Dec. 3, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. - Illinois blew past St. Louis 75-40 at the Lexus December to Remember Classic at the United Center in Chicago Saturday afternoon. Janelle Hughes led the Illini with 14 points and freshman Erin McCarthy chipped in 12 off the bench as the Illini improved to 4-2 all-time at the United Center. Illinois has won three in a row at the home of the Bulls by an average of 37.3 points.
Hughes scored 10 of her 14 points in the first 6:50 of the game as Illinois (4-2) jumped out to a 10-3 lead early on. A 16-0 run over nearly nine minutes broke the game open, turning an 18-9 advantage to a 34-9 UI lead with less than 2 minutes left in the half. Illinois led 36-11 at halftime after allowing the Billikens to shoot only 4 of 35 (.114) in the first half and 1 for 12 (.083) behind the arc. Meanwhile, Illinois made 46 percent of its field goals and 43 percent of its three-pointers.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Illini continued to roll, outscoring St. Louis 39-29 in the final period. Illinois dominated the glass, out-rebounding SLU 59-28 for the game led by Danyel Crutcher's nine boards and Erin Wigley's seven. The Illini outscored the Billikens 34-8 in the paint, as Audrey Tabon scored 10 points and Danyel Crutcher added eight points.
Megan Nyquist made her Illini debut after redshirting last season and missing the first five games of this year with a knee injury. She sank two first-half free throws and finished with two points and two assists in 11 minutes of action.
Hughes and point guard Maggie Acuna had big games in their return to the Chicago area. Hughes, a Country Club Hills, Ill., native, hit 6-12 shots for her game-high 14 points and also added five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Meanwhile Acuna, an Oak Brook, Ill. native contributed seven assists, six rebounds and three steals to the UI cause.
In addition to McCarthy, the UI freshmen made big contributions once again. Chelsea Gordon scored nine points and hit two three pointers, Danielle Gratton score five points and pulled down four boards and Lori Bjork, the team's leading scorer entering the game, score five points. Fellow freshman Lacey Simpson missed the game due to health reasons.
Up Next: Illinois (4-2) will travel to Peoria, Ill. to face Bradley (3-3) on Monday at 7 p.m. Following that the Illini will travel to Florida to face the Gator on Friday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. CT.
