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Kersten Margrum leads the Illini with 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season.
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Nov. 23, 2011
Printable San Juan Shootout Notes 
San Juan Shootout Notes
Game 6 – Illinois vs. RV/#18 Green Bay (3-0)
Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 // 4:30 p.m. CT // Mets Pavilion // Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
On The Air
Radio: Live on WDWS-AM 1400 and online at fightingillini.com (Brian Moline and Mike Koon)
Live Stats: Available on fightingillini.com
The Series
Illinois leads the all-time series, 4-1. Last meeting: GB 72, ILL 43; 12/1/2004
The Coaches
Illinois: Jolette Law, 58-76 overall and at Illinois (fifth season)
Green Bay: Matt Bolant, 120-17 overall and at Green Bay (fifth season)
Game 7 – Illinois vs. Arizona State (3-0)
Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 // 2 p.m. CT // Mets Pavilion // Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
On The Air
Radio: Live on WDWS-AM 1400 and online at fightingillini.com (Brian Moline and Mike Koon)
Live Stats: Available on fightingillini.com
The Series
This is the first meeting between Illinois and Arizona State.
The Coaches
Illinois: Jolette Law (fifth season)
Arizona St.: Joseph Anders, 3-0 overall and at Arizona State (11th season, 1st as Interim Head Coach)
Quick Hits
• Tip-off: Illinois players and coaches are in the midst of a 12-day road trip that will take them to Oregon, California and Puerto Rico. The Illini play nine straight games away from Assembly Hall overall.
On this trip alone, the Illini will travel a total of 8,610 miles from Champaign to Chicago then on to Portland and San Francisco before traveling to San Juan for a pair of games before returning to Chicago and back home to Champaign. The Illini also have trips to Clemson, S.C., Normal, Ill., Chicago and Las Vegas before returning home to meet Alabama A&M on Dec. 28.
• Illinois does have experience playing in the San Juan Shootout. The Illini participated in the 1997 event, defeating P.R.-Mayaguez (95-37), Providence (106-74) and Duke (77-65). The victory over Providence marked head coach Theresa Grentz’ 500th career win.
• The Illini are ranked second in the Big Ten in blocked shots at 5.8 per game. Karisma Penn is tied for the conference lead in blocks individually at 3.0 per game.
• Magrum return paying dividends: Kersten Magrum used last season as a medical hardship after suffering through a stress fracture in her foot. Magrum set then-career highs in points (23) and rebounds (7) in the victory over Cleveland State and ranks eighth in the Big Ten in rebounding at 7.8 per game. Magrum followed with her first collegiate double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Memphis before re-setting career-bests with 24 points and 12boards at Oregon. Magrum is getting it done at the free-throw line, making 29 of her 31 attempts in the first five games (.935), including going 12-for-12 from the charity stripe against the Ducks.
• Come back falls just short: Illinois trailed Oregon 49-33 at half time in Eugene, using a second-half surge to re-take the lead, 56-55, on a tip-in by Kersten Magrum with 13:04 remaining. After playing back-and-forth basketball over an 11-minute stretch, Illinois last led the game at 72-71 before Oregon scored a pair of free-throws for a one-point lead with 1:51 left. Oregon never led by more than three over the two minutes, while Illinois got within one on a top-in by Karisma Penn with 28 seconds remaining.
Scouting The Phoenix
Green Bay is 3-0 on the season and ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and was picked to win the Horizon League. The Phoenix have wins over North Dakota State, Toledo and Eastern Michigan on the young season. Green Bay is led by Julie Wojta’s 22.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while four total Phoenix players score in double-figures on average. Green Bay is outscoring opponents by more than 23 points per game over the first three contests, winning each by at least 16 points.
The Illini are 4-1 all-time vs. Green Bay, which includes an 82-58 victory in the 2001 WNIT First Round and an 82-58 triumph in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1997. Green Bay won the most recent meeting, 72-43, in Green Bay on Dec. 1, 2004.
