Dec. 2, 2002
Final Stats
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz was quick to point out the bottom line following her team's 55-52 come-from-behind win over visiting St. Francis (Pa.). "To be in a game like this and find a way to win is big," she said. "All of my good teams have managed to take games when they played poorly and find a way to win."
It wasn't so much that Illinois played that poorly. The Illini committed just 15 turnovers and 11 fouls and won the rebounding war, 51-47. The ball just didn't fall in the hoop. The Illini shot just 28.8 percent from the field and was 0-21 from the three-point line. The same Illini team made nine threes and shot 51 percent on Nov. 22 in a win over UW-Green Bay. "I thought we took great shots," Grentz added. "I told them to keep shooting; it will go in sooner or later."
In looking for a big reason for the win, look no further than senior Karen Hagberg. The tri-captain played a career-high 36 minutes and poured in a career-best 21 points to go along with eight rebounds. She was a cool as a cucumber down the stretch, making a pair of free throws to break a 50-50 tie with just 30 seconds to play. That helped give the Illini the momentum at the end. "I just pretended I was back in Ubben and nobody was watching," Hagberg said of the biggest free throws of her collegiate career.
"Karen is a leader on the floor and a good role model," Tiffanie Guthrie said of her teammate.
Illinois forced a critical St. Francis turnover on the next possession and Brett Leonard scored her only two points of the game, by sinking both ends of the one-and-one to put Illinois up 54-50 with 15 seconds left. St. Francis got a quick two from Karen Hewitt, fouled Hagberg, who made one of two from the line with six seconds remaining. That left the Red Flash with one more shot, but a three-pointer from the left base line just missed and the Illini survived to move to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 1993-94. The last time Illinois went 4-0 was 1986-87. The Illini will try to pull off that feat with a win Wednesday night at the Assembly Hall. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
Coach Grentz was right: Illinois players found a way to get it done when they had to. Perhaps the game was won midway through the first half when Illinois fought off a sluggish start in spotting St. Francis an 18-8 lead only to go on a 12-2 run of its own to tied it at 20. Tiffanie Guthrie and Hagberg each scored four points in the run that spanned four minutes. Tonjee Ward's basket with 30 seconds left in the half gave St. Francis a 26-24 lead at the half.
St. Francis led most of the second half, taking its biggest lead of the half at 34-26 with 17:31 to play. Illinois kept battling, going back in front at 45-44 on a basket from Angelina Williams. The game was tied at 46, 48 and 50 before Illinois went in front for good. Angelina Williams' pretty fade-away jumper with 1:15 left tied it at 50.
Williams (14 points) and Guthrie (10 points) joined Hagberg in double figures for Illinois. Ward and Illinois-native Carlin Chesick paced St. Francis with 18 and 16 points apiece.
