By Michael Belmont
Gargoyle staff reporter
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Gargoyle, sports

Of all the games in the Illineks' early conference schedule, the Jan. 10 matchup with East Central Illinois Conference archrival Decatur Lutheran promised to be the most pivotal. Last year, the two teams split the conference championship, and their first clash of the 2005-06 season was likely to dictate this year's race.

Despite high expectations, the Illineks were unable to deliver the goods on the road. Decatur Lutheran took advantage of what some players described as a tentative, sloppy performance by Uni early in the contest to take firm control of the game by the end of the first quarter.

The Illineks trailed for the rest of the game and lost 55-28. The team was led by senior Al Johnson's eight points and nine rebounds, and by sophomore Ruthie Welch's six points and five rebounds.

“We had all our old problems with execution,” commented junior Mandy Grill.

After a win by default on Jan. 13 when Buckley Christ Lutheran was forced to forfeit due to a lack of healthy players, Uni faced crosstown rival Judah Christian on Jan. 17.

Although its first meeting with the Tribe this season ended in a 50-32 win at Kenney, Uni was unable to recreate its past success and lost a tough, closely contested game 41-36. Johnson led the effort with 16 points, while sophomore Samantha Nguyen chipped in eight points.

At 4-3 in the conference and 6-11 overall, the Illineks' chances for their third straight conference championship are slim. Apart from damaging the squad's hopes for another ECIC crown, however, the losses at Decatur and Judah underscored a troubling pattern in Uni's play.

“We always come out scared and end up playing badly in the first half,” said senior guard Julie Chen. “Then we step it up in the third quarter and play well for a while, but by then it's usually too late to do anything.”

In fact, all of the Illineks' games since the holidays — and many before then — have followed this trend.

On Jan. 2, Uni lost a 69-36 decision at Fisher after trailing substantially by the end of the first quarter. Johnson scored 13 points, while freshman Rachel Skoza added nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

It was the same story the very next night at powerhouse St. Thomas More, as the Illineks lost 59-30. Skoza and sophomore Aran Yoo paced Uni with eight points apiece, and Johnson chipped in seven points and six rebounds.

“We knew both games [against STM and Fisher] were going to be tough going into them, and that it was going to be very difficult to win,” said head coach Rebecca Murphy.

Although the girls were disappointed with their performance in those games, they could live with the losses, which were nonconference.

However, the first half of their next game, against ECIC opponent Decatur Christian on Jan. 5, was dismaying. After another poor first-half effort, the host Illineks led the much weaker visitors by only a small margin.

Following their routine, the girls picked things up in the second half to win easily 40-22, led by Johnson's 13 points, Nguyen's 10 points, and freshman Jessi Sullivan's eight rebounds. Nevertheless, their game-opening woes raised concerns and portended their later conference struggles.

Whatever troubles they've had, the Illineks must put it behind them and look ahead. Still to come are big rematches with Normal Calvary Baptist (tonight) and Decatur Lutheran (Feb. 2), both of which will take place at Kenney Gym.

Additionally, Uni will host nonconference opponents Donovan and GCMS before regionals begin Feb. 6. With such a tough stretch coming up, there hasn't been a better time for the squad to turn its season around than now.