Nov. 17, 2002

Final Stats

"I would pay to watch this team," said Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz Sunday following her team's 98-92 win over the Reebok Lady Stars. "I can't say that about all of my teams, but I definitely can say that about this one."

Indeed Sunday the Illini fans could definitely see the visions about how entertaining this team will be. The full court pressure was stifling at times - 29 Reebok turnovers and an incredible 18 Illinois steals are a testament to that. Aminata Yanni and Angelina Williams showed why the Illini will be tough to attack defensively. After the rest of their teammates trapped in the backcourt, Williams (six steals) and Yanni (four steals) were there to pick off the errant passes.

Offensively, Illinois made 10 three-pointers, burying them from all sides of the court, and shot a respectable 47.3 percent from the field, and this was against some pretty could competition. "The players on (the Reebok) team have experience," said Coach Grentz. "They've been to Final Fours and been through their Senior Days, they're out there having fun."

Stephanie White-McCarty, who has had some success against Illinois at Purdue, had 17 points on Sunday. The top individual performance, though, came from the Reebok's Monica Maxwell who was on fire from the perimeter. Maxwell made 10 of 13 from three-point range to finish with a game-high 36 points. Jill Chapman, the 6-4 center from Indiana, added 18 points.

Coach Grentz refused to let size be an excuse. Behind nine rebounds from Dallas and seven from Tiffanie Guthrie, Illinois out-rebounded its second straight opponent (36-34). "We've worked on our back-side help in practice," said Grentz. "We didn't execute it the way we need to today, but we have a plan to help us defend inside."

Illinois achieved several of its goals coming into the game. First the rotation of players is starting to take shape. Afterward the coach was quick to point out that with this Illinois team, it's not important who starts. Guthrie, for instance, scored 24 points off the bench. Secondly, the Illini also showed that they have many players who can hurt the opposition and found a balance when it comes to the stat sheet. Point guard Brett Leonard (31 minutes) was the only Illini to play more than 30 minutes. Five players reached double figures, led by Guthrie. Angelina Williams added 18 points, many of them in transition. Yanni added 14 points, Dallas 12 and Karen Hagberg 10. Players are also starting to fit into their roles. Finally, Illinois fought hard, scored 98 points and overcame deficits to pull out its second straight exhibition win.

Behind 18 points from Maxwell, Reebok pulled in front 50-48 at the half. The first half had seven ties and 11 lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points until a trey from Tiffanie Guthrie gave Illinois the lead at 68-62 with 11 minutes to play in the game. Behind a pair of treys from Maxwell the Lady Stars went in front 74-71 and extended their lead to 82-75 with 5:48 to play.

Illinois battled back to tie the game at 84-84 and took the lead at 87-86 on a three-pointer by Jer? Issenmann. Reebok took the lead again, but a pair of free throws by Guthrie gave the Illini the advantage for good at 93-92. Illinois made seven of eight free throws down the stretch.

Illinois now has four days to prepare for the season opener Friday night at 7 p.m. against UW-Green Bay. During the exhibition season, Illinois averaged 90 point per game, out-rebounded both opponents, and canned 20 three-pointers Although the team has many things to work on, Coach Grentz promises one thing, "This team will be entertaining."

-- illini --