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No. 10 Purdue Holds Off Illinois
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Angelina Williams scored 15 points and had eight assists in Illinois' 82-78 setback.
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Erika Valek scored 20 points, including a pair of free throws with 18.7 seconds left, in No. 10 Purdue's 82-78 win over Illinois on Thursday night.
Valek also had eight assists for Purdue (17-3, 6-2 Big Ten), which has beaten the Illini nine straight times and 27 out of the last 29 meetings. Mary Jo Noon added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Illinois (12-6, 4-4) led by three with eight minutes remaining when Valek raced past Illinois' defense for a layup, then stole the inbound pass and made another layup to give the Boilermakers their first lead of the half.
The back-to-back baskets sparked a 17-6 run by Purdue that pushed the lead to eight with five minutes left.
The Illini pulled within one behind two free throws and a layup from Karen Hagberg, but Purdue closed out the game by forcing four turnovers over the last four minutes.
Cindy Dallas led the Illini with 16 points and 11 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the season. Aminata Yanni and Angelina Williams had 15 points, and Hagberg added 11 for Illinois.
Beth Jones scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers in the second half, and Shereka Wright had 13 for the Boilermakers.
Illinois led 41-36 at halftime despite being outscored 10-0 to start the game. The Illini missed their first five shots, including three that missed the rim completely.
Illinois bounced back, though, outscoring the Boilermakers 21-7 over the next eight minutes behind nine points from Williams and six from Dallas.
