March 23, 2008

Complete Illinois-Drake WNIT Second Round Pregame Notes (PDF)

2008 WNIT Brakcet (updated 3/22)

2008 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament

Second Round: Drake (23-10) at Illinois (19-14)

Illinois' Tournament Road
First Round: Bye
Second Round: Monday, March 24 // 7 p.m. // Drake (23-10) at Illinois (19-14)
Third Round: ILL-Drake winner plays the winner of Marquette-Creighton (Date, time and location are TBA)

Tickets
All tickets are $5 and are general admission, including floor seats. Tickets can be purchased at the UI Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 1-866-Illini-1.

On The Air
Radio: Live on the Illini Sports Network - WDWS AM-1400 and WDAN AM-1490 (Dave Loane and Mike Koon)
Internet: fightingillini.com live streaming video and Gametracker

Head Coaches
Illinois: Jolette Law, 19-14 at Illinois (first season)
Drake: Amy Stephens, 84-71 at Drake (fifth season)

Setting the Scene
• The Game: Illinois (19-14) will be looking for win #20 when it opens play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Monday night at Assembly Hall against the Drake Bulldogs (23-10). The Illini got a first round bye, while Drake topped Wisconsin-Green Bay, 65-56, Saturday in Des Moines in a first round game. The Illini have not taken the floor since March 9, when they fell at the buzzer to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game.

• Looking Ahead: The winner of the Monday's Illinois-Drake contest will advance to the third round to face winner of Marquette and Creighton, who play Monday night in Milwaukee. The third round date, time and location have yet to be determined.

On the Verge
Some things to watch for in Monday night's WNIT second round game...
• A win would give Illinois its first 20-win season since 1999-2000 and would mark the seventh 20-win season in school history.
• Monday's game will be the 34th of the season for the Illini, making this year the longest season in school history. The previous high was 33 games in 2000-01.
• Jenna Smith needs one block to tie and two to break the Illinois single season blocked shots record.
• Smith needs 18 rebounds to tie and 19 to break the UI single season rebounding record.
• Smith needs 12 points to move into the top-3 on the UI single season scoring list.

Illini Make Historic Big Ten Tournament Run
Illinois' Big Ten Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament hopes ended when Purdue's Lakisha Freeman hit a 12-footer as the buzzer sounded in the title game, but the Illini still accomplished several historic feats on the way there:
• Illinois reached the championship game for the first time since 1999 and the third time in school history. The Illini have never won the tournament.
• As a No. 9 seed, Illinois was the lowest seeded team to ever advance to the championship game. The previous lowest seeds to make it to the Big Ten Tournament final were No. 7 Penn State in 1998 and No. 7 Ohio State in 1995. The lowest seed to ever win the tournament is the No. 5 seed (Indiana in 2002; Purdue in 1998).
• The Illini's win over Ohio State in the quarterfinals gave the Buckeyes their first-ever loss in their opening round game. Previously, OSU was 13-0 in its tournament openers.
• Jenna Smith and Rebecca Harris were both named to the All-Tournament team. Smith averaged 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, finishing one board shy of breaking the tournament rebounding record. Harris averaged 15.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from behind the arc in tournament play.

Illinois in the WNIT
2007-08 marks Illinois' fourth straight and sixth overall appearance in the postseason WNIT. After going 1-1 last season with a 59-48 home win over Utah and a 66-51 road loss to Kansas State, the Illini are 4-5 overall in the tournament. In 2005-06, Illinois beat Western Illinois, 58-37, at home in the preliminary round before dropping a 64-44 decision at Marquette in the first round. In 2005, the Illini dropped a first round road game to Indiana State, 72-60. Prior to that, the Orange and Blue split a pair of games at home in both 2001 and `02.

Illinois has lost just once it its opening-round game and that was on the road at Indiana State in 2005. The Illini are 4-2 all-time in WNIT games played in Champaign.

Quick Hits
• Postseason Streak: With the WNIT bid, Illinois has now advanced to postseason play in 11 of the last 12 years, with only 2003-04 being the odd year out. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times during that streak and to the WNIT the other six.

• Smith Finalist for All-America Honor: Sophomore All-America Candidate Jenna Smith has been named a Regional finalist for the WBCA's State Farm All-America Team. She joins Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson, Iowa's Kristi Smith and Illinois State's Kristi Cirone from Region 6.

