Recap?|? Box Score

Illinois vs. Missouri
Women's Basketball Braggin' Rights
Dec. 21, 2002
Post Game Quotes

Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz
On the game's intensity "I thought it was a hard-fought game. Missouri did some great things and they are going to give some people a run for their money in the Big 12."

On Illinois' second half
"I thought our players really bounced back in the second half. They stayed calm and we executed our sets. We stepped it up defensively and were able to make some key stops, turning them into transition buckets."

On match-ups
"I wasn't worried about their match-ups with us, and I wasn't worried about our match-ups with them. I was more concerned with us executing what we needed to do."

Missouri Head Coach Cindy Stein
On the game's outcome
"I'm real proud of our players. We knew it was going to be a battle and a physical game. We played 35 good minutes, but unfortunately there are 40 minutes in the game."

On improving from this game
"We'll learn from this experience and we'll get better. That's the key with our team right now is that we're still finding ourselves, but we'll be there in the end and nobody should count us out."

On strategy in final minutes
"We were just trying to draw fouls and look for the outside shot. Obviously they were snuggled up to us as soon as we got the ball. We had to take what they gave us."

On practicing this situation
"We've been doing this all week in practice. We knew exactly how to handle it. We got the shots we were looking for but just weren't able to knock them down."

Illinois players

Sophomore forward Angelina Williams
On the atmosphere of the game
"This game is a lot of fun, it gives us something to look forward to. It's exciting to come out and play for your team."

On the Illini's effort
"Winning this game today was all about effort and hustle. We need effort to win a game like this. Even if our shots aren't falling, we need the effort and defense."

Sophomore guard Tiffanie Guthrie
On playing a physical game "The was very physical. A lot of times I got fouled on a shot, but the refs didn't call it. It was a Big Ten level, as far as physical play.

Sophomore guard Jere' Issenmann
On the atmosphere of the game: "It's not just about playing in St. Louis, we are playing for bragging rights. We have the trophy in our locker room and it is something we want to take back."