Illini Focus On Upcoming St. Mary's Tournament
November 21, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2001
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Illinois at St. Mary's Tournament
Nov. 23, 2001 vs. James Madison 7pm
Nov. 24, 2001 vs. St. Mary's/Stony Brook 5/7pm
Nov. 23-24, 2001, McKeon Pavillion, Moraga, Calif.
Radio: Illini Sports Network (Mike Koon)
ILLINOIS TRAVELS TO ST. MARY'S TOURNAMENT
Illinois continues its season on Friday and Saturday at the St. Mary's
College Tournament in Moraga, Calif. The Illini will take an 0-1 record into
the tournament opener Friday vs. James Madison.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All Times Central)
Friday, 5:00 p.m. -- Illinois vs. James Madison
Friday, 7:00 p.m. -- St. Mary's vs. Stony Brook
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. -- Third-Place Game
Saturday, 7:00 p.m. -- Championship Game
RADIO NETWORK NOTES
Friday's Illinois vs. James Madison will be broadcast live across the Illini
Sports Network with the men's basketball game to follow. With the men's
basketball team playing in Las Vegas on Saturday, the women's game could be
live again or tape delay. All games however will be heard across the Illini
Sports Network. Mike Koon will provide the play-by-play.
ILLINOIS VS. THE FIELD
No one in the field has played any other team in their school's history. Had
Illinois defeated Mississippi State in the WNIT Second Round, the Illini
would have met James Madison in the quarterfinals.
ILLINOIS IN TOURNAMENTS
Illlinois has played in seven in-season tournaments under Head Coach Theresa
Grentz. The Illini have won two of those tournaments -- claiming titles at
the Oregon State Tournament in 1996-97 at in Puerto Rico in 1997-98.
Illinois defeated Creighton (87-71) and Oregon State (65-50) at OSU and
PR-Mayaguez (95-37), Providence (106-74) and Duke (77-65) in Puerto Rico.
This is Illinois' second tournament in California in the past six years. The Illini took third place at the UC-San Diego Tournament in 1998-99. Last year the Illini were second at the First Annual Women's Maui in Lahaina, Calif.
ILLINOIS VS. THE CONFERENCES
THE SCHEDULE
The Illinois schedule includes nine teams who played in the NCAA Tournament
last season. Purdue advanced to the championship game before falling to
Notre Dame.
Other NCAA Tournament teams on the slate this year include Clemson.
Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Penn State, St. Mary's and Wisconsin.
ROUNDING OUT THE FIELD
St. Mary's received 23 votes in this week's ESPN/USA Today Top 25. The Gaels
return four starters off last year's team, which upset Texas, 68-64, in the
first round of the NCAA Tournament and gave Tennessee a good battle before
falling, 92-75, in the second round. St. Mary's is off to a 1-1 start after
placing third at the Virgin Islands Tournament. St. Mary's lost to Florida
State (78-57) and defeated Dayton (73-65).
DISHING OUT
Shavonna Hunter's 10 assists vs. Kansas as a freshmen are an Illinois
single-game record. The record nearly was tied in Monday's game with
Clemson, but by a post player. Dawn Vana came within an eyelash of the
record with nine assists. Vana ranked second on the team with 105 assists
last season.
DAZZLING DEBUTS
Illinois' freshman class is one of the more mature groups to come along in
recent years. Jer? Issenmann started at the No. 2 guard spot and scored
three points and contributed two assists.
Angelina Williams made the most of her 11 minutes off the bench with
seven points, six rebounds and four steals.
TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Illinois competed in six games over 13 days in an international tour of
Russia, Latvia and Lithuania from Aug. 7-19.
Playing against players ages 25 and up, Illinois posted a 2-4 record and nearly won the last three games of the trip.
THERESA GRENTZ TV SHOW
The Theresa Grentz Show is going to school, literally. Beginning Dec. 16,
continuing on Jan. 6 and the following nine weeks, the Grentz Show will be
aired on WCIA-TV Sunday morning. The shows will be taped at local grade
schools and junior high schools the Friday before. Coach Grentz is issuing a
life message to kids in each of the shows.
DALLAS EMERGING
Cindy Dallas has emerged as a dominating force on the inside. The emergence
really began last season when she scored a career high 16 points in a 80-68
upset of third-seeded Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament.
Over the summer Dallas scrimmaged with some men's players at Point Park
College in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. She gives a lot of credit to that
experience in the advancement of her game.
That really showed during the international tour. Dallas had six double doubles in six games. She averaged 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds per game on the trip. She began the trip with 14 points and 14 rebounds vs. Club Dynamo Kursk then poured in 21 points and 12 rebounds in the rematch with Dynamo.
In the exhibition games, Dallas had 47 points and 18 rebounds while shooting 65 percent from the field.
THE TURNING POINT
Perhaps the turning point in the trip and for this group of players came on
Aug. 12 vs. Club Dynamo, the third-ranked team in Russia. After falling in
each of its first two games by double digits, Illinois reached a defining
moment. Trailing 75-58 after three quarters, Illinois rallied to close the
gap to 88-87 with just over a minute to play.
Cindy Dallas had 21 points and 12 boards. With the shot clock winding down
during that stretch, Shavonna Hunter hit a 30-foot three-pointer to keep the
momentum going. Though Illinois didn't win, it gave the team a spark and
helped bring the team closer together.
ATTRACTING WINNERS
Although Illinois has always attracted talent from winning teams, that is no
more apparent then in this year's freshmen and the recent signees.
EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
If the exhibition season is any indication, Illinois will be tough to stop.
The Illini scored 202 points in victories over the Ohio Girls' Basketball
Magazine Legends (105-90) and LKKA-Kaunas (97-34).
Illini Double-Doubles
Karen Hagberg (1 - career): 15 points, 10 rebounds vs. Michigan State
(1/30/00).
Shavonna Hunter (1 - career): 13 points, 10 steals vs. Kansas (12/18/99)
Iveta Marcauskaite (1-career): 16 points, 10 rebounds vs. Wisconsin
(1/25/01)
Cindy Dallas (2- career): 12 points, 10 rebounds vs. Kansas (11/28/00), 11
points, 12 rebounds vs. Northwestern, 2/08/01
Dawn Vana (1-career): 14 points, 14 rebounds vs. Ohio State (1/11/01)
MILESTONES NEARING
Cindy Dallas needs 144 points for 400
Shavonna Hunter needs 200 points for 750, 43 steals for 200, 54 steals to
move into third and 89 steals to move into second on the Illini all-time
steals list, 87 assists for 300.
Iveta Marcauskaite needs 352 points for 750, 207 rebounds for 25th on the
all-time Illinois list, 22 blocks for 50 and ninth on the all-time Illini
list.
Dawn Vana needs 77 rebounds for 25th on the all-time list, 192 rebounds for 500, and 35 assists for 200 and 19th on the all-time Illinois list, 85 assists for 250 and 13th on the all-time list.
GRENTZ TO HALL OF FAME
Theresa Grentz was elected to the women's basketball Hall of Fame. Grentz
makes to the Hall in just the third class of honorees. Counting the Class of
2001, just 61 people have that distinction. The formal induction ceremony
was June 8-9 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Coach Grentz is being honored not only for her accomplishments as a coach but also for her accolades as a player.
The coach was an imposing player on the Immaculata AIAW National Championship teams from 1972-74 and was the coach of the Olympic Team.
Grentz is beginning her 28th season as a head coach and seventh as the head coach for the Fighting Illini. She has compiled a 577-227 record overall and 116-72-65 mark at Illinois.
Besides her impressive credentials, Grentz is honored for her advancement of the game of basketball. Her 1992 Olympic Team was the catalyst for the present day women's professional league.
Grentz EYES 600
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz, fresh off her induction into the Women's
Basketball Hall of Fame, eyes yet another milestone. The winningest coach at
both Rutgers and Illinois, has 577 victories, just 23 wins shy of 600.
MARCAUSKAITE HAS HOMECOMING
Illinois sophomore Iveta Marcauskaite competed in the Junior World
Championships July 14-22 in the Czech Republic. In the six-game tournament,
Marcauskaite had the second-best scoring average of any player in the entire
tournament, scoring 128 points in six games for an average of 21.3 points
per game. In other statistical categories, Marcauskaite led the tournament
in two-point field goals (46) and was fourth in offensive rebounds (32). She
was 46 of 91 from the field (.505) and 5 of 10 in three-pointers in six
games. Marcauskaite then scored 29 points in the Illini's 99-75 win over the
Lithuanian University All-Star team in August.
YANNI RETURNS FROM SURGERY
Forward Aminata Yanni is returning to the team after suffering a tear of her
ACL on Jan. 28 against Minnesota. Yanni made 40 percent of her three-points
attempts (12 of 30), including making 4 of 7 vs. Michigan State on Jan. 18.
Yanni combined for 46 points in three straight games before suffering her
injury.
Road Warriors
For the first time under Theresa Grentz, Illinois had a better record on the
road than it did at home, going 6-8 at home and 11-8 away from Champaign in
2000-2001.