• Double Trouble: Jenna Smith has recorded double-doubles in 16 of 33 games this season, which is the most in the Big Ten, and has 22 double-doubles in her career, which is tied for second in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson (26). Only a sophomore, Smith has scored double figures in 32 of 33 games this season.

• In Elite Company: Smith is one of just eight players nationally averaging at least 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The others on the short list are DeWanna Booner of Auburn, Natalie Doma of Idaho State, Traci Edwards of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Crystal Kelly of Western Kentucky, Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, Tamera Young of James Madison and Magan Frazee of Liberty.

• Taking Care of the Rock: Illinois leads the Big Ten and ranks 30th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (15.1). The Illini are on pace to break the school record for fewest turnovers per game and they already set an Illinois mark for least number of turnovers in a game when they had just five in the Feb. 21 win over Penn State.

• Bjork Gets Record, Stays Hot: Junior Lori Bjork broke Krista Reinking's 10-year old school record for career three-point field goals (194) with a trey 30 seconds into the win over Penn State on Feb. 21. Bjork now has 210 career threes with the WNIT still ahead, plus another season to add to the total. She has been especially hot as of late, hitting 46 percent from behind the arc (31-of-68) in the last 13 games.

• Hometown Team: Senior Stephanie Chelleen and junior Lori Bjork will be facing their hometown team Monday night when Drake comes to Assembly Hall. Drake is in Des Moines, Iowa, where Chelleen is from and attended Lincoln High school. Bjork is from nearby Johnston, Iowa, and was recruited by the Bulldogs.

Second Round Foe: Drake Bulldogs
• Breaking Down the Bulldogs: Drake (23-10) is an at-large selection to the WNIT from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bulldogs advanced to Monday's game with a first round victory over UW-Green Bay, 65-56. Drake was a regular season MVC tri-champion along with Illinois State and Evansville with a 13-5 record, but fell to ISU in the MVC Tournament Championship, 70-62. Prior to that loss, Drake had won six straight.

The Bulldogs are led by senior Jill Martin (17.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg), who has scored over 1,900 points and grabbed over 1,000 boards in her career. Senior Lindsay Whorton (13.8 ppg, 70 3FGM) complements Martin and is an outstanding student, earning first team Academic All-America honors this season. The duo of Martin and Whorton led the way in the first round win over Green Bay. Martin had 15 points and 16 boards and Whorton had 18 points and hit five threes.

• The Illinois-Drake Series: Illinois and Drake have met five times, with the Illini holding a 3-2 edge in the series. Illinois is 2-0 vs. the Bulldogs in games played in Champaign, including the most recent meeting in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, which was a 79-62 UI victory.

• Common Foes: Illinois and Drake have four games against common opponents this season. The Illini topped MVC foe Southern Illinois 63-53 early in the season at Assembly Hall, while Drake topped the Salukis' twice in Valley play, by 15 at home and by 3 on the road. Both teams faced Iowa once, the Illini fell 60-58 on a buzzer beater at home and the Bulldogs lost 62-50 to the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. Both teams also topped UW-Milwaukee, the Illini by 20 at home and Drake by 10 on the road.

Smith and Bjork Named to All-Big Ten Teams
The Big Ten Conference announced its 2007-08 women's basketball award winners March 3, with the Illini duo of Jenna Smith and Lori Bjork collecting league honors. Smith was a first team selection by the league's coaches and a unanimous first team pick by the media, while Bjork was named to the third team by the coaches and was an honorable mention selection by the media. Bjork was also chosen as Illinois' honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second straight season.

Smith is the first Illini to earn first team All-Big Ten honors since Angelina Williams in 2005 (media) and is the first named to both the media and coaches first teams since Iveta Marcauskaite in 2002. She is also Illinois' first unanimous first team selection by one of the voting parties since Tauja Catchings was a unanimous choice by the coaches in 1999-00.

Smith Enjoying Sophomore Surge
Illini forward Jenna Smith has taken off in her sophomore season. For the year, she is averaging 18.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 50.6 percent from the field, which all rank second in the Big Ten. She has scored at least 20 points 14 times this season, which is tied for the league lead, and has reached 30 points three times, which ranks second. She has led the Illini in scoring 24 times and in rebounding 23 times thus far.

