While the IU women's basketball team nearly came back and won their game against Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday, the reason the Hoosiers couldn't beat the Fighting Illini again was quite simple.
Illinois had an answer for IU's top players. Vice versa? Not so much.
Granted, both of the Hoosiers' top scorers, junior guard Jori Davis and senior guard Jamie Braun, finished the game with their usual totals (20 and 13 points, respectively) but they didn't obtain them simultaneously.
Braun scored all her points in the first half while Davis only scored three points before the break and hit her stride late in the second half. As a result, IU managed just 27.4 percent from the field. Not capitalizing on 25 Illinois turnovers didn't help either.
IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack knew that in order for the Hoosiers to advance deep into the conference tournament, her two team captains would have to perform well together. That just didn't happen.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini's two senior stars shone brightly all game long.
First Team All-Big Ten selection Jenna Smith owned the paint, scoring 23 points and pulling down 19 boards. Smith also blocked four shots.
Guard Lacey Simpson added 12 points, six assists and eight steals.
However, the most impressive thing about the two players was the synchronization of each player's dominance.
Illinois moved the ball extremely well, particularly between Smith and Simpson. When IU double- and triple-teamed Smith, Simpson was always ready to either hit a jumper or drive to the basket uncontested.
However crazy the final two minutes of the game were, the end result was a 59-53 victory for the Fighting Illini because of the two teams' leaders. Simpson and Smith dominated together. Braun and Davis did not.