Scouting The Sun Devils
Arizona State is 3-0 on the season with victories over UC-Riverside (66-46), Colorado State (56-52) and Boston College (79-54). The Sun Devils are under the direction of interim head coach Joseph Anders, who is filling in for Charli Turner Thome while she takes a nine-month leave of absence. Among his assistants is former Illinois assistant Chris Mennig (2003-04 to 2004-05), who had spent the previous six years as an evaluator for U.S. Junior Nationals and Blue Star while also coaching the girls’ team at St. Thomas More High School in Champaign. ASU is coming off its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years.
Penn Nears 1,000 Points; Moves Up Career List
Junior Karisma Penn is quickly climbing up several career charts, including approaching the 1,000-point plateau. The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native enters the week with 999 points and would become just the 24th Illinois player with 1,000 points. Penn also ranks 19th in career rebounds (553) and fourth in career blocks (150). For her career, Penn is averaging 14.1 points per game, including a career-best 17.5 per contest during her 2010-11 sophomore season. Penn also earned an average of 7.6 rebounds per contest during her 71-game career, which includes 70 starts, and 2.1 blocks to go with shooting .471 (387-821) while with the Orange and Blue.
Illinois' Career Scoring List Points Player Years 1. 2,160 Jenna Smith 2006-10 2. 2,089 Ashley Berggren 1994-98 3. 1,984 Jonelle Polk 1983-87 4. 1,906 Lisa Robinson 1978-82 5. 1,639 Angelina Williams 2001-05 -- 20. 1,091 Alicia Sheeler 1996-99 21. 1,023 Susan Blauser 1998-00 1,023 Erin Wigley 2003-07 23. 1,005 Jenny Johnson 1984-88 24. 999 Karisma Penn 2009- Illinois' Career Rebounding List Rebs. Player Years 1. 1,217 Jenna Smith 2006-10 2. 1,014 Cindy Dallas 1998-04 3. 933 Jonelle Polk 1983-87 4. 900 Lacey Simpson 2005-10 5. 896 Lynnette Robinson 1978-82 -- 16. 589 Nicole Vasey 1994-98 17. 573 Erin Wigley 2003-07 18. 564 Mary Pat Travnick 1975-79 19. 543 Karisma Penn 2009- Illinois' Career Blocked Shots List Blocks Player Years 1. 231 Jenna Smith 2006-10 2. 163 Lacey Simpson 2005-10 3. 156 Kendra Gantt 1981-85 4. 150 Karisma Penn 2009- 5. 135 Jonelle Polk 1983-87
McCully Moving Up Career Assists List
Lydia McCully moved past Dawn Vana and into 14th on the Illinois all-time career assist list. McCully now has 296 for her career, only three shy of passing Maggie Acuna (2002-06) for 13th all-time. Last year, McCully had 130 assists, which was the 13th-best single-season assist mark in school history.
Illinois' Career Assists List Assists Player Years 1. 550 Jill Estey 1989-93 2. 507 Jenny Johnson 1984-88 3. 451 Lacey Simpson 2005-10 4. 391 Michelle Vossen 1980-84 5. 342 Tauja Catchings 1996-00 -- 10. 312 Shavonna Hunter 1999-02 11. 311 Allison Curtin 1998-01 12. 301 Krista Reinking 1994-98 13. 298 Maggie Acuna 2002-06 14. 296 Lydia McCully 2008-
Block Party One Of The Best In School History
Illinois had 12 blocked shots in its victory over Memphis on Nov. 15. That is tied for the second most in a game in school history. Four of the top five games have all come under Jolette Law. The record is 13 set Jan. 27, 2011 vs. Penn State.
Magrum Returns From Injury
After starting 15 games and averaging 4.3 points per game as a freshman, Kersten Magrum missed all but three games last season suffering from a stress fracture in her right foot. Magrum is considered the most versatile player in the Illini line-up. A natural guard, Magrum can play the 2, 3, or 4 position on the floor. Magrum has scored in double-figures in each of Illinois’ four most-recent contests, including a career-best 24-point, 12-rebound performance against Oregon on Nov. 18. Magrum also has one other double-double through the first five games, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds during Illinois’ 62-54 win over Memphis on Nov. 15. Magrum leads the Illini in points (15.8) and rebounds per game (7.8), averaging 29.8 minutes per contest.