One of the reasons that Coach Grentz's team has been so successful has been the ability to win on the road.
Last year Illinois tied the school record by posting a 5-3 Big Ten road record and won three in a row on the road in the Big Ten for the first time ever.
The 7-5 overall road record was the second best mark under Grentz next to the 8-4 road record in the Big Ten championship year of 1996-97.
ILLINOIS CLASS OF 2006
Maggie Acuna, 5-6, G, Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central)
Illinois found the point guard it was looking for in Acuna. An all-state
selection, Acuna averaged 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for her
career, including 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest last season.
Acuna's strength is running the offense and distributing the basketball.
Acuna had 475 assists for her career compared to just 236 turnovers, over a
2:1 ratio. Acuna has also amassed 381 steals, including 137 last season.
Acuna earned all-state honors in 2001 and three times was named to the
All-West Suburban Silver team. She also was named all-tournament at both
Wheaton North and Hinsdale South three times each. The Hinsdale Central Red
Devils won sectional titles in 2000 and 2001 and have claimed regional
titles all three years with Acuna on the roster.
Brittney Daugherty, 6-2, F, Peoria, Ill. (Peoria Central)
Brittney Daugherty is the latest to commit to Illinois. A 6-2 center, she
joins godbrother, Jerrance Howard, as basketball players for Illinois. This
summer she teamed up with some of her teammates and assistant coach and
ex-Illini Anita Clinton to win the top class at the Gus Macker tournament in
Peoria. As a member of the Chicago Hoops Express, Daugherty played on teams
that participated in the prestigious Loyola Blue Chip Tournament and won the
Deep South Classic. Daugherty was the team MVP.
In helping Peoria Central to the state tournament the last two years,
Daugherty averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting .523
from the field last season. She led the Lions in rebounding 19 times. She
was also named to the all-tournament team at Galesburg and garnered
all-Mid-State Six first team accolades. Daugherty scored 20 points in the
supersectional win over Urbana in 2001.
Kari Embree, 6-4, Center, Wheeling, Ill. (H.S.)
Embree is a two-time NIKE All-American and was named a Street and Smith's
All-American in both 2000 and 2001. Embree is ranked No. 34 in the latest
Blue Star ratings of incoming seniors. Embree played two years at Loyola,
playing on the Ramblers Elite Eight team in 1999 before transferring to
Wheeling.
Embree was tenacious, averaging a double double -- 18.2 points, 10.7
rebounds per game. What's even more amazing were her 108 blocks. Embree
earned all-state accolades from the Chicago Sun-Times and is a three-time
all-conference selection.
Janelle Hughes, 5-8, G, Country Club Hills, Ill. (Hillcrest)
Hillcrest Head Coach John Maniatas called Hughes "the best point guard I've
ever coached." Hughes will give Illinois versatility at the guard spot. She
averaged 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.1 steals per game for
Hillcrest last season playing the point. This year Hughes will be an
off-guard. She is listed among the state's all-time best with 65
three-pointers last year, also a school record. Hughes did so in 135
attempts for a 48 percent clip.
Jessica Wright, 6-0, F, Indianapolis, Ind. (Cathedral)
Wright, ranked 45th in the nation by StudentSports.com, averaged 12.1 points
and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2001 for the Indiana High School Class 3A state
champions. Wright was invited to attend the NIKE camp in 2001 and earned
Pre-season First Team All-State honors by Hoosier Basketball Magazine.
Wright was named the state tournament MVP last season after scoring a
game-high 16 points vs. Plymouth for the 29-1 Lady Irish. She earned
all-city honors by the Indianapolis Star this season as well.
Grentz Gang Continues
Illini Fans are encouraged to join the Hometown Heroes Kids Club. Members of
the Hometown Heroes Kids Club will be able to get into women's basketball
games for free and sit behind the Illinois basket as part of the Grentz
Gang. Other kids will be able to sit in the Grentz Gang by purchasing a $2
ticket and being one of the first 400 kids through the door.
GRENTZ RADIO SHOW DEBUTS
The Theresa Grentz Radio Show debuts on Dec. 10 at 5:35 p.m. along select
Illini Sports Network stations. The show, hosted by Brian Barnhart will run
every Monday throughout the season.
Coach Grentz reaches out to kids
Illinois Head Coach Theresa Grentz wants the kids to be a part of Illinois
basketball. She understands how important they are to her program. Here are
the ways the Coach Grentz is reaching out to the youth of the
Champaign-Urbana area:
