Nov 24, 2003

Final Stats

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The season is only two games old and there are many roads left to be traveled before March, but the Illinois women's basketball team proved it could go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country. The end result was a 67-61 loss to #11 Louisiana Tech Monday night at Assembly Hall.

No matter the score, Illinois battled to the end. The Illini nearly came all the way back from a 63-47 deficit, going on an impressive 14-0 run to cut the gap to 63-61 with 1:45 to play. Illinois suffered some untimely turnovers in the final possessions and couldn't tie the game despite Louisiana Tech missing four straight free throws down the stretch.

When asked what the mindset of the team down by 16 points, Tiffanie Guthrie honestly said, "I wasn't paying attention to the score. We just wanted to concentrate on what we had to do."

Guthrie was the igniter on this night. She scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half and completed her second career double-double with 11 rebounds. When asked to rank Guthrie's performance against Louisiana Tech with some her other top games, Coach Grentz said, "She hit a lot of threes last year against Arizona (en route to 30 points), but this is probably the best overall game she has played."

Angelina Williams had 11 points and 13 rebounds to record her first career double-double. Williams did most of her damage in the second half with 12 points and 6 rebounds in the final 20 minutes. The defense keyed on senior Aminata Yanni, who managed just six points and one field goal, but Coach Grentz was quick to point out that what makes this team potent offensively is that when a team keys on one player, someone else is there to step up. Tonight it was Guthrie.

Illinois out-rebounded a physical Lady Techsters team, 45-43 and held Louisiana Tech, who exploded for 109 points in the season opener against Stephen F. Austin, to just 67 points on this night. Freshman Erin Wigley reached double figures with 10 points to along with six rebounds. The game also saw the return of Cindy Dallas, who has been nursing a knee. Dallas had six points and the knowledgeable fans at the Assembly Hall gave her a nice ovation after fouling out, realizing just how important she will be to this team.

Illinois led 17-15 after Guthrie's basket, but Louisiana Tech went up 29-22. The Illini made some runs throughout the game, closing to 32-30 at the half. The Lady Techsters went up 42-34, but Illinois rolled up eight straight points to tie the game at 42-42 at the 13:45 mark. That's when Louisiana Tech, went on a 21-5 run to seemingly close the door. But there was certainly fight left in the Illini, who never quit, keeping La. Tech scoreless for six minutes and climbing back to within two with less than two minutes to play.

Illinois travels to California over the weekend for games at UC-Santa Barbara (Friday, 9 p.m. CST) and UCLA (Sunday, 3 p.m. CST).