Jan. 8, 2008

Complete Illinois-Minnesota Game Notes in PDF Format

Game 16: Minnesota (12-4, 3-1) at Illinois (10-5, 2-2)
Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008 // 7 p.m. // Assembly Hall (16,618) // Champaign, Ill.

On The Air
Streaming Audio: Live on fightingillini.com (Dave Loane and Mike Koon)
Streaming Video: Will not be available for the Illinois-Minnesota game due to a conflict with the Big Ten Network
Live Stats: fightingillini.com GameTracker

The Series
Illinois leads 27-21 overall and 16-7 in Champaign
Last Season: Split 1-1 - Illinois won 64-54 in Champaign on 1/18/07 and Minnesota won 70-61 in Minneapolis on 12/31/06

The Coaches
Illinois: Jolette Law, 10-5 overall and at Illinois (first season)
Minnesota: Pam Borton, 193-99 overall (10th season) and 124-53 at Minnesota (sixth season)

Quick Hits
• The Game: Illinois (10-5, 2-2) returns to the friendly confines of Assembly Hall Thursday night to face first place Minnesota (12-4, 3-1) after tough back-to-back road losses at Penn State and Indiana. The Illini let a late second half lead slip away in Sunday's 70-62 loss to the Hoosiers, while the Gophers got a big road win at Wisconsin Monday night, 81-73, to move into sole possession of first place in a tight Big Ten race.

• Streakin' Jenna: Sophomore Jenna Smith currently has the longest streak of double-digit scoring games in the Big Ten, with 17 (2 from last year). Ranking second behind Smith is Minnesota's Emily Fox, who has 16 consecutive games in double figures. Smith leads the Big Ten in scoring at 18.3 ppg and has led the Illini in scoring 10 times this season.

• Twin Cities Connection: Jenna Smith will once again face her hometown team when the Illini host Minnesota on Thursday. Smith is from Bloomington, Minn., just outside the Twin Cities, and starred at Kennedy High School. The 2006 Minnesota Ms. Basketball and AP Player of the Year struggled in her first game against the Gophers last season, a 70-61 road loss, but came back to score a game-high 18 points in the rematch in Champaign three weeks later.

• Bjork's #2: Junior Lori Bjork is tied for second place on the UI career three-point field goals list. She now has 168 career threes, equaling Mandy Cunningham's second place total of 168 and is within reach of Krista Reinking's school record total of 194.

• Battle of the Best: Thursday's game pits two of the top players in the conference against each other in Illinois' Jenna Smith and Minnesota's Emily Fox. While they won't match-up head-to-head, Fox is a guard and Smith a post, they may be competing for conference accolades come year-end. Smith leads the conference in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (10.1) and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week three times already this season, while Fox ranks second in the league in scoring (18.1) and is deadly from behind the arc, shooting a conference-best 49 percent from three-point land.

• Big Ten Leaders: The Illini are at or near the top of several categories in the latest Big Ten statistical rankings. Jenna Smith leads the league in scoring (18.3), rebounding (10.1), defensive rebounds (7.0) and FG percentage (.574), while ranking in the top-six in four other categories. Lori Bjork is first in free throw percentage (.923) and fourth in three-pointers made (2.07), while Lacey Simpson ranks second in steals (3.13). As a team, the Orange and Blue top the league in FT percentage (.799) and rebounding defense (30.1) and rank second in scoring defense (56.5), scoring margin (+8.3), blocks (4.73) and FG percentage (.441).

• Home Sweet Home: After going 12-3 at Assembly Hall last season, Illinois is off to a 4-2 start at home this year. The Illini hold an all-time record of 232-123 (.654) at home and 193-101 (.656) at Assembly Hall.

• Up Next: The Fighting Illini will have the first of two Big Ten byes this weekend before returning to the court next Thursday, Jan. 17, when they face #19/19 Ohio State in Columbus.

Breaking Down The Gophers
Minnesota enters Thursday's game alone atop the Big Ten standings at 3-1, half a game in front of five other teams and one game in front of the 2-2 Illini. The Golden Gophers downed Wisconsin on the road, 81-73, Monday night behind 29 points from junior guard Emily Fox and 20 from senior forward Leslie Knight. Minnesota is 10-4 overall, including a big win over No. 22 Louisville in November.

Fox, a preseason All-Big Ten selection, ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (18.1), shoots a conference-best 49 percent from three and leads the team in assists (67). Knight, the Dec. 31 Big Ten Player of the Week, averages 12.4 per game, while sophomore post Ashley Ellis-Milan adds 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. As a team, the Gophers lead the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (.395) and turnover margin (+3.7), and are averaging 69.9 points per game, which ranks second in the Big Ten.

The Illinois-Minnesota Series
Illinois leads the all-time series 27-21 overall and is 16-7 in Champaign against the Golden Gophers. The Illini won in Champaign last season, 64-54, to snap a five-game skip against the Gophers. The last time the Orange and Blue won two straight against UM was back in the 2000-01 season.

Last Year Against the Gophers
In the first meeting last season, Illinois let one slip away on New Years Eve in Minneapolis, falling to the Golden Gophers 70-61 after leading by as many as 10 in the second half. The loss snapped the Fighting Illini's five-game winning streak. Chelsea Gordon led the Orange and Blue with 17 points. Illinois had 22 turnovers for the game and had trouble adjusting to Minnesota's full court press for much of the game. The Illini also committed a season-high 25 fouls, sending the hosts to the line 36 times, where they made 26.

