Nov. 9, 2010
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois looked impressive in its 2010-11 Assembly Hall debut, dominating Kentucky Wesleyan right from the tip en route to a 100-37 exhibition victory. Sophomore Karisma Penn led seven Illini in double figures with a double-double of 18 points and 11 boards, while junior Lana Rukavina also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. As a team, the Orange and Blue shot a sizzling 66 percent from the field and held the guests to just 24 percent.
The young Illini pushed the tempo early and often, while Penn and Rukavina made the most of their size over the Panthers with a 50-14 points in the paint advantage. Illinois jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 2:13 of the game behind eight quick points from Penn and never looked back. After 10 minutes of play, the Illini led 33-11 and had hit 14-of-15 from the field. By halftime, Illinois led 55-19 and was shooting at a 77 percent clip.
Fourth-year head coach Jolette Law was able to use multiple lineup combinations and got plenty playing of time for freshmen Alexis Burke (25 minutes) and Centrese McGee (25 minutes) and redshirt freshman Amber Moore (18 minutes). The only suspense in the second half was whether the Illini would reach 100 points. A Rukavina free throw with 1.2 seconds left pushed them over the century mark, something the Illini haven't done in a regular season game since 2001.
Illinois scored 34 points off 26 WKC turnovers and out-rebounded the guests 49-26. Penn did her damage efficiently, hitting 8-of-9 from the field and reaching her double-double numbers in only 19 minutes of play. The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native also blocked three shots on the night.
The Illini also excelled behind the arc, nailing 9-of-17 from downtown. Last year's season-high for threes in a game was eight. Moore led the way from the perimeter, hitting 4-of-7 threes and finishing with 16 points. Junior point guard Lydia McCully hit all three of her three-point attempts on her way to 11 points and eight assists in only 22 minutes.
The other Illini to score in double-figures were Burke (14 points), McGee (10 points) and junior Macie Blinn (10 points). McGee and Blinn also wreaked havoc on the defensive end, registering five and four steals, respectively. Junior guard Eboni Mitchell, the only Illini to score in single-digits with four points, found other ways to make her presence felt, contributing five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Two concerns for the Illini were free throw shooting and fouls. Illinois hit only 9-of-23 from the charity stripe (39 percent) and committed 20 fouls.
There was some bad news for the Illini on Tuesday, however, as it was announced prior to the game that sophomore forward Kersten Magrum will miss six weeks with stress injury to her foot and sophomore guard Adrienne GodBold began serving a six-game suspension (one exhibition game and five regular season games). More information on Magrum and GodBold can be found here.
The Fighting Illini will open the regular season on Friday when Illinois State comes to town for a 7 p.m. start. The two teams met in the quarterfinals of last year's postseason WNIT, with ISU prevailing 53-52 at the buzzer.
