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Illini Open Season With Pair of Games this Weekend
Nov. 13, 2008
Complete Release Illinois Women's Basketball Notes (PDF)
Game 1: Illinois (0-0) at IPFW (0-0) Game 2: Eastern Illinois (0-0) at Illinois (0-0) On The Air Internet The Series The Coaches Probable Illinois Starters (with final 2007-08 statistics) Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. GP-GS PPG RPG APG Quick Hits G 12 Lydia McCully 5-9 r-Fr. - - - - No. 47 senior in class of 2007 redshirted last season G 21 Macie Blinn 5-11 Fr. - - - - Started and scored four points in exhibition win over SIUE F 33 Chelsea Gordon 6-0 Sr. 35-34 7.3 4.1 1.2 Named team's Best Defensive Player last 2 years F 22 Lacey Simpson 6-1 Jr. 35-24 7.2 5.0 3.1 Led team in assists and steals last season C 13 Jenna Smith 6-3 Jr. 35-35 18.3 9.4 2.0 Preseason All-Big Ten; HM AP All-American last year Quick Hits • Let's Play Two: On Sunday, Nov. 16, the Fighting Illini open things up at home by hosting Eastern Illinois at Assembly Hall. The game will begin at noon and is the front-end of a split doubleheader prior to the Illini men vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 4:30 p.m. Fans get in free to Sunday's women's game with their ticket stub from Friday night's Illini men's basketball game against Eastern Washington. • Three Back: Illinois returns three starters from last year's 20-win WNIT team. Junior All-American center Jenna Smith leads the way along with senior forward Chelsea Gordon and junior forward Lacey Simpson. • Law Inks Highly Ranked Recruiting Class: Jolette Law signed the best recruiting class in school history on Wednesday, the first day of the fall signing period. The class is ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation by ESPN HoopGurlz. See page 4 for more information on the recruits. What to Watch for This Weekend • Smith need two blocks to reach 100 for her career. She would become the fifth player at Illinois to reach that number. The school record is 156 by Kendra Gantt. • Illinois is looking for its 200th victory at Assembly Hall on Sunday when EIU comes to town. The Illini are 199-104 all-time (.657) in 22 years at the Assembly Hall. Illini In Openers When Illinois hosts EIU at Assembly Hall on Sunday, the Illini will be looking for their 11th straight home-opening win. Illinois is 28-6 all-time in home openers. In With the New Smith Named Preseason All-Big Ten Joining Smith on the preseason All-Big Ten team are Michigan State center Allyssa DeHaan, Minnesota guard Emily Fox, Purdue forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Ohio State center Jantel Lavender, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year. This marks the second consecutive year Illinois has had a representative on the preseason team, as guard Lori Bjork was a selection a year ago. Preseason Big Ten Polls Scouting IPFW The Mastodons are coached by Chris Paul, who posts a record of 30-49 in his three years at the helm. IPFW opens its regular season against the Illini after defeating Indiana Tech 60-45 in its only exhibition contest. The last time the two teams met was on Dec. 17, 2006, with Illinois winning 74-47 at Assembly Hall. Illinois leads the overall series with IPFW, 2-0. Scouting Eastern Illinois Illinois defeated Eastern Illinois, 86-56, on the road in last season's opener, marking the first career win of Illini head coach Jolette Law. Jenna Smith had 16 points and 19 rebounds, Chelsea Gordon had 17 points, all in the second half, and Lacey Simpson had nine points and six assists in last year's victory. Illinois leads the all-time series with EIU 8-5, but have not dropped a game to the Panthers since 1980. The Panthers open their regular season on Friday, hosting Miami (Ohio). Preseason Recap The Illini took control in the second half behind All-American center Jenna Smith, who scored 15 of her game-high 23 points after the intermission, and hot-shooting freshman Fabiola Josil. Smith gave the Illini a 32-30 lead with five quick points early in the second half and then Josil sparked a 29-6 Illini run down the stretch with back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second half. Smith led the way for Illinois with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Josil finished with 15 points, including 3-of-4 from three-point land, and senior Chelsea Gordon added 13 points and seven assists. Newcomers Lana Rukavina (seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks), Whitney Toone (eight rebounds, four offensive rebounds), Macie Blinn (four points) and Lydia McCully (two assists, one steal, one block) all contributed to the victory in their Assembly Hall debuts. Illinois Signs No. 2 Recruiting Class in the Nation Adrienne GodBold Brianna Jones Kersten Magrum Amber Moore Karisma Penn Destiny Williams 2007-08 in Review Some headlines from 2007-08... • Lucky #20: The second round WNIT victory over Drake gave Illinois its first 20-win season since 1999-2000. It marks the seventh 20-win season in school history. • Block Party: With 59 blocked shots on the season Jenna Smith became Illinois' single-season blocks leader, surpassing Kendra Gantt's 25 year-old record of 57. In addition, the Illini broke the team record for blocks in a season with 156, breaking the old mark of 151 that was set in 2006-07. • 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. • Double Trouble: Jenna Smith recorded double-doubles in 16 of 35 games this season, which led the Big Ten, and has 22 double-doubles in her career, which ranked second in the Big Ten at year end behind only Wisconsin senior Jolene Anderson (26). Only a sophomore, Smith scored double figures in 34 of 35 games on the season, including a string of 28 straight. • Taking Care of the Rock: Illinois led the Big Ten and set a new school record for fewest turnovers per game (15.3). In the Feb. 21 victory over Penn State, Illinois established a new school record for least number of turnovers in a game with just five. • Long Year: The Fighting Illini played 35 games on the season, making 2007-08 the longest in school history. Previously, the longest season was 1999-2000 when the Orange and Blue played 34 games, going 23-11. Illini Make History at Big Ten Tournament • 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 marked Illinois' fourth straight and sixth overall appearance in the postseason WNIT. After the third round loss to Marquette, the Illini are now 5-6 overall in the tournament. Illinois has lost just once it its opening-round game, on the road at Indiana State in 2005. In each of the five other WNIT appearances the Illini have won their first game and lost the second. The Orange and Blue are 5-2 all-time in WNIT games played in Champaign Illinois Ticket Information
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