In the second meeting in Champaign, Minnesota native Jenna Smith scored a game-high 18 points as Illinois topped the Gophers 64-54. The Illini held UM to just 30 percent shooting to take sole possession of fourth place in the Big Ten. For the game, Illinois was 20-of-25 from the charity stripe (80 percent) after entering the game as the top free throw shooting team in the Big Ten. Illinois won the rebounding battle, 42-31, and got 20 points from the bench to help overcome 23 turnovers. Lori Bjork had 15 points and Rebecca Harris 12.

Smith Enjoying Sophomore Surge
Illini forward Jenna Smith has taken off in her sophomore season. She took tournament MVP honors at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic and has been named Big Ten Player of the Week three times already this season. For the year, she is averaging 18.3 points and 10.1 rebounds and is shooting 57 percent from the field and 84 percent from the line. She has led the Illini in scoring and rebounding 10 times each in 15 games this season.

• Raking in the Honors: Smith has been collecting her share of early-season honors thus far. She has been named Big Ten Player of the Week on three occasions this season (Nov. 12, Nov. 26 and Dec. 24) and claimed Most Valuable Player honors at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic after leading Illinois to the title.

Smith is the first Illini in over 20 years to pick-up three player of the week honors in the same season. Jonelle Polk was honored four times in the 1985-86 season, which is the most for an Illini in a single season. Polk and Ashley Berggren share the career mark for Illinois, with five each.

• Double-Trouble: Smith has recorded double-doubles in eight of 15 games this season, which is the most in the Big Ten thus far. The sophomore has 14 double-dips in her career, which is tied for second in the Big Ten behind only Wisconsin senior Jolene Anderson's 21. Illinois is 7-1 in games when Smith records a double-double this season and is 3-4 in which she hasn't.

• Leading the League: Smith leads the Big Ten in scoring (18.3), rebounding (10.1), defensive rebounds (7.0) and FG percentage (.574), while ranking in the top-six in four other categories. She ranks third in offensive rebounds (3.07) and blocks (1.87), fourth minutes (36.53) and sixth in FT percentage (.844). Nationally, Smith ranks in the top-60 in five categories, most notably FG percentage, where she ranks 17th.

• Smith Holds Her Own vs. NPOY: Smith faced her toughest competition to date when last year's AP National Player of the Year Courtney Paris came to Assembly Hall Dec. 5. Smith more than held her own against the Sooner star, hitting 7-of-9 from the field for 15 points, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking two shots. Paris had her usual big numbers with 22 points and 14 rebounds, but Smith served notice that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the next few years.

• Career Day: Smith scored a career-high 32 points and had 10 boards against SIU on Nov. 18. She hit 13-of-19 from the field and scored 11 straight points for the Illini at one point in the second half.

The Race To 1,000
Two Fighting Illini are approaching the 1,000-point club this year. Junior Lori Bjork is the closest with 898 career points, while senior Danyel Crutcher also has a shot to reach the milestone with 849 points. Bjork is about to become the 23rd player in school history to crack the 900-point barrier. In its 34-year history, Illinois has produced 20 1,000 point scorers.

Toeing the Line
Illinois leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation in FT percentage (.799), having knocked down 215-of-269 from the charity stripe. Illinois has shot 41 more FTs than its opponents have shot on the season (269-228). For the year, Lori Bjork leads the way from the line, shooting a Big Ten best 92.3 percent (36-of-39).

Pressure `D' Catching On
Jolette Law's pressure defense looks to be catching on fast with the Fighting Illini. Through the first 15 games Illinois is averaging 8.1 steals per game, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten, and is scoring of 17 points per game off of turnovers. Sophomore Lacey Simpson leads the way, as she ranks second in the conference in steals with 3.13 thefts per game. Last year, Illinois ranked last in the Big Ten in steals at 5.55 per game.

Jolette Law TV Show Airs Sunday Nights
The first installment of the Jolette Law TV Show aired on Jan. 6 on WCIA-TV in Champaign. The show will air weekly at 11 p.m. on WCIA, immediately after the Bruce Weber show. It will also air nationally on the Big Ten Network Tuesdays at 1 p.m. CT. The show features game highlights and analysis, a preview of upcoming games and behind-the-scenes footage of some of your favorite Illini

Big Ten Tournament Ticket Special Continues
The Big Ten Conference has extended its special $45 all-session ticket promotion for the 2008 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament presented by Xbox 360 Live. The $20 discount from the regular price will now be available through Monday, Jan. 14. The 14th annual women's event returns to Indianapolis and Conseco Fieldhouse March 6-9, 2008. The ticket promotion is available through all 11 Big Ten university ticket offices, the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, all Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com.

Watch Illinois on fightingillini.com
For the fourth straight year, fans unable to make it to Assembly Hall can catch live streaming video of UI women's basketball home games on the web. Any game not televised by the Big Ten Network will be streamed live on fightingillini.com, which means at least eight home games can be viewed this season.

To have access to the games, fans will need to purchase an Illini All-Access subscription ($6.95 per month, $49.95 per year). A subscription includes access to all other Illinois video content, including football and men's basketball press conferences, live events for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics, as well as live audio and highlight videos for all sports.