THE UNI GIRLS varsity basketball team ended its regular season last week with two resounding wins: 54-22 over visiting Decatur Christian on Monday and 60-31 over host Normal Calvary Baptist on Thursday.

The league victories raised the team's final record in the East Central Illinois Conference to 9-3, good for a share of second place with Judah Christian. The wins also brought the team's overall record to 16-8, setting a personal best for head coach Rebecca "Merf" Murphy, now in her 15th season at the helm.

Her previous best came in 2004-05, when the Illineks went 14-9 overall and shared the ECIC title with Decatur Lutheran. Both teams had 9-1 league marks that season. Since then, Decatur Lutheran has gone undefeated in conference play for four straight seasons.

The Illineks now head into the IHSA Class 2A postseason, starting with a regional semifinal match tonight against host St. Joseph-Ogden. The Spartans are seeded No. 2 in the five-team bracket, while Uni is seeded No. 3. The game will begin at 8 p.m., with the winner playing for the regional championship 7:30 p.m. Thursday, also at SJ-O. Champaign St. Thomas More is the No. 1 seed.

Featuring 1,000-point career scorer Rachel Skoza, a 6-foot-1 senior who is a dominating presence down low, and freshman Jamie Blue, a 5-9 sensation who can shoot, rebound, and dish out assists with equal aplomb, the Illineks are well-positioned to challenge for a spot in the regional finals.

Add in the experience of four-year varsity player Jessi Sullivan, the rebounding skills of senior Joy Shapley, and the floor leadership of senior Lizzy Warner and junior Michelle Wong, and Uni fans can make the short trip to St. Joe confident they'll see a hard-fought game no matter what the outcome.

In the meantime, here's a look back at the final week of the Illineks' 2008-09 regular season.

Saying goodbye: Uni 54, Decatur Christian 22

URBANA — It's Feb. 2 at Kenney Gym, and there are streamers in the balcony and a giant hand-colored sign over the door.

Flowers wait in ribboned bouquets, stacks of pictures sit with the programs on a table, and there's still a little bit of ink on the floor in the hall from failed decoration attempts.

It's Senior Night for the Uni girls varsity basketball team: the last home game of the season, when every senior gets to stand up and be recognized for her achievement, her skill, and most of all, her dedication to the team.

This year's squad acknowledged six seniors: Sheri Grill, Deborah Ladd, Joy Shapley, Rachel Skoza, Jessi Sullivan and Lizzy Warner. All were invited to take the court with their parents to the applause of both the crowd and their teammates, and they received flowers from Athletic Director Sally Walker in the traditional pregame ceremony.

The seniors, however, gave their own twist to the festivities. Coach Rebecca Murphy's rule against wearing any pink clothing to practice was shunned in favor of knee-high bright pink socks, accompanied by long red-and-black capes. The seniors shot around during halftime of the JV game, their capes twisting and waving with every jump, as the coaches laughed and the crowd cheered.

Afterward, the varsity Illineks went on to trounce Decatur Christian 54-22, earning their 15th victory of the year and setting the record for Murphy's winningest season.

"It was exciting, but at the same time, it was our last night here," said Warner. "And we've all been counting down, like 'Oh, when are we going to have our next win?' So it was really nice."

The game brought a very good home season for the Illineks (10-4 at Kenney Gym) to the best possible end.

"It's just really exciting for the entire team," Warner said. "We wanted to have fun and go out with a big bang. … At the very end of the game, when people started to get subbed out, there was all this clapping, and it was just a momentous time, and I think that everyone really appreciated the night and the time they got to play with each other.”

After the game the seniors, as well as their teammates and fans, shared snacks, including a large cake with the iced faces of some of the seniors. Shapley laughed as she was handed the slice with her own image, taking a bite from her face.

"I definitely had fun," she said through a mouthful of cake. "It was a good game … a good season."

She laughed again and smeared icing on the face of one of her friends.

Later, a few of the seniors reminisced about old times. Skoza remembered her freshman year: "Jessi and I were really excited because Merf called us over the night before the first game and told us we were on varsity... That was my learning year. There were a lot of seniors, and through them, that was the year I really got comfortable playing."

Sullivan too recalled being promoted to varsity freshman year.

"Merf just came up to us and said, 'Congratulations, freshmen, you're on varsity.' So that was fun. And [Senior Night] was a good end for me and Rachel, after four years together."

For Deborah Ladd, memories of her first year of basketball drew laughs.

"I joined as a freshman because a lot of my friends were playing, and I didn't want to run in the winter. I was really nervous …" She pauses for a moment, and then smiles. "But you really get to know a lot of people you otherwise wouldn't talk to. I loved goofing off after practice and before games. It was a lot of fun."

