Jan. 18, 2005

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GAME 16: Illinois (11-4, 3-2) vs. #8/8 Michigan State (15-2, 4-1)
January 19, 2005 • 7 p.m. • Assembly Hall• Champaign, Ill.

On the Air
Radio: Illini Radio Network - WDWS AM 1400 (Dave Loane, play-by-play; Steve Layman, color analysis)
Internet: Fighingillini.com live streaming video/audio (College Sports Pass required) and Gametracker (free)

The Series
Illinois leads 24-23 - last meeting #18 Michigan State 58, Illinois 56 (1/29/04 in Champaign, Ill.)

The Coaches
Illinois: Theresa Grentz, 630-275 overall (31st year), 169-120 at Illinois (10th year)
Michigan State: Joanne P. McCallie, 250-127 (13th season), 83-54 at MSU (fifth season)

ILLINOIS (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten)
Probable Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG Notes
G 21 Maggie Acuna 5-6 Jr. 2.3 3.8* Ranks 2nd in steals (3.2) in BT games
G 22 Tiffanie Guthrie 5-10 Sr. 15.9 4.5 Scored double figures in 13 straight
F 33 Angelina Williams 5-9 Sr. 19.3 4.5 21.6 scoring avg. tops in Big Ten games
F 32 Danyel Crutcher 6-2 Fr. 7.7 6.8 Ranks 2nd in Big Ten in FG% (.617)
F 44 Brittney Daugherty 6-2 Jr. 2.7 3.5 Earned six straight starts

Off the Bench
G 1 Janelle Hughes 5-8 Jr. 6.8 1.8* Hitting .429 from three point land
F 15 Audrey Tabon 6-2 So. 2.6 4.6 Career-high 10 boards vs. Wisconsin
G 25 Jeré Issenmann 5-10 Sr. 3.4 0.9 Has hit 11 three-pointers on the year
G 31 Kira Mowen 5-9 So. 1.7 0.3 Second on team in points per minute
F 34 Erin Wigley 6-1 So. 8.0 3.5 9 points, 8 rebounds vs. Wisconsin
F 50 Stephanie Chelleen 6-3 Fr. 2.4 2.6 Second on team rebounds per minute

Injured
G 14 Megan Nyquist 5-10 Fr. -- -- Out for season with ACL injury

* Assists Per Game

Quick Hits
• Going for #12: Illinois is 11-4 on the season, 3-2 in the Big Ten and has won seven of its last nine contests. Just over halfway into the 2004-05 season, the Illini have already surpassed last season's win total of 10 and are looking to equal last year's Big Ten win total of 4 tonight.

• Giant Killers: Illinois will be gunning for its third win over a ranked opponent Wednesday night vs. #8 MSU. UI has already has upset two ranked foes this season - No. 21 La Tech, 71-65 on Dec. 4, and No. 16 UCLA on Dec. 21. The Illini are 2-1 against ranked teams with the lone loss coming to #18 Iowa.

•Bouncing Back: With Sunday's win over Wisconsin, Illinois is now 4-0 in games following a loss.

• The Magic Number is 70: Illinois is 9-0 when scoring 70 or more points this year, and is 10-0 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.

• Bench Comes up BIG: IIlinois' bench has stuggled all year, but it came up big vs. Wisconsin on Sunday. Illini reserves Janelle Hughes, Audrey Tabon, Jere Issenmann and Erin Wigley combined for 23 points and 24 boards while logging 69 combined minutes in the 79-66 win.

•Double-Trouble: Illinois' senior duo of Angelina Williams and Tiffanie Guthrie have proven tough to handle for opposing teams. In Big Ten play the duo ranks first and seventh in scoring respectively. Williams is currently scoring at a 21.6 clip in the league and 19.3 overall, while Guthrie is averaging 17.0 points in Big Ten play and 15.9 overall.

Scouting the Spartans
Illinois will have its hands full against the eighth-ranked Spartans (15-2, 4-1) Wednesday night in a pivotal game for both teams. MSU has beaten beaten five ranked teams this year, including impressive road wins at #3 Notre Dame and #11 UConn. The Spartans boast four double digit scorers (Lindsay Bowen 15.4, Liz Shimek 15.1, Kelli Roehrig 14.8, and Kristin Haynie 10.1), three retuing All-Big Ten performers (Bowen, Shimek and Haynie) and the Big Ten's second leading rebounder (Shimek). MSU is tied for second in the Big Ten with a 4-1 mark, with the lone loss coming at #3 Ohio State.

The Illinois-MSU Series
Illinois holds a slim 24-23 series edge over the Spartans and a 14-7 advantage in Champaign, but MSU has taken three of the last four meetings, including the last two as Assembly Hall. Prior to that, Illinois had won nine in a row.

