March 9, 2008

WELCOME TO CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY! WELCOME TO THE FINAL
Sunday's Big Ten Tournament final will take place at 5:30 p.m. EDT between No. 3 seed Purdue and No. 9 Illinois. The Boilermakers are in search of their conference-best seventh tournament title, while Illinois is the first No. 9 seed to advance and the first squad to play four tournament games in four straight days since 1997. This is also a rematch of the 1999 BTT final, which No. 1 Purdue won 80-76 over the third-seeded Illini.

5:25 p.m. EDT: We are live in Conseco Fieldhouse and scheduled for tip-off around 5:34 p.m.

1st, 15:18, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 8, Illinois 2
Purdue's Kalika France has scored four of the Boilermaker's eight points. Purdue is 3-of-6 from the field and Illinois is 1-of-9.

1st, 11:42, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 12, Illinois 10
Both teams have been trying to establish the post game early. Clearly Illinois boasts the more dominant post threat in Jenna Smith, but she is just 1-of-3 right now. Purdue has brought in Keshia Mosley off the bench and has focused the offense on her the past few trips down the court. France leads all scorers right now with six points.

1st, 9:29, TIMEOUT (PUR): Purdue 12, Illinois 12

1st, 8:02, TIMEOUT (ILL): Purdue 18, Illinois 12
The timeout by Sharon Versyp must have worked because the Boilermakers have scored six straight points to force Illinois' Jolette Law to call a timeout of her own.

1st, 7:39, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 18, Illinois 12
These two teams split the regular-season series. Purdue captured the first win on its home court with a 71-59 decision on Jan. 27. Illinois answered in the regular-season finale on March 2 with a 66-53 victory.

1st, 3:40, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 24, Illinois 23
In the past minute of play, Illinois' Lacey Simpson hit two straight 3-pointers and teammate Lori Bjork followed with a trey of her own. After that basket, Purdue was called for a 3-second lane violation and the Illini clearly have the momentum right now.

1st, 1:57: Illinois 28, Purdue 24
With another 3-pointer, this one by Chelsea Gordon, Illinois is on a 14-2 run over the past three minutes.

HALFTIME: Illinois 30, Purdue 28
Bjork hits a 16-foot jumper with the shot clock running down and the game clock at 0:05 to give the Illini the lead at the half. Purdue is shooting better than Illinois, 41 percent to 36 percent.

2nd, 19:30: Illinois 33, Purdue 28
Same shot, different person. Rebecca Harris just nailed a 3 from the top of the key to extend the Illini lead.

2nd, 17:27, TIMEOUT (PUR): Illinois 37, Purdue 32
Versyp calls a 30-second timeout to get her troops in line. Illinois clearly has the momentum in this game.

2nd, 15:33, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Illinois 37, Purdue 34
Illinois has shown throughout the game it still has some gas in the tank. No one looks winded yet from four games in four days.

2nd, 11:09, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Illinois 44, Purdue 43
It will be interesting to see which team will win the final 10 minutes of the second half. Illinois looked the strongest in the first 10 minutes, but Purdue is beginning to make a comeback. The Boilers have drawn within one with the perimeter help of FahKara Malone. All five Boilers in the lineup have scored in range of 6-8 points each. It's definitely been a spread attack for Purdue today.

2nd, 9:54: Illinois 44, Purdue 43
Purdue's Natasha Bogdanova forced to the sideline with four fouls. Mosley has replaced her in the game.

2nd, 7:59, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Illinois 48, Purdue 46
Here come the Boilers. There is a foul on the court and after the timeout Purdue's Freeman will be shooting two shots for the potential tie. This crowd has erupted inside Conseco.

2nd, 5:34, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 54, Illinois 50
The tide has turned!

2nd, 2:09, TIMEOUT (MEDIA): Purdue 56, Illinois 56
For a moment it looked as if Illinois was getting so tired it was not going to make it to the finish, but a key basket down low by Smith and a corner 3-pointer by Harris has tied the game. Purdue ball. Team fouls: ILL-6, PUR-6

2nd, 1:!9, TIMEOUT (PUR): Purdue 56, Illinois 56

2nd, 0:56.3, TIMEOUT (ILL): Purdue 56, Illinois 56
Timeouts Left: ILL-2, PUR-2

2nd, 0:29.0, TIMEOUT (PUR): Purdue 56, Illinois 56
Smith misses a lay-up and Purdue gets the rebound. Timeout is called. Shot clock is turned off. It looks like the Boilermakers will have a say in their conference-best seventh BTT title or overtime!

2nd, 0:03.1, TIMEOUT (PUR): Purdue 56, Illinois 56
Malone drives to the hoop and gets blocked by Smith. Ball to Purdue under its own basket.

2nd, 0:00.0: Purdue 58, Illinois 56
Purdue's Kiki Freeman missed the initial shot, got her own rebound, and then scored at the buzzer. The basket is under review.

GOOD!

FINAL: Purdue 58, Illinois 56
This is Purdue's seventh Big Ten Tournament championship -- a conference-best -- and the school's second straight. Purdue now earns the Big Ten's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championship.