• Raking in the Honors: Smith was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten choice by the media and was named to the Big Ten Tournament All-Tournament Team. She was also named tournament MVP at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic and was Big Ten Player of the Week three times.

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

• At Her Best Against the Best: Smith has fared well against top competition this season. In three head-to-head meetings with Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, the coaches Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds compared to Lavender's 14.3 points and 10.7 boards. Against Michigan State and 6-9 All-Big Ten center Allyssa DeHaan, Smith averaged an identical 16.3 points and 8.3 boards in three games, compared to DeHaan's 9.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.

• Smith Doing It All: Smith has been putting up big numbers at an amazingly consistent clip despite constantly seeing double and triple teams from opponents. She has scored double figures in 32 of 33 games this season and ranks in the top four in the Big Ten in seven different statistical categories. She has shown tremendous passing abilities out of the double teams (fourth on the team in assists) and can take her game out beyond the arc as well (11 threes).

• Moving Outside: With defenses collapsing on her in the paint, Smith stepped out to hit 5-of-7 from behind the arc in the Big Ten tournament and is now shooting 44 percent from downtown for the season (11-of-25). She didn't hit her first three this season until game number 20 at Purdue on Jan. 27. Smith has shown a soft touch from 15-18 feet throughout her career, but had rarely stepped outside the arc until recently. Before going 11-of-23 in the last 14 games, she had hit one three-pointer in five attempts in her career.

• Smith Holds Her Own vs. NPOY: Smith faced her toughest competition of the season 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 Sooners 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 two 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.

Versatile Simpson Does it All
Sophomore Lacey Simpson has played many different roles for Jolette Law's squad this season. The 6-0 sophomore has seen action at the four as of late and also spends time running the point and any spot in between. Simpson's versatility shows in her stats. She leads the team in assists (104) and steals (78) and ranks second in blocks (35) and rebounds (152). A nifty creator and passer, she leads the Big Ten in assist-turnover ration (1.82) and ranks fifth in the league in steals (2.36). Simpson does so much for the Illini that she doesn't need to score for victories to come, but when she does, it usually spells doom for the opposition. Illinois is 8-2 this season when Simpson scores in double figures.

Bec Blowing Up
Senior guard Rebecca Harris had a huge Big Ten Tournament, averaging 15.8 points per game and hitting 7-of-15 from behind the arc in Illinois' run to the title game. She scored 19 in the first round win over Wisconsin and a game-high 22 in the upset of top-seeded Ohio State. She followed those performances with 10 points in Illinois' semifinal win over Michigan State, with all 10 coming in the final 12 minutes of play, and then 12 in the championship play.

In non-conference play Harris averaged 6.1 points per game and then nearly doubled that in Big Ten play, averaging 11.2 per contest. Her big numbers in the tournament upped her overall season average to 10.0 points per game.

• Hot From the Stripe: Harris had a streak of 24 consecutive made free throws snapped in the regular season finale against Purdue. Despite going 17-of-27 in the last five games (63.0 percent), Harris still ranks among the best free throw shooters in Illinois history. In fact, her career percentage of 80.1 (125-of-156) ranks as the sixth-best career FT percentage at Illinois.

• Perfect 10: In the Feb. 14 loss to Wisconsin, Harris kept the Illini in the game down the stretch by scoring the team's final 10 points, all in the last two minutes. In the game Harris hit 10-of-10 from the free throw line and finished with 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half.

• No TOs: In the Jan. 31 win over OSU, Harris was stellar, not only scoring 14 points, but playing all 40 minutes without a turnover.

Bjork Hot Down the Stretch
Sharp-shooter Lori Bjork has been on fire as of late. In addition to recently reaching the 1,000-point milestone (Feb. 10) and breaking the UI career 3FG record (Feb. 21), the junior guard has been tearing it up over the last 13 games. Bjork is shooting 46 percent from behind the arc (31-of-68) during that span, bringing up her season 3FG percentage from 34.7 to 38.6. She even pulled down a career-high seven rebounds in the win over Indiana on Feb 10.

• Grand Game: With 19 points against Indiana on Feb. 10, junior Lori Bjork became the 21st player in Illinois history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Two free throws with 24.4 seconds left gave the guard her 999th and 1,000th career points.

