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Illini Hit Road for Tough Test in No. 5/7 Buckeyes
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Danielle Gratton returned to action against Minnesota Thursday night.
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Jan. 19, 2007
Game 19: ILL-OSU Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game 19: Illinois (14-4, 4-2) at No. 5/7 Ohio State (16-1, 5-0)
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007 // 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT // Value City Arena (18,500) // Columbus, Ohio
On The Air
Radio: Illini Sports Network - WDWS AM 1400 and WDAN AM 1490 - LIVE - (Brian Moline and Derek Neal)
Internet: Fightingillini.com live streaming audio and Gametracker
The Series
OSU leads 33-15 - Last Season: Ohio State 75, Illinois 49 (@ Columbus, Ohio)
The Coaches
Illinois: Theresa Grentz, 666-303 overall (33rd season), 205-148 at Illinois (12th season)
Ohio State: Jim Foster, 622-254 overall (29th season), 118-29 at Ohio State (5th season)
Quick Hits
• For Openers: Illinois (14-4, 4-2) hits the road to face No. 5/7 Ohio State (16-1, 5-0) in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. CT. The Buckeyes will be by far the toughest test as of yet for the Illini. The Orange and Blue have won two in a row and are coming off a 64-54 home victory over Minnesota on Thursday night. They are 5-3 on the road this season, including 2-1 away from home in the Big Ten. OSU, meanwhile, has won 23 straight games at home is is coming off a 74-51 thumping of Wisconsin on Thursday night.
• Illini Trends: This year the Fighting Illini are...
...11-0 when allowing less than 60 points
...9-0 when scoring at least 70 points
...8-0 when shooting over 45 percent from the field
...13-1 when leading at halftime
...13-1 when shooting better then their opponent
...11-1 when shooting more FTs than their opponent
...10-3 when out-rebounding their opponent
...5-3 on the Road
• Don't Call It a Comeback: Sophomore forward Danielle Gratton returned to action Thursday vs. Minnesota after missing 15 games with a stress fracture in her left foot. Gratton scored three points in nine minutes in her first game action since Nov. 14 at Illinois-Chicago.
• Giant Killers: No. 5/7 Ohio State will be the first ranked opponent for the Fighting Illini this season. Entering the season, Illinois had beaten at least one ranked opponent in each of the last 12 seasons. Last year, the Illini toppled 15th-ranked Oklahoma 86-75 to extend the streak.
• No Harm, No Foul: According to the Jan. 14 NCAA statistics, Illinois ranks fifth in the nation in fewest personal fouls committed per game (13.4). As a result, opponents are averaging just 14.7 free throw attempts per game. In contrast, Illinois draws an average of 18 fouls per game, which leads to 18.4 free throws per game. The Illini lead the Big Ten in FT percentage in Big Ten Play (.826).
• Board Domination: Illinois leads the Big Ten in defensive rebounds (30.5) and ranks third in overall rebounding (41.8). Illinois also ranks second in the Big Ten and 26th in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.3) and has out-rebounded its opponent in 13 of 18 games, including nine of the last 10.
• Something's Gotta Give: Defense has been the key to Illinois' fast start. The Fighting Illini lead the conference in three-point FG percentage defense (.249) and rank second in the conference and 11th in the nation in overall FG percentage defense (.341). The Orange and Blue have allowed only one opponent to shoot over 40 percent in a game all year (Indiana on 1/7 - .431). The Buckeyes, on the other hand, lead the Big Ten and rank second in the nation in field goal percentage (.512), having shot under 40 percent just once (LSU on 12/10 - .323).
• Trey-mendous: Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten in 3FG made per game (5.28) and fourth in 3FG percentage (.357). Lori Bjork leads the way, hitting 46-of-115, which makes her the conference leader and ranks her 27th in the nation in three's made per game (2.56) and second in the conference in 3FG percentage (.400).
• Big Ten Stats: In Big Ten games Illinois leads the league in free throw shooting (.826), defensive rebounds (29.7) and blocked shots (6.33), while ranking in the top-four in 13 different categories overall, including scoring offense, FG percentage, 3FG percentage, rebounding and 3FG made.
In all games, the Illini lead the league in defensive rebounding (30.5) and three-point FG percentage defense (.249) and rank in the top-four in 14 different categories.
• Block Party: Illinois tied a school record and set a new Kohl Center record with 11 blocked shots in the 70-62 win over Wisconsin at the Kohl Center on Jan. 14. Jenna Smith led the block party for the Illini with a career-high five swats. The other time the Illini had 11 blocks in a game was back on March 1, 1997 in a 98-76 win over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Bouncing Back: After each of their four losses this season, the Fighting Illini have bounced back with a victory in their next game. Illinois rattled off three-game and five-game winning streaks after its first two losses and then bounced back from its first Big Ten loss at Minnesota with a win at Michigan. Then on Jan. 14 Illinois topped Wisconsin after falling to Indiana in the previous game.
• Back To School: The Fighting Illini returned to classes on Tuesday, Jan. 16 after having nearly a month off for winter break. Illinois played seven games over break, registering a 5-2 record.
• Home-wreckers: Illinois' 70-62 victory at Wisconsin on Jan. 14 was the first home loss of the season for the Badgers. UW was 9-0 at the Kohl Center prior to the Illini win.
• Home Sweet Home: The Illini started a new home winning streak with Thursday's victory over Minnesota after Indiana snapped the UI's eight-game home winning streak on Jan. 7. Illinois is 8-1 at home this season and holds an all-time record of 224-119 (.653) at home and 185-97 (.656) at Assembly Hall.
