The Illineks thwart a spirited comeback attempt by the Tribe to win their fourth consecutive opening-round regional game

By Michael Belmont
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 7, The OG, sports

The streak survives for another season.

For the fourth straight year, the Uni girls basketball team has won its opening-round game in the Class A playoffs. The Illineks defeated conference rival Judah Christian 47-35 Monday night at St. Thomas More High School in Champaign.

The victory raises Uni's season record to 8-15. The girls take to the STM court again tonight at 6 against the Unity Rockets, who are seeded fourth in the Paxton-Buckley-Loda sectional. Uni is seeded 18th.

The Illineks entered Monday's game seeking payback for a 41-36 loss to Judah on Jan. 17. The girls trailed at the end of the first quarter 10-7 but dominated the second to lead 21-14 at the half.

With as many as four underclassmen on the court at one time, Uni preserved its seven-point margin going into the final quarter. But Judah refused to go away, mounting a comeback and taking a one-point lead with four minutes left.

A basket by sophomore Aran Yoo put Uni back on top. Following another basket by sophomore Sarah Pfander, the Illineks took control the rest of the way to finish with a double-digit victory.

Freshman Rachel Skoza led the team with 12 points and eight rebounds, while senior Al Johnson added nine rebounds and sophomore Samantha Nguyen chipped in six assists.

“We thought we were never gonna get the chance to play them again after our embarrassing loss to them, and to come back and beat them is a good thing for our team,” commented Johnson.