Jan. 12, 2006
Box Score
Cedar Falls, Iowa -
Senior center Cassie Hager (Perry, Iowa) scored a career-high 27 points, surpassing her previous mark of 22, to help UNI defeat Illinois State 75-69. Junior forward Tara King (Ottumwa, Iowa), despite playing for much of the second half in foul trouble, tied a career-high with 24 points.
"Both Cassie and Tara wanted the basketball tonight. In key situations, there are kids that step up that really want the ball," head coach Tony DiCecco said. "On top of that, there was no timid ness or passiveness on their part. Those two kids attacked and finished. I also thought Jessie [Biggs] helped set the tone with her dribble penetration. Illinois State had to change how they were playing us."
Trailing by 10 points at one point in the second half, UNI got help from a boisterous home crowd and erased the Redbirds lead, tying the game with 4:21 remaining. Hager went 3-for-3 from the field, nailed two free throws and had three blocks in the final eight minutes of the game. The Panthers outrebounded Illinois State 5-1 down the stretch and limited the Redbirds to only one field goal in the final two minutes.
The Panthers now have won nine in a row against Illinois State in the West Gym. Hager also had a game-high nine rebounds and hit 10-of-12 field goals and went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. UNI outrebounded Illinois State 41-32.
King scored 13 points in the first half as UNI took leads of 12-4 and 18-11 until the Redbirds closed in. Tiffany Hudson hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 9:32 left in the first period, starting an 11-4 run by Illinois State to knot the game at 24-24. The Redbirds took their first lead at 27-26 with 4:43 remaining in the half.
UNI tied the game twice more off jumpers by King and Hager and took a 33-32 lead with 2:01 left in the first period. The Redbirds were able to take a 36-33 lead into the break, ending the half on a 4-0 run.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Kristi Cirone gave Illinois State a 53-43 advantage with 12:42 remaining in the second half. The Redbirds held the spread and had a 60-51 lead with 8:30 remaining. UNI then went on a 7-0 run, sparked by a drive to the basket by junior Jessie Biggs (Ottumwa, Iowa) who was fouled and sunk both of her free throws. King also hit a three-pointer to narrow the Redbirds' margin to two points (60-58) with 7:10 remaining.
The next four minutes were a seesaw battle and then UNI ended the game with an 11-3 run, hitting 7-of-10 free throws. Illinois State falls to 5-8, 0-4 in the MVC.
UNI improves to 9-5, 3-2 in the MVC and hosts preseason league favorite Indiana State (12-2, 4-0 MVC) Saturday at 4:05 p.m.