Scouting Buckeyes
Ohio State (16-1, 5-0) will try to extend its home winning streak to 24 games and improve its home record this season to 12-0 when the Illini travel to Columbus on Sunday. The Buckeyes topped Wisconsin on the road, 74-51, in their last game on Thursday night. Their lone loss was to No. 9 LSU, 75-51, back on Dec. 10, since then, they have reeled off nine straight victories, including a 74-67 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma in Norman on Dec. 20. OSU leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (74.9), FG Shooting (51.2), assists (18.3) and Assist/TO ratio (1.17) this season.
The Buckeyes revolve around senior All-American center Jessica Davenport (19.5 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.8 bpg, .670 FG%), who is just five points shy of reaching 2,000 for her career. Davenport isn't the only threat for the Buckeyes, however. Senior guard Brandie Hoskins adds 15.1 points per game and shoots at a 51.0 percent clip, while perimeter threat Marscilla Packer has hit a team-high 30 three-pointers on the season and averages 10.6 points per game.
• Common Threads: Illini coach Theresa Grentz and OSU coach Jim Foster have had similar career-paths. Both grew-up in the Philadelphia area and started their coaching careers at Saint Joseph's University in Pennsylvania. Grentz was there from 1974-76, while Foster coached SJU from 1978-91. Both coaches have also had extensive experience with USA Basketball. In fact, Foster was an assistant coach on Grentz's staff at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The Illinois-Ohio State Series
Ohio State leads the all-time series 33-15 and holds an 18-4 edge in Columbus. Illinois' last win was a 52-51 nail biter over the No. 20 Buckeyes on Jan. 8, 2004. Since then, OSU has won three straight, but prior to that, the Illini won 11 of 13 match-ups from 1997-2004. Last year, the teams met only once, a 75-49 OSU victory in Columbus. The Illini's last win in Columbus was 75-73 back on Jan. 9, 2001. Grentz is 12-8 in her career vs. Ohio State, 11-6 while at Illinois and 1-2 while at Rutgers.
Up Next
The Illini have their second and final mid-week bye of the Big Ten season next week and won't take the floor again until Sunday, Jan. 28 when Northwestern comes to Assembly Hall.
Bjork Makes Point
• Sophomore sharpshooter Lori Bjork has been on fire all season for the Orange and Blue. She has hit at least two three-pointers in every game this season and has made at least one trey in 25 straight games dating back to last season, which is an Illinois school record.
• Bjork is only one three-pointer shy of 100 for her career, a milestone that only four other Illinois players have reached. Krista Reinking holds the UI career record for threes made with 194. Additionally, Bjork's 46 treys so far this season already ties her for eighth on the single season top ten list. The school record for threes in a season is 74 for Reinking in 1995-96.
• The Johnston, Iowa, native has hit 39 of her last 42 free throws (.929) dating back to the Ole Miss game.
• Bjork leads the Big Ten in threes made per game at 2.56, her .400 shooting percentage beyond the arc (46-of-115) ranks second in the league, and her scoring average of 14.5 is sixth in the conference for all games. In Big Ten games she leads the league minutes played (36.3) and ranks third in FT percentage (.923).
• Bjork has made the transition to point guard this season after the Illini lost Maggie Acuna and Janelle Hughes to graduation last spring. She has flourished in the role, leading the team in scoring (14.6), assists (55), three-point field goals (46) and minutes (34.7).
Freshman Phenom
• Illinois' lone true freshman, Jenna Smith, has wasted no time making an impact with her new team. Her double-double vs. Florida on Dec. 5 (22 p, 10 r) was the first of her career and the 22 points shattered her previous career high of 14. She added a second double-double at Michigan on Jan. 4 with game-highs in points (15) and rebounds (10). On Thursday against her home-state Minnesota Golden Gophers, she poured in a game-high 18 points.
• For the season, Smith is averaging 10.8 points, which ranks second on the team, and 7.2 rebounds per game, which is third on the team and 12th in the conference. Her .500shooting percentage is second on the team and ranks 10th in the Big Ten.
• The Bloomington, Minn., native scored double figures in each of her first two games as an Illini (10 vs. Butler and 11 vs. UIC) and poured in a game-high 14 points against Northern Colorado, including making 6-of-6 from the line.
Wigley Nearing 1,000
• Senior Erin Wigley is inching closer to becoming the 20th player in Illinois history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. After scoring five points vs. Minnesota on Thursday, the Moon Township, Pa., native has 949 career points.
Juco Transfer Harris Coming On
• Rebecca Harris, a 5-8 point guard who transferred from Rend Lake College prior to this season, scored a UI career-high 14 points against Indiana on Jan. 7 and has been coming on offensively as of late, averaging 11.5 ppg in the last four. In those four games, she is shooting 15-of-26 (.577) from the field and 5-of-9 (.556) from behind the arc.
• After scoring just 27 points in her first seven games (3.9 ppg), Harris has poured in 86 in her last 10 (8.6). She is averaging 6.6 points in just 17.4 minutes per game this season and leads the team in FT shooting, hitting 30-of-36 on the year (83.3 percent).
• Harris was slowed early in the season by a sprained ankle and missed the game vs. Saint Joseph's due to a death in the family, but has played 15+ minutes in nine of the last 11 games, even earning a start in the win over Bradley.
