On Senior Day at Assembly Hall Sunday, lone senior Erin Wigley entered the last regular-season game five points shy of becoming the 20th player in Illini history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

After a pump-fake, Wigley sunk a baseline jumper to reach 1,001 points. A 30-second timeout was called, and Illini Nation erupted in cheers and applause for the 6-foot-2 forward. Wigley was honored in a presentation before the game, and her mother and father were on hand and given a framed No. 34 jersey.

But on a sour note for Illinois (18-10, 8-8 Big Ten), the team was defeated by No. 15-ranked Purdue (25-5, 14-2 Big Ten) 58-48. All-America candidate Katie Gearlds proved to be too much for the Illini women, as she totaled 21 points and tallied four steals, all four of which were in the first half.

With the game tied at 20 and just seconds remaining in the first period, Gearlds made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to deflate Illinois and put the Boilermakers up by three.

“(Gearlds) is a winner,” Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz said. “I was right behind her when she let it go and I knew it was good. It was a biggie.”

Freshman center Jenna Smith started the game off hot for Illinois and finished the game a 90 percent shooter, scoring 18 points and tying junior forward Danyel Crutcher for the game-high in rebounds with six. Smith provided the only consistent effort for the Illini throughout the game, and Grentz said she would have liked to see sophomore guard Lori Bjork, who shot only 2-of-7, be more involved. Bjork improved her streak to 35 straight games with a three-pointer made, but her nation-leading 27 games with at least two three-pointers made came to a halt.

“Lori was open (throughout the game),” Grentz said. “I’m screaming, ‘Lori’s open,’ but we’re not throwing the ball to her … That’s unfortunate, but that happens.”

For Purdue, forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored 14 points and added three blocks and three steals. In the first half between the 14:09 and 14:02 mark, Wisdom-Hylton grabbed two offensive boards and ended up hitting a jumper to put Purdue up 13-8.

Illinois was competitive in the first period but unraveled during much of the second half. Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp said she was still impressed with Illinois’ game.

“I think they’ve done a great job,” Versyp said. “They’re tough to play.”

After the game, Wigley didn’t feel enthusiastic that she was a part of history.

“I think (scoring 1,000 points) is in the back of your mind,” Wigley said. “A loss is a loss and that overshadows everything.”

With the regular season officially over, the Big Ten tournament is set to begin with Illinois as the No. 4 seed. The Illini will play fifth-seeded Penn State (14-15, 7-9 Big Ten) on Friday. The Illini have locked up a first round bye for the first time in seven seasons.

“(At) the beginning of the year, the media and everybody else voted us down at the bottom of the league,” Grentz said. “These kids have done a great job. They are a very, very young group.”

Though Smith knows that momentum was lost after Gearlds’ three and that Illinois ultimately lost to the Boilermakers, she knows what the Illini have to do to make a postseason run.

“(We need to) stay together and not let this loss put a dagger in us and just keep working hard in practice and basically sticking together and knowing that we can do this all together.”