Feb. 13, 2002

Box Score

Champaign, Ill. - Illinois played its second game without the services of starting point guard Shavonna Hunter, who is battling an asthmatic condition. That meant that Illinois has had to play with three freshmen guards. Wednesday night those freshmen played large in an impressive 96-76 win over Ohio State.

Angelina Williams played all 40 minutes and led a contingent of six Illinois players in double figures with a career-high 23 points. Her impressive numbers don't stop there. Williams added seven rebounds, six assists and six steals which brought smiles to those at Assembly Hall, but no one smiled more than Williams did.

Jer? Issenmann played a total of 52 minutes combined in the eight games leading up to last Saturday's Michigan State game. The last two games, without Hunter in the line-up, Issenmann has played 77 of a possible 80 minutes and has made great strides. The point guard scored 11 points, including three three-point shots, and added five assists and two steals, while committing just two turnovers.

Great court awareness was evident in the Illinois team as a whole with 25 assists to just 14 turnovers. Illinois used just seven players. The other four players in double figures included Dawn Vana (19 points), Cindy Dallas (15), Iveta Marcauskaite (14), and Tiffanie Guthrie (12).

Illinois, in the middle of a battle for an upper division Big Ten finish, needed the win. Ohio State (11-14, 6-8) came into the game just 1/2 game behind the Illini in the standings. With the win, Illinois (14-9, 7-6) ties Wisconsin for fifth and sits just one game behind Iowa for fourth in the league.

Illinois surged ahead in the first half thanks to tenacious rebounding. Dallas led the way with 14 boards, giving her three straight double-doubles and seven for the season. Illinois out-rebounded Ohio State 23-7 in the first half and had a 14-2 advantage on the offensive glass.

The game was tied just once (at 12-12) and the Illini surged ahead midway through the first half, turning a 21-17 lead at the 10-minute mark into a 47-28 advantage at half with a 26-11 run. Vana led the way at the break with 13 points, while making 7 of 7 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Illini out-scored the Buckeyes 15-3 from the line in the first 20 minutes.

Illinois took its biggest lead at 60-35 with just under 17 minutes to play, completing a 39-18 run in a 14-minute span. Ohio State played better from there, particularly on the glass as the Buckeyes closed to within a more respectable 79-66 margin at the six-minute mark. The Illini out-scored OSU 17-10 from there.

Courtney Coleman and Lauren Shenk led the way for Ohio State with 20 and 18 points, respectively. D'wan Shackleford added 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Illini forced 23 Ohio State turnovers.

Illinois can move up even more in the standings with a victory on Sunday. That won't be easy as they travel to Penn State for a Noon CST game which will be broadcast live on FoxSports Chicago.