Boxscore

CHAMPAIGNE, Illinois - Junior guard Lakiste Barkus hit three of four free throws in the final 0:20 of the game to seal a 67-61 victory for 11th-ranked Louisiana Tech over Illinois at Assembly Hall.

After a backcourt violation on the Fighting Illini gave the basketball back to the Lady Techsters with 0:21 left, Barkus was quickly fouled and stepped to the free throw line with a 64-61 lead. She calmly hit one of two to give Tech a two possession lead and control of the game.

Illinois couldn't get an open look on its final possession as Tech's defense forced the Fighting Illini into their 26th turnover of the game before Barkus was fouled again and hit both with 0:01 left.

"I thought we won this game on the defensive end of the floor," said Tech head coach Kurt Budke. "We couldn't hit a shot down the stretch but came up big on the defensive end a number of times. This is a great victory for us."

After leading 32-30 at the half, Tech quickly built a 42-34 lead in the early minutes of the second half before Illinois stormed back to tie the game at 42-42 on a pair of free throws by Angelina Williams with 13:45 remaining. However, the Techsters then used a 13-0 run of their own to grab a 55-42 lead and extended it to 63-47 with 7:18 remaining on free throws by Erica Smith-Taylor.

That's when thing got interesting for the 1,978 in attendance as Tech went ice cold from the floor, not hitting a field goal in the final 7:49 of the game. Illinois took advantage of the drought and stormed back, cutting the lead down to 63-61 with just under two minutes remaining.

Again, Tech turned to its defense to record steals on a couple of critical possessions that Illinois could have used to tie the game.

"We shot 31 percent from the field and didn't make a shot in the last eight minutes and we still beat a great basketball team on the road," Budke said. "We will take this and learn from it and get better, but I can't say enough about our players effort. Illinois will beat a lot of people this year."

Barkus led Tech with 16 points, while Trina Frierson and Smith-Taylor added 14 and Amisha Carter recorded a double double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Tiffanie Guthrie led Illinois with 23 points while Angelina Williams added 11 and Erin Wigley scored 10.

The Lady Techsters return to action Dec. 2 when they host Tulane.