Added Sheri Grill: "What will I miss the most? That’s hard. Probably I'll miss all of the butt-slaps during practice. Yeah, definitely the butt-slapping."

Other players echoed her sentiment, though with slightly different wording. According to Sullivan: "We've all liked each other, which is, you know, unusual. We all get along."

Though saying goodbye to the home crowd at Kenney Gym was bittersweet, all were glad for the last four years and the time spent playing basketball together. Summing up their feelings about Senior Night, Warner said: "Everyone was just so pumped to be there, we knew we wanted to have a fun time. If you saw the pictures of us on our cake, with huge smiles on our faces, I think that just says it all, right there."

Game Summary

• DC: 06 07 02 07 — 22
• Uni: 14 10 13 17 — 54

Uni Individual Statistics
Player: Total Points (2-pointers made - 3-pointers made - free throws made)

• Rachel Skoza: 20 pts (9-0-2), 14 rebs, 3 blks
• Jessi Sullivan: 10 pts (0-2-4), 6 rebs, 6 assts, 2 stls
• Sheri Grill: 8 pts (3-0-2), 4 rebs, 1 asst
• Joy Shapley: 7 pts (3-0-1), 10 rebs, 4 assts, 1 blk
• Michelle Wong: 3 pts (1-0-1)
• Erika Belmont: 2 pts (1-0-0)
• Rachel Harmon: 2 pts (1-0-0)
• Lizzy Warner: 2 pts (1-0-0)
• Jamie Blue: 0 pts (0-0-0), 4 rebs, 1 asst
• Heather Lin: 0 pts (0-0-0)

For Decatur Christian, Keirstyn Spangler had a team-high 15 points (5-1-2); Kaytlynd Spangler scored the team's other seven points (0-1-4)

Uni Team Statistics (opponent totals in parentheses)

• Total Points: 54 (22)
• 2-pointers made: 19 (5)
• 3-pointers made: 2 (2)
• Free throws made: 10 (6)

It's a wrap: Uni 60, Normal Calvary 31

NORMAL — With the emotions of Senior Night out of the way, the final regular-season game for Uni was simply a matter of taking care of business.

The Illineks traveled to Normal on Thursday to take of Cavalry Baptist Academy in a conference game that would determine if the girls would grab a share of second place in the ECIC.

The answer, most emphatically, was yes.

Seniors Rachel Skoza and Jessi Sullivan combined for 35 points as the host Crusaders proved no match for Uni, losing by 29.

The visiting Illineks built a modest 14-8 lead in the first quarter, then pulled away in the second by outscoring CBA 18-9.

Uni went into halftime ahead 32-17 and came out determined not to let CBA back in the ballgame. The Illineks controlled the third quarter 16-3 and owned a 48-20 lead as the final period began. Murphy was able to empty her bench as the Illineks cruised to the 60-31 final tally.

Skoza had a typically productive game down low, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots. Freshman Jamie Blue showed her versatility yet again, scoring 13 points and recording nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

In all, it was a fitting end to the regular season for the Illineks, who won their final four games.

The girls will try to extend that streak into the playoffs when they take on St. Joseph Ogden tonight at 8 in the Class 2A regional semifinals. Uni is seeded third in the five-team bracket while SJ-O is second.

If Uni wins tonight, the team will play for the regional title at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, also at SJ-O.

Game Summary

• Uni: 14 18 16 12 — 60
• CBA: 08 09 03 11 — 31

Uni Individual Statistics
Player: Total Points (2-pointers made - 3-pointers made - free throws made)

• Rachel Skoza: 20 pts (10-0-0), 10 rebs, 6 blks
• Jessi Sullivan: 15 pts (5-1-2), 1 reb, 1 asst
• Jamie Blue: 13 pts (6-0-1), 9 rebs, 4 assts, 3 stls
• Joy Shapley: 6 pts (3-0-0), 4 rebs, 2 blks
• Erika Belmont: 2 pts (1-0-0), 2 rebs
• Rachel Harmon: 2 pts (1-0-0), 3 rebs
• Michelle Wong: 2 pts (1-0-0), 1 reb, 4 assts, 2 stls
• Heather Lin: 0 pts (0-0-0), 1 reb
• Lizzy Warner: 0 pts (0-0-0), 4 rebs, 3 assts, 1 stl

For Normal Calvary, Shelby Koehl had a team-high 20 pts (8-1-1); only other scorers were Kirsten Kamphuis with 9 pts (3-0-3) and Ashton Kamphuis with 2 pts (1-0-0)

Uni Team Statistics (opponent totals in parentheses)

• Total Points: 60 (31)
• 2-pointers made: 27 (12)
• 3-pointers made: 1 (1)
• Free throws made: 3 (4)