Down by as many as 17 in the first half to No. 10 Michigan State, it appeared to be deja vu for the women’s basketball team. In the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 19, the Illini were dominated by the Spartans in a 62-42 loss at Assembly Hall.

History did not repeat itself on Sunday night as the Illini came storming back in the second half, only to fall short, dropping the contest 68-59.

The game was a tale of two halves, as the Illini went into halftime down 35-23, committing 10 turnovers and shooting zero free throws.

The Illini then came out into the second half and outscored the Spartans by 10 points in the first 17 minutes, and cut Michigan State’s lead down to only two points.

In that half, the Illini were able to capitalize on second chance opportunities, scoring nine second chance points. The Illini were also able to convert Michigan State’s 10 turnovers into nine points. The rally was fueled by the bench which contributed eight points.

“I was pleased with the way we battled back in the second half against a good Michigan State team,” said Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz.

The upset was not meant to be for the women, as they went cold down the stretch. The Illini were shut down in the final three minutes of the game, going 0-4 from the field and committing a turnover. The Spartans closed out the game making two of their last three shots and hitting all three of their free throws.

“I thought (Michigan State) played poised down the stretch,” Grentz said. “They were able to get some lay ups and get to the free throw line. We were unable to do that on our end.”

For the Illini, the story on defense was their inability to stop Spartan forward Liz Shimek. She scored 21 points and recorded nine rebounds, including the three-point play that sparked the Spartans 7-0 run to finish the game.

“We just stayed together and really focused on what we needed to do,” Shimek said. “We needed to get some stops and start attacking on offense more. That is really all we needed to do.”

The Illini’s two senior leaders came up big on Sunday. Guard Tiffanie Guthrie scored 13 of her 15 points and forward Angelina Williams scored 12 of her game-high 21 in the second half rally.

“We let No. 33 (Angelina Williams) get into the paint too far,” Shimek said. “We didn’t shut her down or take the initiative to shut her down.”

Although Illinois fell short of the upset, Grentz was pleased with the team’s effort.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Grentz said. “I thought we gave a good solid effort. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Freshman forward Danyel Crutcher had a strong performance for the Illini, pulling down nine rebounds and picking up seven points. Sophomore forward Erin Wigley pitched in nine points and junior guard Janelle Hughes finished with seven in the losing effort.

With the loss, the Illini fall under .500 in the Big Ten with a record of 5-6 and 13-8 overall. They return to action when they travel to Madison, Wis. to take on the Badgers at 7 p.m. Thursday.