Dec. 30, 2004

Box Score

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Angelina Williams hit an eight-foot baseline jumper with 7.5 seconds to give Illinois the victory tonight in its Big Ten opener at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan took possession of the ball with no timeouts and drove the court, but Tiffany Pool's three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good and the Illini earned the road win to push their record to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play. Michigan fell to 4-8, 0-1.

Williams led the Fighting Illini with 29 points, while Tiffanie Guthrie added 15 and Maggie Acuna scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Orange and Blue used a 14-4 scoring run over the final 5:18 of the first half to jump to a 41-27 halftime advantage.

The Wolverines rattled off a 10-2 run over a five minute stretch in the middle of the second half to close to 48-46. The Illini held a slight advantage until Jessica Sterling hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to knot the score at 63 all. After an Illinois timeout, Williams hit the game-winner from the baseline.

Pool led Michigan with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting, but was unable to convert on her final attempt, which allowed the Illini to escape with the victory.

Each Illini starter pulled down at least six rebounds with Acuna and Williams each hauling in seven apiece and dishing out five assists each.

Illinois hosts Iowa on Sunday Jan. 2 in its Big Ten home opener at 2 p.m. at the Assembly Hall.