Dec. 20, 2000

Box Score

In the first men's and women's Braggin' Rights series at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo., the Illini dominated late in the contest to seal the victory. After being down by five at the half, Illinois fought hard down the stretch to gain an advantage and build on it. Illinois outscored the Tigers 59-36 in the final period behind 72 percent (18-25) shooting from the floor.

A lay-up by Allison Curtin with 13:55 remaining put the Illini up 51-50 to give Illinois its first lead since early in the game. The score stayed within five until an intentional foul was called on Missouri on an Aminata Yanni lay-up attempt. The Illinois freshman sank both free throws and Anne O'Neil hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to put the Illini up 65-57. Illinois did not look back from there. The team gelled as great ball movement allowed the Illinois players to get open shots or draw fowls inside.

Curtin led the Illini with 23 points along with dishing out five assists and grabbing eight boards. The offense came out strong as Anne O'Neil (19), Dawn Vana (18) and Iveta Marcauskaite (18) all scored in double figures for the Illini.

"Tonight we showed that we had worked hard the last few days. We have a long way to go, but we are getting better," head coach Theresa Grentz said. "These players when they attack are difficult to defend. We rebounded the ball, we got after it and we hustled after every loose ball."

"This was something that we wanted, and we showed that we wanted it," forward Dawn Vana said.

The Illini move to 4-6 on the year. The win ends the pre-holiday season as the team will have some time off before preparing to take on Michigan at on Dec. 28 at Huff Hall.