By Andrew Lovdahl
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007, The OG, sports

Ruthie Welch fights off a Fisher defender.
(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

URBANA — The Uni girls kept the score close for most of Saturday's nonconference game against visiting Fisher, but the Illineks saw their five-game winning streak come to end with a 52-41 loss.

The defeat drops Uni to 8-8 overall. The Bunnies improved to 6-10, but their record is deceptive, with their losses coming against a tougher schedule than Uni's.

In fact, going into the game, head coach Rebecca Murphy saw Fisher as a good test for her team.

To keep up with the Bunnies, who used to face Uni twice a year when both teams belonged to the old Sangamon Valley Conference, Murphy knew the Illineks would have to be aggressive.

“The intensity we came out with against Decatur Christian [Uni's Jan. 4 opponent] showed we could play that kind of game,” Murphy said. “It gave us confidence. We were able to play Fisher with that same intensity and willingness to play as a team.”

Junior Aran Yoo led the Illineks with 15 points, followed by sophomore Rachel Skoza with 14. Yoo also had 7 steals, and Skoza added 8 rebounds. Senior Mandy Grill had a standout game, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds and scoring 4 points, while junior Sarah Pfander led the team in assists with 4.

Illineks make a run, but Fisher pulls away

The Bunnies scored the first 5 points of the game. It wasn't until 3 minutes in that Uni got its first 2 points, courtesy of Yoo. By the end of the first quarter Uni was down 11-9.

The rest of the half was more of the same, with Fisher using a long-range approach to scoring. Uni never pulled ahead, but the score was tight throughout.

The highlight of the second quarter was a 3-point play by Skoza, who made her first free throw, missed the second, and immediately scored a 2-pointer off the Uni rebound. Going into halftime the home team was very much alive, down only 22-16.

Whatever Murphy told her players during the break, it worked. In the first 15 seconds of resumed play Yoo executed a layup. Less than a minute later Skoza added a free throw. After a few quiet minutes, Uni tore into a fast break and Yoo scored two more layups in the space of 20 seconds to cut Fisher's lead to 26-23.

At this point, Skoza (who had been having a relatively dormant game) was able to nudge Uni ahead. She made a second 3-point play to tie the game and then heavily blocked a Fisher shot attempt. Back on offense, Skoza missed her first shot attempt but came up with the ball and, shooting as she fell to the ground, gave Uni its first lead, 28-26.

However, the resilient Bunnies scored the next 9 points. Skoza added a basket from the paint to end the quarter with Uni behind 35-30.

Fisher orchestrated an offensive maelstrom in the fourth, taking an 11-point lead in less than 30 seconds.

This was followed by a home-crowd-pleasing play where Yoo drove in for a layup and passed behind her back at the last second, the ball rebounding off a Fisher player before falling into the hands of Skoza, who scored.

The Illineks found themselves down by 12 with 3 minutes to play. But they managed a 7-point scoring streak (featuring a 3-point shot by Yoo) in less than a minute before Fisher pulled ahead with free throws to win by 11.

An impressive showing

“We really put our hearts into it,” said Skoza. “We lost it with too many fouls at the end.”

Uni may have been defeated, but the team still played a solid game.

“We're doing a better job of seeing the court — of seeing the open person — and getting them the ball,” said Murphy. “As we began to fatigue, we began to make some errors.”

Only six players — Grill, Pfander, Skoza, sophomore Jessi Sullivan (2 points), junior Ruthie Welch (6 points and 4 steals), and Yoo — had court time in the second half.

“We knew we had to keep up that kind of intensity to stay in this game,” Murphy said. “They really gave it their all, and I can't ask for any more.”

Uni will play home games Monday against Normal Calvary Baptist and Thursday against DeLand-Weldon. After those contests, the Illineks will not return to Kenney until Jan. 26 against Buckley Christ Lutheran.

VARSITY RECORD: 8-8 overall, 4-1 East Central Illinois Conference
(Games at Kenney Gym in bold)

Season Preview: Illineks ready for season opener tonight

Nov. 16: Atwood-Hammond, W 37-35
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 14 pts
— story: Illineks triumph in season opener

Nov. 18: Hoopeston (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), W 45-23
— leading scorer: Ruthie Welch, 13 pts
— story: Illineks win one, lose one in Oakwood

Nov. 18: Chrisman (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 50-48
— leading scorers: Rachel Skoza & Jessi Sullivan, 15 pts each
— story: Illineks win one, lose one in Oakwood

Nov. 20: Blue Ridge (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), W 52-47
— leading scorer: Sarah Pfander, 13 pts
— story: Illineks down Blue Ridge in tournament action

Nov. 21: Oakwood (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 72-39
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts
— story: Shorthanded Uni loses to undefeated Oakwood

Nov. 24: Milford (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 44-24
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 10 pts
— story: Uni finishes sixth in Thanksgiving Classic

Nov. 28: Shiloh, L 45-25
— leading scorer: Ruthie Welch, 5 pts
— story: Uni drops third straight

Nov. 30: Villa Grove, game postponed because of bad weather

Dec. 5: Paxton-Buckley-Loda, L 34-23
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 9 pts
— story: Slump continues as Uni falls to PBL

Dec. 8: Decatur Lutheran, L 57-38 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 14 pts
— story: Uni begins conference play with loss to defending champ

Dec. 9: Villa Grove, L 38-27
— leading scorer: Kaylie Dastrup, 9 pts
— story: Villa Grove hands Illineks fourth home defeat of season

Dec. 11: Judah Christian, W 44-29 *
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 13 pts
— story: Illineks end six-game losing streak

Dec. 14: at DeLand-Weldon, W 64-26 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts
— story: Illineks win by 38

Dec. 16: LeRoy, W 43-33
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 18 pts
— story: Girls basketball: Skoza, Yoo lead Uni to third straight win

Jan. 2: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 57-19 *
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 12 pts
— story: Four players score in double figures as Uni gets back to .500

Jan. 4: at Decatur Christian, W 53-26 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 15 pts
— story: Uni wins fifth straight game, record improves to 8-7

Jan. 6: Fisher, L 52-41
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 15 pts
— story: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent