Dec. 26, 2006

Game 13: Illinois-Penn State Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game 13: Penn State (7-6, 0-0) at Illinois (10-2, 0-0)
Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006 // 7 p.m. // Assembly Hall (16.618) // Champaign, Ill.

On The Air
TV: Comcast SportsNet Chicago - LIVE (Dave Eanet and Suzie McConnell-Serio)
Radio: Illini Sports Network - WDWS and WDAN - LIVE (Dave Loane and Mike Koon)
Internet: Fightingillini.com live streaming video and Gametracker

The Series
Penn State leads 19-10 - Last Season: ILL 66, PSU 57 (1/12/06 @ Champaign, Ill.); PSU 78, ILL 52 (2/12/06 @ University Park, Pa.)

The Coaches
Illinois: Theresa Grentz, 662-301 overall (33rd season), 201-146 at Illinois (12th season)
Penn State: Rene Portland, 685-255 overall (31st season), 598-226 at Penn State (27th season)

Quick Hits
• For Openers: After taking a week off for the holidays, Illinois (10-2) opens Big Ten Conference play on Thursday, Dec. 28, when the Penn State Lady Lions come to Assembly Hall. The Fighting Illini are riding a four-game winning streak after a 57-41 win at Bradley on Dec. 21, winning those four games by an average of 22.8 points. The UI-PSU match-up, which tips-off at 7 p.m., will be televised live by Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

• Big Ten Openers: Illinois is 13-11 in Big Ten home openers, having won eight of the last 10, but is just 9-15 in overall conference openers. Last season, UI opened Big Ten play with a 67-48 victory over Michigan at Assembly Hall.

• Non-Conference Record: The Dec. 21 win over Bradley ended Illinois' non-conference season at 10-2, the best ever non-conference mark for a UI squad. Illinois has finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with two losses on three other occasions since 1982-83, when the Big Ten started sponsoring women's basketball - 2004-05 (9-2), 1996-97 (8-2) and 1986-87 (7-2) - but had never reached 10 wins until this season.

• Home Sweet Home: Illinois is 6-0 at home this season, has won seven straight games at home dating back to last season and holds an all-time record of 222-118 (.653) at home and 183-96 (.656) at Assembly Hall.

• Immaculata Idols: UI coach Theresa Grentz and PSU's Rene Portland were teammates at Immaculata College, leading the tiny Pennsylvania school to three straight AIAW national titles in the mid-70s. Both started their stellar coaching careers at St. Joseph's University, with Portland taking over for two seasons after Grentz spent the first two years of her career there (75-77). Portland is seventh on the all-time Division I wins list with 688, while Grentz is 10th with 662.

• Keystone Connection: Coach Grentz, a Philadelphia legend, isn't the only U of I connection to the state of Pennsylvania. Four Illini players also hail from the Keystone State - Chelsea Gordon (Erie), Danielle Gratton (Bethel Park), Audrey Tabon (Pittsburgh) and Erin Wigley (Moon Township). Gordon and Penn State guard Mashea Williams attended high school together at Mercyhurst Prep and played on the same AAU team. While Tabon and Lady Lion Guard Brianne O'Rourke both attended Oakland Catholic HS in Pittsburgh.

• More Connections: Suzie McConnell Serio will be the analyst for Comcast SportsNet Chicago's broadcast of the Illinois-PSU game. Serio, a former head coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and the 2004 WNBA Coach of the Year, coached Illini senior Audrey Tabon and PSU sophomore Brianne O'Rourke at Oakland Catholic High School. Serio is also the sister of former Illinois assistant coach and current University of Colorado head coach Kathy McConnell.

• Trey-mendous Defense: Illinois owes a large of its 10-2 record to its defense prowess this season, particularly its perimeter defense. The Fighting Illini lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.248) and rank second in overall field goal percentage defense (.330). The Orange and Blue have held opponents to less than 50 points in six of their 12 games this season and have not allowed an opponent to shoot over 40 percent in a game all year.

• Rebounding on the Rebound: Just five games ago, Illinois ranked dead last in the Big Ten in total rebounds and eighth in defensive rebounds. However, after pulling down 48, 54, 51, 50 and 51 boards in the last five games, Illinois has upped its overall rebounding average from 37.3 to 42.9, which now ranks third in the league, and its defensive rebounding average from 26.1 to 30.9, which leads the league. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten and 25th in the nation in rebounding margin (+8.2).

• No Harm, No Foul: According to the Dec. 18 NCAA statistics, Illinois ranks second in the nation in fewest personal fouls committed per game (12.5) behind only Fordham's average of 12.1. As a result, opponents are averaging just 12.5 free throw attempts per game.

• Grentz Gets #200: Illinois' 74-47 victory over IPFW on Dec. 17 was the 200th win at Illinois for head coach Theresa Grentz. Grentz is 201-146 in her 12th season with the Illini and is 662-301 overall in her 33-year career, which ranks her 10th on the all-time Division I wins list. She is already the Illinois career wins leader.

Scouting the Lady Lions
Penn State is 7-6 overall entering Big Ten play this Thursday. The Lady Lions endured a five game losing streak earlier this season and are just 2-4 on the road. They are coming off a 52-44 victory over Georgetown on Dec. 17 and have won three of their last four. On Dec. 10, PSU fell to Ole Miss 65-48, a team Illinois dropped a 75-50 game to.

All-Big Ten center Amanda Brown leads the Lion attack, averaging 13.8 points and 8.9 boards per game while shooting .536 from the field. Tyra Grant (12.2 ppg) and sharpshooter Adrienne Squire (11.8 ppg) also average double figures for PSU.

The Illinois-Penn State Series
Penn State leads the all-time series 19-10 and has won six of the last seven, but Illinois leads 7-6 in Champaign. Last season, the two team split the season series with Illinois winning 66-57 in Champaign and PSU winning 78-52 in University Park. Grentz is 27-27 all-time vs. the Lady Lions, 9-11 while at Illinois and 18-16 while at Rutgers.

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 leads the Big Ten in threes made per game at 2.58. Her .388 shooting percentage beyond the arc (31-of-80) ranks fourth in the league, while her scoring average of 14.6 is seventh in the conference.

• Bjork has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, which is the second-longest current streak in the Big Ten behind only Jessica Davenport's streak of 14.

• Bjork has had to make 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 (39), three-point field goals (31) and minutes (33.8).

Clutch Crutch
• Junior forward Danyel Crutcher posted her second double-double of the season and the seventh of her career with 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds at Bradley on Dec. 21. The 15 rebounds were the most for and Illini in over a year, since Audrey Tabon had 15 at Florida on Dec. 9 last season.

• Crutcher has stepped up big thus far for the Illini, especially after starting center Audrey Tabon went down with a season-ending knee injury before the season. Crutcher is averaging 9.5 points and 7.1 rebounds thus far, and against UIC early in the season she had a key putback with just eight seconds remaining to seal the 53-48 victory. The Orange, N.J., native is shooting .529 (45-of-85) for the season.

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. For the season, she is averaging 10.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting .557 from the field, which ranks fifth 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. She has also had three near double-doubles (12 points and nine rebounds vs. Saint Joseph's, eight points and 11 rebounds vs. Rhode Island, and 11 points and eight rebounds vs. IPFW).

Gordon Has Career Night...Again
• Sophomore Chelsea Gordon was the lone bright spot in the loss to Ole Miss on Dec. 2, scoring a career-high 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds. It was the third time in a five-game span that Gordon eclipsed her previous career-high in points. In the victory at Saint Louis, the Erie, Pa., native hit 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from behind the arc for what was then a career-best 17 points, and on Nov. 20, she poured in 16 points at Northern Illinois, which was a career-high at the time. She is second on the team and 26th in the Big Ten for the season at 10.4.

Simpson Sizzles
• Though she has struggled offensively as of late (3.6 ppg in the last five), redshirt freshman Lacey Simpson has found other ways to help the Illini win during that span. She is averaging 9.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in the last five and usually draws the toughest defensive assignment.

• Simpson ranks in the top-10 in the Big Ten in four categories: steals (4th - 2.83), blocked shots (5th - 1.67),), defensive rebounding (8th - 5.33) and overall rebounding (10th - 7.7). She has led the team in rebounding a team-high six times this season.

• Simpson showed that she will be a force to be reckoned with early in 2006-07. She posted game-highs in points (17) and rebounds (7) in Illinois' season-opening win over Butler, then followed that up with her first career double-double (12 p, 12 r) in the UIC..

• The Zion, Ill., native played four games early last season before missing the rest of the year after having internal surgery and taking a medical redshirt.

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 12 points vs. IPFW and has been coming on offensively as of late. After scoring just 27 points in her first seven games (3.9 ppg), she has poured in 35 in her last four (8.8). She is averaging 5.6 points in just 18.5 minutes per game this season.

• 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 20+ minutes in each of the last five games, even earning a start in the win over Bradley.

More Illini Tidbits
• Dishing the Rock: Illinois racked up a season-high 27 assists on 33 made baskets in the Dec. 9 won over Rhode Island. Lori Bjork (7), Lacey Simpson (6), Jenna Smith (5) and Rebecca Harris (4) all set career-highs for assists in the game, while the team total was the most for an Illini team since March 14, 2002, when they had 27 assists in a first round WNIT win over Western Kentucky.

• UC Dominance: Illinois' 73-48 win over Rhode Island on Dec. 9 was Illinois' fourth in a row in the annual Lexus December To Remember Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Illinois is now 6-2 overall at the home of the Chicago Bulls, and has won the last four in-a-row at the UC by an average of 34.3 points per game.

• Postseason Streak: Entering 2006-07, Illinois had advanced to postseason play in nine of the last 10 years. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times during that streak and to the WNIT the other four.

• Giant Killers: 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. Illinois has yet to face a ranked foe this season.