Illinois Battles Cal-Santa Barbara

Nov. 19, 1999

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Four ranked teams vie for WNIT Championship

The calendar may say it's November, but the Assembly Hall will have a post-season feel to it as four ranked teams decend on Champaign for the right to call themselves Pre-season WNIT, champs.

For the winner, it could mean a top five or at least a Top 10 rankings, but also the feeling that they are battled tested for the tourney that counts, most commonly dubbed "March Madness."

Much as last year crowned a new NCAA champion, these four teams believe that 1999-2000 will be the coming out party for their championship run.

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
G	10	Allison Curtin	5-9	So.	15.0	4.0	3.0
G	23	Melissa Parker	5-9	Sr.	6.0	1.0	3.0
F	33	Susan Blauser	6-2	Sr.	15.0	7.0	1.0
F	12	Tauja Catchings	6-1	Sr.	32.0	11.0	7.0
F	00	Kylie Martin	6-2	Sr.	15.0	4.0	3.0

The teams, the schedule, the history....

1 p.m. Sunday -- No. 13/12 Illinois vs. No. 15/13 Cal-Santa Barbara

3 p.m. Sunday -- No. 3/5 Georgia vs. No. 20/21 Boston College

6 p.m. Monday -- Third-place game

8 p.m. Monday -- Championship game

Final Four Tickets (good for both nights) -- $22 Public (Sections AA,A,B), $18 Public (Section C), $11 Student (AA,A,B), $9 Student (C)

This is the fifth year of the Pre-season WNIT Tournament. The previous winners have been Colorado State (1998), Connecticut (1997), Louisiana Tech (1996), Colorado (1995) and Washington (1994).

How they got there: Illinois defeated Western Michigan, 112-73, and Oklahoma State, 77-62, Georgia defeated UAB 76-75 and won at Virginia Tech, 65-60, UCSB defeated UNLV, 77-56, and TCU, 86-61, Boston College won road games at Maine, 83-56, and at Duke, 77-70.

Boston College built in a game in between the tournament. The Eagles return to Chestnut Hill to face Davidson on Friday.

The weekend marks games three and four for Illinois in a seven-game November slate, which will ultimately include four ranked teams. Illinois travels to Duquesne on Wednesday before hosting

# 7/9 Notre Dame on Nov. 27 and traveling to #1 UConn on Nov. 30.

This is the second straight Big Ten site for the NIT Final Four. Wisconsin hosted the post-season Final Four last season.

Illinois has won two in-season tournaments under Theresa Grentz. The Illini defeated Creighton (87-71) and host Oregon State (65-50) in the Beavers' Tournament in 1996-97 and downed Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (95-37), Providence (106-74), and Duke (77-65) in Puerto Rico in 1997-98.

Team Comparisons	BC	UCSB	UGA	UI
Points Scored	80.0	81.5	70.5	94.5
Points Allowed	63.0	58.5	67.5	67.5
Rebound Advantage	+3.5	+9.5	-1.5	+14.5
Field-Goal Shooting	.452	.508	.424	.518
Opponents FG Pct.	.355	.320	.400	.388
Free-Throw Shooting	.865	.577	.600	.776
Three-Point Shooting	.478	.280	.296	.450
Opponents 3-Pt. Pct.	.341	.300	.323	.275
Assists	14.5	25.0	17.5	17.5
Turnovers	14.0	17.0	12.5	18.5
Turnovers Forced	16.5	19.0	17.0	20.0
Blocks	3.5	6.0	8.0	1.5
Steals	8.0	6.5	6.5	13.0

Statistical Leaders of the Final Four teams

Points

Cal Bouchard, Boston College 40

Susan Blauser, Illinois 39

Tauja Catchings, Illinois 38

Kelly Miller, Georgia 35

Erin Buescher, UC-Santa Barbara 35

Rebounds

Katie Christensen, UC-Santa Barbara 23

Becky Gottstein, Boston College 20

Tawana McDonald, Georgia 20

Tauja Catchings, Illinois 19

Erin Buescher, UC-Santa Barbara 17

Assists

Stacy Clinesmith, UC-Santa Barbara 18

Coco Miller, Georgia 10

Allison Curtin, Illinois 9

Tauja Catchings, Illinois 8

Alissa Murphy, Boston College 8

Steals

Allison Curtin, Illinois 10

Susan Blauser, Illinois 4

Kelly Miller, Georgia 4

Six tied with 3

Field Goal Shooting (Min. 10 attempts)

Susan Blauser, Illinois (16-25) .640

Jamie Cournover, Boston College (10-17) .588

Kayte Christensen, UC-Santa Barbara (11-19) .579

Erin Buescher, UC-Santa Barbara (14-25) .560

Kristi Rohr, UC-Santa Barbara (13-23) .565

Three-Point Shooting (Min. 5 attempts)

Cal Bouchard, Boston College (9-14) .643

Camille Murphy, Georgia (6-12) .500

Jess Hansen, UC-Santa Barbara (3-6) .500

Kylie Martin, Illinois (2-5) .400

Stacy Clinesmith, UC-Santa Barbara (2-5) .400

Free Throw Shooting (Min. 7 attempts)

Kelly Miller, Georgia (8-8) 1.000

Allison Curtin, Illinois (7-7) 1.000

Alissa Murphy, Boston College (19-20) .950

Jamie Cournover, Boston College (8-9), .889

Brianne Stephenson, Boston College (7-8) .875

Illinois vs. UCSB Part II, Illini vs. Georgia, Part I?

Just two years ago, Illinois welcomed the Cal-Santa Barbara Gauchos to Assembly Hall. Illinois defeated Santa Barbara, 69-65, in Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament. Then sophomore Tauja Catchings hit an off-balanced jumper with 17 seconds left in the game in a play that proved to be the final nail in the coffin. That clinched the second straight 20-win season for the Illini. Ashley Berggren scored 17 points, while teammate Alicia Sheeler added 13 points for the Illini. Sophomore Stacy Clinesman had pulled the Gauchos to within three points at 65-62 on a three-point shot with just 44 seconds to play.

That year the Gauchos came into the tournament as an 11th seed and Illinois was a No. 3 seed. Assistant coach Krista Reinking had 13 points for the Illini while UCSb was led by Kristi Rohr's 18 points and Erin Buescher's 17 points.

ILL (69)	FG-A	3P-A	FT-A	REB	PF	TP	MIN
Catchings	3-9	0-0	3-6	9	2	9	24
Vasey	1-4	0-0	0-1	5	2	2	32
Sheeler	6-12	0-0	1-2	8	2	13	28
Parker	1-4	0-2	4-4	1	0	6	20
Berggren	5-11	0-0	7-9	8	3	17	33
Guarneri	2-5	0-2	0-0	2	0	4	18
Reinking	5-13	2-8	0-0	4	2	12	29
Coleman	1-2	0-1	2-2	0	0	4	7
Leonhardt	1-3	0-0	0-2	5	2	2	9
Totals	25-63	2-13	17-26	46	13	69	200
FG%:	.365
FT%:	.653

Assists (14): Catchings, 2, Vasey, 2, Sheeler, Berggren, 3, Guarneri, Reinking, 5, Blocks (2): Vasey, Leonhardt Steals (8): Catchings, Vasey, Parker, 2, Berggren, Guarneri, Reinking, 2. Turnovers: 19

Halftime score: Illinois 59, Western Michigan 35

UCSB (65)	FG-A	3P-A	FT-A	REB	PF	TP	MIN
Rohr	7-14	0-0	4-4	7	3	18	32
Buescher	6-12	2-3	3-4	11	4	17	26
Greathouse	3-15	2-6	0-0	8	4	8	32
Cooper	1-6	0-1	0-0	1	2	2	21
Clinesmith	4-17	2-12	0-0	3	3	10	32
Lampson	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	2	0	5
Frial	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	8
Shadwell	2-3	2-3	2-2	7	3	8	34
Taylor	1-1	0-0	0-0	2	1	2	9
Totals	24-70	8-26	9-10	40	22	65	200
FG%:	.433
FT%:	.706

Assists (11): Buescher, 2, Greathouse, Cooper, Clinesmith, 3, Shadwell, 4. Blocks (1): Buescher. Steals (10): Rohr, Buescher, 3, Greathouse, 2, Cooper, 1, Clinesmith, Frial, Shadwell. Turnovers: 22.

In an interesting twist, Georgia visits the Assembly Hall for the first of two times this season. The non-conference foe returns to Champaign 42 days later to meet the Illini in a Jan. 2 showdown.

Catch her if you can

Like the rest of her teammates, senior Tauja Catchings came into the 1999-2000 season on a mission. For Catchings, it has been refreshing that she also has performed at a high level virtually injury free. "It feels good not to have to come in for treatment an hour and a half before practice," she said.

Catchings put on a display Monday that backed up her claim as a Pre-season Naismith Player of the Year candidate. Catchings wears the same number (12) as Head Coach Theresa Grentz did and is putting up numbers her mentor would be proud of.

Catchings set career single game highs for points in a game (32), points in a half (20), free throws (8), and field goals (12) in the 112-73 win over Western Michigan.

In comparing this year to last year, Catchings reached 20 points just three times with her highest back-to-back games coming at the Big Ten Tournament when she scored 45 points combined in games against Penn State (19) and Purdue (26).

Illinois players posted 16 double-doubles last year. Catchings led the way with seven such games, including a 16-point, 14-rebound performance at Wisconsin.

Catchings knows how to win. Her high school team, Stevenson, posted a 123-9 record under Catchings guidance.

Scouting the rest of the field

Boston College has had to win both of its tournament games on the road and throw in a home game with Davidson on Friday, and the Eagles have been quite the travelers. Boston College made its first ever NCAA appearance last season, defeating Ohio State in the first round before falling to Tennessee in the second round. The 20th ranked Eagles are led by 5-7 guard Cal Bouchard, who has scored 40 points in the first two games. Boston College has been particularly tough on the line, shooting .865 led by a 19 for 20 performance from senior forward Alissa Murphy.

Georgia is ranked No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Fresh off a Final Four year, the Bulldogs are led by juniors Kelly and Coco Miller, two Pre-season Naismith candidates. Kelly Miller is averaging 17.5 points in the first two games of the year and is a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs have trailed in each of their first two games, defeating UAB, 76-75, in the first round, and Virginia Tech, 65-60 in the second round.

Illinois vs. Georgia: 0-1, losing 103-64 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Cal-Santa Barbara is hoping this year is a breakthrough year. A young Santa Barbara team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament two straight years, but has yet to get past the second round. Last year UCSB lost to SW Missouri, 72-70, in the first round of the NCAA. Seven of the nine players, including 4 of the 5 starters, from the team that played Illinois two years ago, return, led by two-time Big West Player of the Year Erin Buescher. Buescher has 35 points and 17 rebounds in the first two contests, while 6-3 sophomore Kayte Christensen has 23 rebounds.

Illinois vs. UCSB: 1-0, defeated the Gauchos, 69-65, in 1998 NCAA Second Round.

Theresa Grentz is more than a basketball coach.

In her five years in Champaign, Grentz has made over 750 public appearances at various functions. She takes time to talk one-on-one with boys and girls. She shares stories with the morning disc jockeys. Along with Illinois men's coach Lon Kruger, Grentz is active in the "Coaches vs. Cancer" program.

Grentz has achieved on the court. Her uniform number (#12 in high school) has been retired at all levels. She has won a national championship as a coach and been honored to coach the U.S. Olympic Team.

This year her peers named her president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Her goal is to "create unity and one voice for the women's game."

The sixth winningest women's basketball coach in NCAA history, Grentz led the Illini to a program-best 24-8 mark in 1996-97, a 20-10 record in 1997-98 and 19-12 last season to improve her career coaching record to 537-200. Her success at Illinois has earned her back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year and WBCA District Coach of the Year honors.

Grentz led the Fighting Illini to the program's first-ever Big Ten title in 1997 and first-ever appearances in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in both '97 and '98. The team's No. 5 ranking in the AP and USA Today polls in December, 1997 marked the highest ranking ever for an Illinois team.

Since Grentz arrived in Champaign, Illinois has broken every attendance record and achieved almost 10 times the total attendance before she took the helm at UI. The Fighting Illini's 1998-99 season attendance total of 81,000-plus broke the previous mark of 68,000 set the year before.

During 19 seasons at Rutgers (1976-95), Grentz's teams compiled an outstanding record of 434-150 (.743), including nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1986-94. Fourteen of Grentz's 19 Lady Knight teams won at least 20 games. Her 1981-82 team finished with a 25-7 record and won the AIAW National Championship.

With Grentz coaching the 1992 Olympic Team, the U.S. won its first three games by an average of 45.6 points at the Barcelona games. After a heartbreaking 79-73 loss to the Unified Team, the U.S. squad came back to defeat Cuba, 88-74, and earned a bronze medal.

Grentz's storied coaching career began as soon as she graduated from college in 1974. She was hired as the head part-time coach at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia later that year. After guiding the Hawks to two winning seasons, including an 18-3 mark in 1975-76, Grentz was hired at Rutgers, becoming the first full-time women's basketball head coach in the nation.

Her success and national prominence began while she was a standout player at Immaculata College. During her four years at the Pennsylvanian college, the Mighty Macs won a remarkable three AIAW National Championships, from 1972-74.

Martin has career day

One of the heroes in Monday's dominiating win over Western Michigan was Kylie Martin. Martin, who transferred to Illinois from Rutgers along with Susan Blauser, saw limited action last season, averaging 13 minutes per game. Martin also started three games and scored in double figures in three games.

Monday Martin took advantage of some mismatches in the backcourt and exploded for an Illinois career high of 15 points. Martin also matched last year's three-point mark from all of last year with two treys and a career-best six field goals. The 29 minutes played also tied her most from last year when she saw the same amount of time against Ohio State.

Martin followed up her performance on Monday with a 6-point, 6-rebound effort Wednesday.

Moving Up the Ranks

Career Scoring

1.	Ashley Berggren	2,089	1994-98
2.	Jonelle Polk	1,984	1983-87
3.	Lisa Robinson	1,906	1978-82
10.	Liz Bradley	1,192	1984-88
11.	Angie McClellan	1,116	1984-88
12.	Alicia Sheeler	1,091	1996-99
13.	Tauja Catchings	1,018	1996-

Career Rebounders

1.	Jonelle Polk	933	1983-87
2.	Lynette Robinson	896	1978-82
3.	Kris Dupps	823	1991-95
9.	Sonya Waters	612	1988-92
10.	Liz Brauer	607	1978-81
11.	Nicole Vasey	589	1994-98
12.	Tauja Catchings	573	1996-

Career Assists

1.	Jill Estey	550	1989-93
2.	Jenny Johnson	507	1984-88
3.	Michelle Vossen	391	1980-84
7.	Lisa Bradley	317	1984-88
8.	Krista Reinking	301	1994-98
9.	Angie McClellan	274	1984-88
10.	Tauja Catchings	264	1996-
11.	Melissa Parker	249	1996-

Career Three-Pointers

1.	Krista Reinking	194	1994-98
2.	Mandy Cunningham	168	1990-94
3.	Melissa Parker	129	1996-99

Illini Tidbits

Illinois has an 13-6 record in November under Grentz.

This is the 51st week that Illinois has been ranked in the in the Top 25.

Career Milestones nearing

Susan Blauser needs...
49 points for 1,200, 32 rebounds for 600, 46 field goals for 500, 3 steals for 100, 75 points for 900 at Illinois.

Tauja Catchings needs...
76 points for 1,100, 27 rebounds for 600, 10 field goals for 400, 36 assists for 300, 40 steals for 200.

Allison Curtin needs...
67 points for 500, 16 assists for 100, 30 steals for 100, 20 three-pointers for 50.

Kylie Martin needs...
12 points for 500, 41 rebounds for 350.

Melissa Parker needs...
56 points for 750, 1 assists for 250, 5 steals for 100, 21 three-pointers for 150, 9 rebounds for 200.

Going polling

At the beginning of the week, there were ten schools ranked in both the Associated Press men's and women's polls. Taking 25 points for first, 1 for 25th, here is how those 10 schools and the points combined for men's and women's basketball:

	WBB	MBB	Pts.
Connecticut	1st	8th	43
North Carolina	8th	5th	39
Auburn	12th	3rd	37
UCLA	4th	12th	36
Tennessee	5th	19th	28
Illinois	13th	17th	22
Kansas	19th	11th	22
Arizona	25th	10th	17
Duke	22nd	18th	12
Purdue	21st	24th	7

Associated Press Top 25 (Nov. 15)

	School	Rec.	Pts	Pvs
1.	Connecticut (34)	0-0	1,057	1
2.	Louisiana Tech (3)	1-0	1,006	6
3.	Georgia (3)	0-0	993	3
4.	UCLA (3)	0-0	921	5
5.	Tennessee	0-1	901	2
6.	Iowa St.	0-0	813	7
7.	Notre Dame	0-0	708	8
8.	North Carolina	0-0	692	9
9.	N.C. State	1-0	679	20
10.	Rutgers	0-1	676	4
11.	Penn St.	0-0	650	10
12.	Auburn	0-0	560	11
13.	Illinois	0-0	485	12
14.	LSU	0-0	479	13
15.	UC-Santa Barbara	0-0	409	14
16.	Old Dominion	0-0	356	15
17.	Oregon	0-0	316	16
18.	Virginia Tech	0-0	299	17
19.	Kansas	0-0	278	18
20.	Boston College	0-0	245	19
21.	Purdue	0-0	206	23
22.	Duke	0-0	194	21
23.	Texas Tech	0-0	169	22
24.	Nebraska	0-0	126	24
25.	Arizona	0-0	120	25

Pre-Season USAToday/ ESPN Poll

	School	1998-99Rec	Pts	Pvs
1.	Connecticut (18)	29-5	947	8
2.	Tennessee(7)	31-3	934	4
3.	Rutgers(7)	29-6	899	6
4.	UCLA(1)	26-8	850	7
5.	Georgia(5)	27-7	847	5
6.	LouisianaTech(1)	30-3	800	3
7.	IowaState(1)	25-8	671	11
8.	NorthCarolina	28-8	615	15
9.	NotreDame	26-5	565	17
10.	PennState	22-8	549	11
11.	Auburn	20-9	461	NR
12.	Illinois	19-12	384	NR
13.	UC-SantaBarbara	26-4	362	23
14.	LSU	22-8	350	16
15.	OldDominion	28-4	349	10
16.	Oregon	25-6	340	19
17.	VirginiaTech	28-3	283	14
18.	NorthCarolinaState	17-12	265	NR
19.	Purdue	34-1	254	1
20.	Kansas	23-10	246	22
21.	BostonCollege	22-8	217	NR
22.	Duke	29-7	209	2
23.	TexasTech	30-4	200	9
24.	Arizona	18-11	167	NR
25.	Virginia	20-8	136	20t

Scoring expected to increase

With lightning quick guards and post players who can run, Illinois is expected to move the ball up the floor more this year. With that in mind, it's not too early to think about some interesting scoring notes.

Since Grentz arrived at Illinois, the Illini have experienced two of the top five scoring years in team history, including a record 2,640 points (82.5 ppg) in 1996-97.

Illinois averaged 78.4 points per game vs. non-conference teams last year.

Illinois has scored at least 80 points 46 times in the last three years and at least 90 points on 20 occasions during that span.

On pace

The 1996-97 season was the most successful one to date in Illinois history. The year included a Big Ten title, a school-record 24 wins, a Sweet Sixteen appearance and 2,640 points. Throughout the season, we'll take a look at how Illinois compared each game.

Game 2 (1-1) -- Illinois 92, Sam Houston State 71. In the consolation game of the UNLV Desert Classic, Illinois jumped to a 16-point halftime lead. Five scorers reached double figures led by Ashley Berggren's 23 points.

2 Game Comparisons

	1996-97	1999-2000
Points:	90.5	94.5
Opp Pts.	83.0	67.5
FG Pct.	.478	.518
FT Pct.	.789	.776
3 Pt. Pct.	.333	.450

Freshman Power

Theresa Grentz likes to prepare her young players by getting them some valuable experience early in their career. The trio of Shavonna Hunter, Karen Hagberg and Kristi Faulkner took their opportunity and ran with it. The trio combined for 30 points , 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on Monday. They also had a near perfect shooting night, going a combined 9 for 14 from the field, 3 for 3 from 3-point range, and 9 for 10 from the free throw line.

To illustrate just what a quick transition the freshmen made consider that Allison Curtin (2), Dawn Vana (4), and Holly Wilson (2), combined for 8 points in the season opener last year.

Illini wanted for special games

Because of the increased visibility of the program Illinois has been in demand of a lot of pre-season showcase events. Last year, Illinois participated in the Honda Elite 4 Classic in Orlando, where the Illini defeated Washington, 85-73. The Illini were asked to compete in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in 1997-98, when they hosted Old Dominion (ODU prevailed, 79-65).

Wilson competes in Europe

Holly Wilson was selected to compete on the Big Ten Traveling Team in Europe this summer. A look at the seasons of the last five Illini the year after they toured with the Big Ten

Alicia Sheeler (1998)-- 11.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, .485 FG Pct. Second-Team All-Big Ten

Krista Reinking (1997) -- 8.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 38 3-pointers.

Ashley Berggren (1996) -- 17.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 135 assists, .520 FG Pct.

Ann Henderson (1995) -- 7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 72 assists, 40 steals.

Kris Dupps (1994) -- 14.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 81 assists, 35 steals.

Illinois adds to its "Player of the Year" reputation

Illinois has added to its status of garnering the Player of the Year in several states. Already this year's squad includes former Illinois Ms. Basketball Tauja Catchings (1996) and Allison Curtin (1997) as well as Gatorade Player of the Year Dawn Vana (1998). Last week Illinois grabbed two of the players selected as the top seniors in their states by media experts for the Class of 2004.

The class includes Brenda Blackburn, a 6-6 center from Ardmore Okla., Anne O'Neil, a 5-11 guard from Cedar Rapids (Kennedy High School), Iowa, Aminata Yanni, a 6-1 senior forward from Machesney Park, Ill., and Yolanda Smith, a 5-10 guard from Rantoul, Ill., and a sophomore at John A. Logan College. In addition to their athletic accomplishments, the class has also excelled in the classroom.

With O'Neil and Yanni, the Illini have two players ranked in the Top 15 in the country according to girl's basketball experts. O'Neil is ranked the seventh-best senior in the country by the All-Star Girl's Report and Women's Basketball Journal, who also lists Yanni No. 33 in the nation. Basketball News , meanwhile, lists O'Neil No. 12 and Yanni No. 23. Columnist Steve Tucker says that O'Neil and Yanni are each the best prospect in their respective states.

Although Grentz has coached other 6-6 players in the past, the coach calls Blackburn the "most mobile player of that size that she has ever had." Blackburn scored 276 points to go along with 176 rebounds and an incredible 114 blocked shots (or 4.2 per game) and a 59 percent field-goal percentage in 1998-99.

Smith gives Illinois five members of the News-Gazette All-State Team on the roster along with Allison Curtin, Kristi Faulkner, Shavonna Hunter, and Dawn Vana.

Home cooking suits Illinois fine

Illinois is quietly building its home court winning streak back. After a 91-78 loss to Stanford on Dec. 14, 1997, the Illini won 18 games in a row at home. The Illini went 3-2 in the final five matches of the season in 1998-99 and now have won the first two games in Champaign this year. That gives the Illini 23 wins in their last 25 home games and four home wins in a row.

In that stretch, Illinois has been simply dominating, outscoring opponents 2077-1658 for an average winning margin of 83-1-66.3 (That includes the two losses).

It has also included a 6-1 record against ranked teams at home. The victims have been No. 22 Purdue (78-76), No. 11 Wisconsin (83-75), and No. 21 Colorado (88-48) in 1997-98 and No. 13 Florida (97-77), No. 17 Penn State (94-85) and No. 24 Ohio State (79-73) last season.

Personally speaking...

Susan Blauser is the fashion queen on the team, while Blauser is second only to Tauja Catchings for the most passionate shopper.

Tauja Catchings' father, Harvey, played 11 years in the NBA from 1974-85 with Philadelphia, New Jersey, Milwaukee, and the L.A. Clippers.

Allison and Suzanne Curtin are the second and third oldest of nine children. Older brother, T.J. is 21 and attends Illinois. The other six younger children of Fred and Mary Curtin -- Danny (16), Meredith (14), Candance (12), Keith (8), Joe (6), and Mary Kate (1). The Curtins live on a farm near Stonington, Ill.

Kristi Faulkner is a fourth generation college athlete. Father, Todd, played shortstop for Princeton from 1967-70. Her grandfather played forward on the basketball team and shortstop on the baseball team for the University of Rochester from 1940-43, and her great-grandfather ran track for the University of Wisconsin.

Karen Hagberg is a strong environmentalist, majoring in environmental science.

Dawn Vana was the first female to play varsity baseball in Illinois High School history.

Holly Wilson's uncle, J.C. Wilson, was a cornerback for the Houston Oilers from 1978-84.

ISN at seven stations for women's basketball

The Illini Sports Network includes seven stations from across the state which carry University of Illinois women's basketball on the airwaves:

WDWS-AM 1400, Champaign
WHOW-AM 1520, Clinton
WHOW-FM 95.9, Clinton
WDAN-AM 1490, Danville
WPRS-AM 1440, Paris
WTIM-AM 1410, Taylorville
WTAX, AM-1240, Springfield

Illinois record win....

Scoring at least 100 points 1-0
Scoring at least 90 points 1-0
Scoring at least 80 points 1-0
Scoring less than 70 points 0-0
Scoring less than 60 points 0-0
Giving up more than 90 points 0-0
Giving up more than 80 points 0-0
Giving up less than 70 points 1-0
Giving up less than 60 points 0-0
Field goal shooting at least 60 percent 1-0
Field goal shooting at least 55 percent 1-0
Field goal shooting at least 50 percent 1-0
Field goal shooting less than 50 percent 1-0
Field goal shooting less than 45 percent 1-0
Field goal shooting less than 40 percent 0-0
Opponents shooting at least 60 percent 0-0
Opponents shooting at least 55 percent 0-0
Opponents shooting at least 50 percent 0-0
Opponents shooting less than 50 percent 0-2
Opponents shooting less than 45 percent 0-2
Opponents shooting less than 40 percent 0-1
Opponents shooting less than 35 percent 0-1
Illini out-rebound opponent 2-0
Opponents out-rebound Illini 0-0
Illini have fewer turnovers than opponent 1-0
Illini have more turnovers than opponent 1-0
When leading at halftime 2-0
When tied at halftime 0-0
When trailing at halftime 0-0
Overall Record 2-0
Record at Home 2-0
Record on Road 0-0
Record in Neutral Games 0-0
Record vs. Ranked Teams 0-0
Record by Month November 2-0

Schedule

Statistical Leaders of the Final Four teams

Illinois vs. UCSB Part II, Illini vs. Georgia, Part I?

Moving Up the Ranks

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Upcoming Events

Results

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at [2] #6/6 Vanderbilt on March 23, 2026 , Loss , 57, to, 75

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus [10] Colorado on March 21, 2026 , Win , 66, to, 57

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus [2] #9/9 Iowa on March 6, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 64

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus [7] #18/17 Michigan State on March 5, 2026 , Win , 71, to, 69

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus [15] Wisconsin on March 4, 2026 , Win , 82, to, 70