Angelina Williams named Big Ten Player of the Week
December 30, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2002
Champaign, Ill. - The good news continues for Illinois women's basketball. On Sunday, the Illini defeated Auburn, 80-68 to give Head Coach Theresa Grentz 600 wins. The win game came over an Auburn team that came into the contest a perfect 11-0.
Monday Illinois reaped the rewards of the victory with sophomore forward Angelina Williams being named Big Ten co-Player of the Week. Williams nailed her first six three-point shots and finished 6 of 7 from the arc for the game en route to a career-high 24 points. The sophomore added six rebounds, made 8 of 10 from the field, and canned both of her free throw attempts.
"Angelina is someone I think can take it to another level," said Grentz of Williams play. "I think she has a couple of more levels, actually, that she can jack it up to. We're challenging her each and every day. On Sunday she truly wanted the ball and that's what we want."
Williams previous best game came against Ohio State last season when she had 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six steals.
Williams leads four Illinois players who average in double figures, now averaging 14.4 points per game. She is tops on the squad with 19 steals, averages 4.8 rebounds game, and is shooting .778 from the free-throw line. She stands 21 points shy of 400 for her career.
Illinois is 8-2 on the season and ranked No. 10 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The Illini open Big Ten play Thursday night at home vs. Indiana. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
