Dec. 6, 2001

Illini Wrap - VIDEO | AUDIO
Courtesy of WCIA-TV, Channel 3, Champaign

Champaign, Ill. - Although no one spoke openly about it, the sentiment Tuesday night was that it was good to be home. After five games on the road, the Illini opened their home schedule against Illinois State with a solid 75-57 victory over Illinois State. The Illini won for the eighth time in nine meetings in the series and remain perfect at 3-0 over ISU under Theresa Grentz.

Good interior passing and the lack of turnovers were keys in the game. Dawn Vana had some nifty passes, some on one-touch en route to seven first half assists. To show just how great the Illini were in that department, Illinois had 23 assists on its 32 field goals made for the night. And as Coach Grentz pointed out in the post-game press conference, taking away the three-pointers, Illinois shot 61.7 percent (29 of 47) from the field. Even with the three-pointers, the Illini managed their third 50+ percent shooting game in six contests (32 of 64).

Coach Grentz also stressed the importance of the bench on Tuesday. Angelina Williams had nine points, two assists and two steals. Jer? Issenmann had five points, two rebounds, and two assists. Tiffanie Guthrie tallied six points, two rebounds and two steals, while junior Karen Hagberg amassed five points, nine rebounds, and a career-high three blocked shots.

Cindy Dallas and Iveta Marcauskaite continue to shine and were the beneficiary of many of the great interior passing. Dallas and Marcauskaite led the club with 18 points apiece. The duo managed eight and seven rebounds, respectively.

Illinois (4-2) used a spurt in each half to pull away. Leading 11-7, the Illini went on a 19-2 run to take a commanding 30-11 lead. The Illini scored those points in just seven-and-a-half minutes. Marcauskaite scored 14 points in the first half.

Illinois State (0-7) whittled into the lead somewhat, closing to within 41-27 at halftime, then scored the first six points of the second half to move precariously within six at 41-35 with 16:36 remaining. Illinois wore the Redbirds, who were playing their sixth game in 12 days, down somewhat in the second half, while the Illini continued to take high percentage shots. In a span of about six minutes, Illinois went on a 20-2 run to put the game away. At that point the lead was 61-37 with 10:52 left.

Aminata Yanni got her first start in the game and played a season-high 16 minutes. The Illini play their third game in five days Saturday against Pepperdine at Chicago's United Center. Tip-off is 1:30 p.m. following the Illini men vs. Arkansas game (11 a.m.).