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Illinois Beats Duke

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No. 16 Illinois had never made it to the round of 16 in the NCAA women's basketball tournament, but that doesn't bother players like Ashley Berggren.

"This whole season, we've been doing things we've never done before, so we're kind of used to it,'' said Berggren, who had 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as the Illini beat Duke 85-67 Sunday.

Illinois hadn't even had a winning season, let alone a trip to the NCAA tournament, in the decade before this season. Now they get to face either conference rival Iowa or undefeated Connecticut on Saturday in the Midwest Regional in Iowa City.

"It's the greatest feeling you could ever have, leaving home on a win and going to the Sweet 16,'' senior guard Ann Henderson said.

The Illini kept a double-figures lead throughout most of the second half behind strong inside play on both ends of the court. The Illini outrebounded Duke 52-44 and shot 39 percent from the floor, while the Blue Devils made only a third of their shots.

"I think their physical play bothered us,'' Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said.

The closest Duke (19-11) got in the second half was 34-31 with 18:27 left on a basket by Kira Orr. But the Blue Devils didn't score again for almost five minutes as the Illini built a double-digit lead they never relinquished.

"I felt good going into the second half,'' Goestenkors said. "I thought we were going to be OK, but I was wrong.''

The decisive moment came when Tye Hall fouled out with 3:43 to go and the Blue Devils trailing 65-56. Hall had scored 12 of Duke's previous 14 points, and finished with 17.

It was all downhill from there, as Duke's Hillary Howard missed a wide-open fast-break layup and a 3-pointer before fouling out with 1:10 to go.

Alicia Sheeler came off the bench to chip in 15 points for the Illini. Krista Reinking added 13.

Kira Orr led Duke with 22 points. The Blue Devils have never advanced beyond the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Illinois led 30-29 at the half after Duke came back from a 9-point deficit to take a 28-26 lead with 2:13 left before halftime. The Illini held the Blue Devils to just a single free throw in the final two minutes of the half to regain the lead.