McGee Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Sophomore guard Centrese McGee will miss the 2011-12 season after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee just prior to the start of the school year. The Calumet City native had surgery on Oct. 6.
McGee started all 32 games for the Fighting Illini during her freshman campaign, averaging 5.7 points per game and ranking second on the team in rebounding at 5.3 per contest. She led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding while ranking second among those first-year players in steals (1.2 per game). McGee had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in a victory over Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Following the season, she received the Coaches’ Award at the team’s annual banquet and was Illinois’ representative on the Big Ten Sportsmanship Team.
A Full Fifteen
For the first time under Jolette Law, the Illini have a full complement of players on the roster. Returning 10 players from a year ago, the Illini added an impressive class of five for this season.
The incoming class includes two players from state championship teams -- Alexis Smith (West Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist H.S.) and Taylor Tuck (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.) and all five players who have excelled in the classroom.
The rest of the class includes Ivory Crawford (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East H.S.), the No. 88 ranked player in the class (No. 6 in Illinois) according to Blue Star Basketball; Nia Oden (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King H.S.), the 30th-ranked wing player in the class according to ESPN HoopGurlz; and Kierra Morris (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park Academy), a first team all-state performer.
The returnees had a combined for 266 starts coming into the season from Lydia McCully (93), Macie Blinn (23), Eboni Mitchell (18), Lana Rukavina (34), Adrienne GodBold (5), Karisma Penn (65), Kersten Magrum (15) and Amber Moore (13).
Big Ten Tournament Tickets On Sale Now
All-session tickets for the 2012 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the Illinois Athletics ticket office, Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is the site of the tournament from March 1-4.
All-session tickets are available for $50 through January 31, which marks a 30-percent discount off the regular price of $70. Fans wishing to purchase all-session tickets within their university’s fan block for their respective team’s games only are encouraged to contact their school’s ticket office.
Illini to See Plenty of TV, Internet Coverage
The Illini will appear on national television at least seven times this season. In addition, 13 more games will be streamed live online on the Big Ten Digital Network and FightingIllini.com All-Access.
For the season, all 16 Big Ten Conference games and all Illinois home games will be either national televised or streamed online. In addition, all 10 Big Ten Tournament games will be televised, with the Big Ten Network airing the first three rounds and ESPN2 broadcasting the championship game.
Law Locks Up Two for 2012-13
Illinois head coach Jolette Law has announced the signing of 6-0 guard Mckenzie Piper (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West H.S.) and 6-3 forward Nia Moore (Bolingbrook, Ill./H.S.).
Piper committed to Illinois in June following Elite Camp. She also considered Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State and Iowa among others. Piper averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and shot 41 percent from the field in helping Iowa City West to the championship game of the Class 4A state tournament. The Trojans also won the Mississippi Valley Conference for the first time in 22 years. Piper transferred to Iowa City West after playing her first two seasons at Keokuk, who advanced to the state quarterfinals during her freshman year. The three-star recruit also played for All Iowa Attack and is ranked as the 59th best guard in the class by HoopGurlz.
Moore committed to Illinois in October after also considering Notre Dame, Auburn and Wisconsin. She is the second player from the highly successful program to join the Illini, along with current freshmen Taylor Tuck. Moore was the starting center for the 2011 IHSA Class 4A champions. The Raiders have won the last three state titles in the largest class in Illinois. Moore is a three-star recruit according to HoopGurlz and transferred to Bolingbrook after playing her first two years at Morgan Park. HoopGurlz ranks her as the 82nd best forward in the class nationally and evaluates her as a “shot blocker/changer.” She played for the Illinois Dream Team during the summer.
2010-11 In Review
The Fighting Illini finished the 2010-11 campaign with a 9-23 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the Big Ten to finish in 11th place. Illinois pulled off two upsets in the Big Ten Tournament to become the first No. 11 seed to advance to the semifinals before falling to No. 2 seed Penn State with a trip to the title game on the line.
