In a Thursday slugfest between two Big Ten rivals, the Indiana women came up a few punches short.

The Illinois Fighting Illini (7-10, 2-2) dispatched the Hoosiers (8-9, 2-3) by a score of 74-67 at Assembly Hall. Illinois enjoyed strong performances from freshman guard Amber Moore and sophomore forward Karisma Penn, who scored 27 and 16 points respectively.

The Hoosiers countered with tough defense and strong scoring performances from seniors Hope Elam and Jori Davis, who combined for 35 of Indiana’s 67 points. The tenacious Illini defense was tough on the duo though, and they combined to shoot only 31 percent from the field on the way to an inefficient night.

Coach Legette-Jack was complimentary of the Illinois defense.

“They just did a really good job of playing defense down the stretch… We couldn’t get shots to fall and you’ve got to give them credit.”

The Hoosier defense played a huge role as well. It succeeded in keeping Indiana in the game in the first half, as they pressured Illinois into shooting only 29 percent from the floor.

That effort seemed mostly focused on slowing down Penn, who attempted only eight shots on the night. If the Hoosier defense had a weakness though, it was an inability to defend the three point shot effectively. They allowed the Illini to knock down nine threes, including seven from Moore.

Illinois coach Jolette Law insisted that she was confident in her freshman guard.

“If you saw what I see in practice, this wouldn’t surprise you one bit… I’d put her up there with the best shooters in the country.”

Despite Moore’s scoring binge, the Hoosiers clawed their way back from a 44-37 deficit thanks to their bench, led by junior Alicia Goodwin. Goodwin scored 14 points in the game, most of them coming in the second half. Two Goodwin baskets and two Jory Davis free throws tied the game at 48 apiece.

From there it went back and forth, with both teams trading baskets.

With the score tied at 61, Penn fouled Davis on a three pointer, sending her to the free throw line and disqualifying Penn. Davis hit two foul shots, allowing Indiana to take a 63-61 lead and in doing so, sending Illinois’ best player to the bench. It was precisely what the Hoosiers wanted to see, but the Illini refused to cave. Instead, they buckled down defensively and went back to making plays on offense.

A jumper from Moore and a three from Macie Blinn gave Illinois a 66-63 lead. Moore then blocked Jory Davis’ three and, after an Illini free throw, hit a tough floater from 18 feet out to expand the lead to six and put the game all but out of reach.

“I just knew it was going in,” said Moore, “I felt it when I let it go and I was confident that it would go.”

Legette-Jack was impressed by the shot.

“We were in her face and she still got it to go. We did all we could on that shot so you can’t really be mad.

Regarding how the IU finished the game though, Jori Davis was none too happy.

“That was the difference between this game and our first two, we couldn’t lock them down and get stops tonight.” said Davis. “If we want to be successful, then we have to close out games better on defense… We know we can, we just have to do it”

The Hoosiers next chance to do it comes on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye arena as they take on No. 16 Iowa (14-3,2-2).