• Bjork Earns Academic Honor: Bjork was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team for the second straight year on Feb. 7. Bjork is a political science major with a 3.93 GPA. She is now on the Academic All-America ballot, which is voted on by college sports information directors. Last season, she was one of two sophomores to earn Academic All-America status, as she was named to the third team.

Close Calls
The Illini have had 11 games decided by five points or less this season, which is the most in the Big Ten, with 10 of those games coming in conference play. The Illini are 3-8 overall in those games, and 2-8 in the conference games. Of those eight close Big Ten defeats, seven have come by three points or less, and each of those seven came down to the final possession and with the Illini ending up on the short end of the stick. Here is a breakdown of the Illinois games decided by three points or less in Big Ten play:
Jan. 2: Illinois thought it had a last-second win at Penn State, but fell 49-48 when Rebecca Harris was called for a charge on a would-be game-winning lay-up as time expired.
Jan. 17: Illinois led by seven with less than five minutes left, but fell victim to an OSU three with 14.5 seconds left for a 43-42 defeat. The Illini didn't get a shot off on their final possession.
Jan. 21: The Illini had two late chances to pull out a win over Iowa, but lost, 60-58, on a bucket by Hawkeyes guard Kristi Smith with 6.7 seconds left.
Jan. 24: With the score tied at 62-62 in the final seconds, MSU's Allyssa DeHaan scored on a putback bucket with 9.2 seconds left. Then Illinois turned it over on the ensuing possession.
Feb. 14: The Illini had a chance to win or tie in the final seconds, but Rebecca Harris was called for traveling at the buzzer after colliding with Wisconsin's Janese Banks on a final shot. Wisconsin won 66-64.
Feb. 21: Lori Bjork's game-tying three-point attempt rattled in and out at the buzzer in a 55-52 loss to Michigan at Assembly Hall.
March 9: The Illini missed out on the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid when Purdue's Lakisha Freeman scored on a putback as time expired to give the Boilers a 58-56 win in the Big Ten Tournament title game.

Taking the Freebies
Illinois leads the league and ranks 12th in the nation (as of March 16) in FT percentage (.773), having knocked down 432-of-559 from the charity stripe. Illinois has shot 59 more FTs than its opponents have shot on the season.

• Knocking 'Em Down: Bjork leads Illinois from the line, shooting 88.2 percent (67-of-76), which ranks second in the Big Ten, while Rebecca Harris (80.0 percent) and Jenna Smith (77.8 percent) are close behind. Bjork (83.6 percent) ranks first on the Illini career FT percentage list and Harris (80.1 percent) sixth on the list, but those places could still fluctuate until their careers are over at Illinois.

• Iced Kohl: Illinois set a new Kohl Center record by hitting 21-of-22 from the line (95.5 percent) on Feb. 14 against the Badgers. It equaled the sixth-best single-game FT percentage in Big Ten history and would have been the all-time Big Ten record if Lori Bjork, the team's best FT shooter, hadn't missed the only freebie of the game for the Illini.

Leading the Way
Jenna Smith ranks in the top three in the Big Ten in six statistical categories. She ranks second in scoring (18.7), rebounding (9.6), minutes played (37.1), offensive rebounds (3.09) and defensive rebounds (6.52). The sophomore also ranks third in blocks (1.70) and fourth in FG percentage (.506). Lacey Simpson is first in assist/turnover ratio (1.82) for all games, while Lori Bjork ranks second in FT percentage (.882) and third in threes made per game (2.21).

As a team, Illinois paces the league in scoring defense (57.2), FT percentage (.773), fewest turnovers (15.1) and rebounding defense (32.9) during all games, and ranks second in blocked shots (4.36).

In Big Ten play, Smith was just as dominant, ranking in the top three in six categories, including second in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.1). Additionally, Bjork led the league in three-point field goals per game (2.39) in conference play. Team-wise, Illinois led the league in FT percentage (.778), fewest turnovers (13.3) and scoring defense (57.8), while ranking second in FG percentage defense (.394) and blocked shots (4.17).

Ultimate Basketball Challenge Set for April 16
The Illini men's and women's basketball teams will again join up with the Illinois men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams for the third annual Ultimate Basketball Challenge. This year's Challenge will be held on Wednesday, April 16, at Huff Hall. It is a fundraising event, with proceeds from the game benefiting the wheelchair teams, as well as Coaches vs. Cancer. Check fightingillini.com as the date approaches for ticket information.