By Gargoyle sports staff

Posted Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, The OG, sports

Sarah Pfander (right) battles Hillary King for the ball

during Uni's 79-41 loss to LSA Friday night.
(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

DECATUR — Rachel Skoza recorded a double-double Friday night, but the sophomore's stellar performance wasn't enough to derail conference-leading Decatur Lutheran School Association.

LSA defeated the visiting Illineks 79-41 to remain unbeaten in the East Central Illinois Conference (16-5, 9-0). Uni drops to 9-10 overall and 5-3 in the ECIC.

Skoza's 16 points and 14 rebounds were among the few statistical highlights for the Illineks, who were simply the latest ECIC team to fall to LSA by double digits. In the Lady Lions' nine ECIC games this season, they've won by an average score of 58-27.

“We got thumped,” head coach Rebecca Murphy said. “It was a sound defeat. We played with a lot of heart. Our goal was to never give up, and we didn't.”

LSA's margin of victory has reached 20 or more points in seven of its conference games. The only ECIC teams that have held LSA to a margin of fewer than 20 points have been Normal Calvary Baptist (57-45, Dec. 14) and Uni (57-38, Dec. 8).

In fact, LSA hasn't lost a conference game since Jan. 10, 2005, when Uni won 36-34. (The teams shared the ECIC title that year with 9-1 records.)

In Friday's rematch, the Lady Lions showed early and often why they are seeded No. 7 in their 22-team IHSA Class A sectional.

Led by junior guard Hillary King, they forced the Illineks to commit multiple turnovers en route to taking a 17-2 lead after just 5 minutes. (King would finish the game with an astonishing 15 steals and 11 assists.) Two buckets by Skoza and one by sophomore Jessi Sullivan were all the Illineks could muster as they trailed 22-6 by the end of the opening quarter.

Neither team could get on track for the first 2:36 of the second period. Junior Sarah Pfander broke the drought at 5:24 with a 2-pointer for Uni, but LSA went on a 9-0 run during the next 3 minutes to lead 31-8. The Illineks outscored their hosts 10-4 in the final 2 minutes to go into halftime trailing 35-18.

“Our goal in the second half was to cut down on our turnovers,” Murphy said. “We came out and cut them in half.”

Twice during the opening 3 minutes of the third quarter, the Illineks pulled to within 15 points. But LSA's multidimensional offense was too much for the visitors to keep up with. At quarter's end, the Lady Lions led 60-30.

The home team's advantage stretched to 44 points late in the game until Uni reduced the final margin to 38.

“They have a lot of weapons,” Murphy said. “They have four legitimate top scorers. It's hard to defend them. They have a complete game.”

Indeed, four of the Lady Lions finished in double figures, led by junior forward Alex Reynolds with 20 points. King scored 14 for a triple-double. Senior forward Camele Altenbernd added 13, and senior guard Catie Wright scored 12.

“It's really challenging to stop all four,” Murphy said. “They're all quick and scrappy. One little turnover, and they take advantage.”

For the Illineks, besides Skoza's team-high points and rebounds, Sullivan chipped in with 11 rebounds and 6 points. Juniors Ruthie Welch and Aran Yoo also contributed 6 points each.

Yoo and Sullivan recorded 3 steals apiece. Pfander led the team with 3 assists.

The Illineks found out this week that the IHSA has seeded them 17th out of 22 teams in the Watseka Class A sectional. St. Joseph-Ogden is the top seed. (LSA plays in the Williamsville sectional.)

Uni will begin the postseason Feb. 7 against a strong Oakwood team that defeated the Illineks 72-39 on Nov. 21. The game, which starts at 8 p.m., will be played at St. Joseph-Ogden.

The Illineks will be back in action Monday when they travel across town to play ECIC oponent Judah Christian. Uni won the first game this season between the rivals 44-29 on Dec. 11.

VARSITY RECORD: 9-10 overall, 5-3 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: Fisher ends Uni winning streak

Jan. 8: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 48-36 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 12 pts
— story: Uni loses showdown for second place in conference

Jan. 11: DeLand-Weldon, W 58-14 *

— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 13 pts
— story: Uni completes sweep of DeLand-Weldon

Jan. 19: at Decatur Lutheran, L 79-41 *

— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts

— story: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent