By Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007, The OG, sports

Marika Iyer fights for a rebound against BCL.
(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

BUCKLEY — How fast fortunes can change.

Five days before winter break, the Uni girls were 3-7 and coming off their sixth straight loss of the season.

But on Tuesday, Uni's first day back from break, the girls won their fourth game in a row and evened their record at 7-7.

The visiting Illineks handily defeated East Central Illinois Conference foe Buckley Christ Lutheran 57-19. The outmanned Crusaders, who had only one player in reserve, fell to 0-11 overall. Uni is now 3-1 in the ECIC.

Junior guard Aran Yoo led the Illineks with 12 points and 8 steals. Three other Uni players scored in double figures: Junior Ruthie Welch and sophomore Rachel Skoza each finished with 11 points, and junior Sarah Pfander added 10.

The win marked the second time in three games that Uni has won by 38 points, and it was the team's fourth consecutive double-digit win.

The outcome was never in doubt as Uni built a 24-5 lead in the first quarter and went into halftime ahead 34-9. The Crusaders tightened up on defense in the third quarter, holding Uni to 9 points, but they could muster only 3 points of their own. The Illineks outscored BCL 14-7 in the fourth.

Crusader coach Dan Cluver remarked after the game that he routinely uses all the timeouts he's permitted in order to give his players as much rest as possible. Uni coach Rebecca Murphy, meanwhile, said she approached the contest as an opportunity for her team to fine-tune a few things as the second half of the season began.

“Instead of making the victory the goal, we picked one or two of the smaller points of the game to focus on,” Murphy said.

She especially wanted her players to work on blocking out and rebounding. The Illineks were up to the task, with six players combining for 33 boards. Sophomore Jessi Sullivan led the team with 8.

“I was expecting her to score more,” Murphy said of Sullivan's 4 points, “but she was too busy rebounding.”

Remarkably, five other Illineks grabbed 5 rebounds apiece: Welch, Skoza, seniors Mandy Grill and Bianca Zaharescu, and junior Marika Iyer.

The Illineks will visit Decatur Christian Thursday in another ECIC matchup. Varsity action is scheduled to begin 7 p.m. at Stephen Decatur Middle School.

VARSITY RECORD: 7-7 overall, 3-1 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: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent