 Hot Shooting Illinois Downs Saint Louis 84-75
Nov. 29, 2006
ST. LOUIS - Illinois shot 57.4 percent from the field en route to an 84-75 victory over Saint Louis in non-conference women's basketball action Wednesday at Bauman-Eberhardt Center. The loss was the Billikens' first at home this season. Both teams traded leads in the early going, with neither team gaining more than a four-point advantage until the Illini stretched out to a 23-18 lead at the 7:04 mark on an Erin Wigley jumper. But SLU senior forward Tyler McIlwraith answered on the other end with a layin to bring the Billikens back to within three points of the lead. That is as close as the Billikens would be to the lead the rest of the way, as the Illini continued the pressure and built a lead of 39-26 on a long 3-pointer from Lori Bjork at the 3:16 mark. SLU frshman Theresa Lisch hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to cut the Billikens' deficit to 14 at 45-31 at the break. Bjork led two Illinois players in double figures at halftime with a game-high 14 points, while Chelsea Gordon added 11. Illinois shot a blistering 56.3 percent from the field and stretched its lead to 17 points at one point in the opening half, while the Billikens also shot well at 44.8 percent. The Bills, who were led by freshman Katie Paganelli's eight points at the break, were doomed by turnovers in the opening stanza as Illinois converted SLU's seven turnovers into 12 points. Illinois (6-1) continued their tear from the field and opened up to a 19-point lead with 15:53 remaining, but some hot 3-point shooting from the Billikens put them back in it. Not phased by the growing deficit, SLU went on an 11-2 run, which included two 3-balls from Lisch and another from Paganelli, to pull to within 12 at 60-48 with 12:02 remaining. However, the Illini fought back with a 16-6 run of their own to push their lead out to 22 points, their largest of the game, with 5:48 to go. Rebecca Harris keyed the run with a jumper and a pair of charity tosses while Bjork chipped in five on a three pointer and two free throws.
Maggie Hennegan tried to get the Bills back in it with seven of her 12 points in the final five minutes, bringing the Bills within nine in the waning seconds, but it wasn't enough as SLU dropped its first home game of the season and its third straight to fall to 5-3. Bjork, who led all scorers with 25 points, was 7-for-12 from the field with four 3-pointers and six assists. Lisch paced the Billikens with 23 tallies, four assists and four rebounds, while Paganelli added 17 points. The Billikens return to action this weekend when they travel to Robert Morris on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. (CT). |
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