Jan. 26, 2003
Final Stats
The Fighting Illini returned to the friendly confines of Assembly Hall on Sunday and got back to their winning ways by blasting No. 10 Minnesota 94-80. The win keeps the Illini unbeaten at the Assembly Hall with a perfect 8-0 mark. They are now 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big Ten. With the loss Minnesota falls to 15-3 overall and 4-3 in the league. The victory gives Illinois great momentum heading into another key Big Ten game with 13th-ranked Purdue at the Assembly Hall on Thursday.
The fired up Illini led by a slim margin for most of the first half, paced by Aminata Yanni's 19 points. Minnesota took a 40-37 lead with 3:12 left in the half after a Lindsay Whalen three-pointer, but the Illini would score eight of the final 10 points of the half, capped by a Yanni lay-up, to take a 45-42 lead into the break.
The second half was all Illinois, as the Illini began the final 20 minutes with a 26-7 run to blow the game wide open at 71-49. The Orange and Blue opened up their biggest lead of the game, 80-57 at the 6:46 mark of the second half. The Golden Gophers tried to get back in the game, and pulled within nine, after a 14-0 run trimmed the margin to 80-71 with 2:20 remain, but the Illini pulled away in the final minutes to seal the victory.
Yanni was spectacular in the game, finishing with a career-high 30 points on 11-21 shooting and 5-11 from behind the arc. Angelina Williams also had a big day, pouring in 22 points, grabbing seven rebounds, totaling six steals and dishing five assists. Cindy Dallas notched the 18th double double of her career by scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 boards. Tiffanie Guthrie (15 points) and Brett Leonard (12 points - career high), were also in double figures for Illinois.
Just as important as Yanni's offensive output was her defense on the second-leading scorer in the Big Ten, Minnesota's Lindsey Whalen. Last year's Big Ten Player of the Year didn't score her first point until the 6:24 mark of the first half and finished with 13 points, some 10 points under her average. The Illini's post defense also limited Janel McCarville to just four points after she totaled 23 points against the Illini in Minneapolis.
Yanni had 49 points and made 9 of 17 three-pointers for the week. She is averaging 20.5 points per game in her last four games. The last time Illinois had two players with 20 or more points was Jan. 31 of last year, also against Minnesota.
The victory over Minnesota kept a streak of defeating at least one ranked opponent in a season to seven straight years. The Illini have also downed a top ten opponent in three of the last four seasons.
The Illini shot 46.9 percent (30-64) for the game, 38.9 percent (7-18) from three-point land and an astounding 90 percent (27-30) from the free throw line in the game.
