In the first eight minutes, the teams battled for each point back and forth, but finally Lydia McCully led Illinois into a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer. That run gave the Illini an 18-13 lead with 5:30 remaining in the half. Then it was the Hoosiers’ turn. Junior Whitney Lindsay scored four straight points to bring IU back within 1. While it seemed Illinois would lead at the half after Simpson hit a jumper at the 2:19 mark, Indiana was ahead going into the break 22-20 thanks to a 5-0 run in the final minute of the half.

Indiana’s momentum continued after halftime as the Hoosiers went on a 9-4 run making the score 31-24. But Illinois wasn’t quite ready to give up; they responded with an 18-9 run of their own and took the lead back at 42-40 with 8:49 to go. Unfortunately for the Illini that was the last time they would lead. Senior Jamie Braun of IU hit a jumper followed by junior Andrea McGuirt finishing a pair of free throws.

Shooting was a huge difference maker in this game. Both teams may have shot poorly in the first half, but IU recovered with 50 percent shooting in the second half, while Illinois’ percentage didn’t improve much, if at all. Another reason for the win could be that Indiana had 12 steals off of Illinois’ 23 turnovers, not to mention they capitalized on those steals to score 24 points.

While Smith was strong on the boards, she struggled offensively going just 3-of-16 from the field for a total of nine points. Senior Lacey Simpson had a great game, leading the team with 17 points. She also tied her career-high of three three-pointers in a game. Simpson added 11 rebounds, making this her third double-double of the season. Lastly, she had two steals which moved her into ninth on the Big Ten’s career steals list.

The seniors were also helped out by some underclassmen. Sophomore Lydia McCully finished with eight points, freshman Karisma Penn added seven and freshman GodBold had six points, as well as six rebounds. McCully also had a career-high four steals, along with five rebounds. Unfortunately while these three did help the team, they also hurt them, as they were responsible for 15 of the Illini’s 23 turnovers.

It seems this just wasn’t the night for Illinois, they’ll hope to perform better when they host Northwestern on Thursday night. Northwestern has recently defeated Wisconsin and Michigan in tight games. Northwestern’s roster includes two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Kendall Hackney, who led the Wildcats with 18 points in their win over Michigan.

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