Last Time vs. MSU
In the teams' lone meeting a year ago, 18th-ranked Michigan State held on for a 58-56 victory against the Illini at Assembly Hall. Illinois led by as many as 12 in the first half and neither team led by more than five points in the second half as Illinois players came up with some big shots down the stretch to keep the game close. The Illini had the ball with four seconds left with a chance to win or tie at the end but could not get a shot off. The Illini out-rebounded one of the top rebounding teams in the Big Ten, 39-25, led by 15 boards from senior Cindy Dallas. Her 12 points completed her 30th double-double of her career and her fifth double-double in her last seven games. Lindsay Bowen led Michigan State in scoring with 17. Illinois junior Tiffanie Guthrie had 17 points and freshman Erin Wigley added 11.

More UI Storylines
• Winning Combo: As of Jan. 18, the Illinois men's (18-0) and women's (11-4) basketball teams have a combined record of 29-4, the third best mark in the nation behind only Duke (30-1) and Boston College (26-2).
• Road Warriors: The Orange and Blue started out the season 6-1 on the road, the best road start in school history. The loss to Penn State in State College snapped a string of five straight wins away from Assembly Hall, Illinois' longest streak since since 1981-82.
• Number 9-0-0: Illinois' win over Central Michigan on Dec. 28th was 900th game of Head Coach Theresa Grentz's Hall of Fame Career. She is 630-275 (.696) all-time.
• Shooting Stars: UI has shot .500 or better in seven games so far this season, something it accomplished only four times a year ago. The team's .608 shooting percentage vs. No. 16 UCLA marked the first time a UI team shot .600+ since 3/14/02 vs. W. Kentucky (.600).
• Getting Defensive: On Dec. 11 at the United Center, Illinois held Pacific to 13 points in the second half and just 31 for the game, the lowest point total for a Big Ten opponent this season.

Williams Climbs Scoring List
With 28 points in the win over Wisconsin, senior Angelina Williams upped her career scoring total to 1,396 to move into 9th place on the UI all-time scoring list. She jumped over Kris Dupps' (1991-95) career total of 1,373 in the game is now just four points shy of becoming Illinois' ninth-ever 1,400 point scorer. Next on the list is Tauja Catchings (1996-2000) with 1,502 career points. This season, Williams is leading the team and is second in the Big Ten with an 19.3 scoring average. In Big Ten games she is tops in the conference with a 21.6 average.

Clutch Angel
Angelina Williams hit an eight-foot baseline jumper with 7.5 second left to give Illinois a 65-63 win in the Big Ten opener at Michigan on Dec. 30. It was Williams' second clutch shot in the final seconds of an Illini win this season. On Dec. 4 at No. 21 Louisiana Tech, Williams hit a three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left to send the game into OT ,where the Illini eventually won 71-65.

Williams has been magnificent as of late, averaging 22.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game since being inserted in to the starting line-up eight games ago. Included in that span, the Chicago, Ill. native has posted games of 30 (UCLA), 27 (at ISU), 29 (at Michigan) and 28 (at Wisconsin) and is shooting an impressive .507 (72-142) from the field.

Guthrie Doubling her Fun
A career 10.6 point per game scorer entering the season, senior Tiffanie Guthrie is scoring at a 15.9 clip so far this season and has notched double figures in 13 straight games. She has been even better in Big Ten Play, ranking seventh in the conference with a 17.0 scoring average. On Dec. 11 vs. Pacific, she became the 18th Illini to score 1,000 career points and currently has 1,142 career points, which ranks 15th on the Illinois all-time scoring list. Prior the the UCLA game, Coach Grentz presented the Pacific game ball to Guthrie to commemorate her 1,000th point.

All-Around Acuna
Junior point guard Maggie Acuna has been leading the Illini with her solid all-around play all season. She currently leads the squad in assists (57) and steals (38) and, despite being the shortest player on the team at 5-6, has led the team in rebounding on three occasions. While always trying the get her teammates involved, Acuna has even started to score when needed. She exploded for a career-high 10 points, including a clutch basket in the final minute, during UI's 65-63 win in the Big Ten opener at Michigan on 12/30. Then on Sunday vs. Wisconsin she notched five big points as the Illini picked up their 11th win of the season.

Tabon Cleaning the Glass
Coming into the season one concern was how Illinois would cope with the loss of three-time Big Ten rebounding champ Cindy Dallas. Early on, freshman Danyel Crutcher filled the void with seven double-digit rebound games in the first 10. With Crutcher slumping lately though, 6-2 sophomore Audrey Tabon has emerged as an animal on the boards. Tabon pulled down a career-high 10 boards in 25 minutes on Sunday vs. Wisconsin, just two games after grabbing nine boards at Northwestern. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native is averaging 4.6 rebounds per game on the season and is pulling down 7.0 per game in the last three contests. She currently leads the team in rebounds per minute (64 rebs. in 211 minutes).

Wigley Has Big Second Half
At halftime of Sunday's win over Wisconsin, sophomore Erin Wigley had two points and two rebounds in only four minutes of action. She came out fired up in the second half, however, sparking the Illini to a 13-point victory and finishing with nine points and eight rebounds. Wigley has shown some flashes of brilliance so far this year, scoring a career-high 19 points vs. Bradley on Dec. 7 and notching 14 points vs. Iowa on Jan. 2, but she has yet to live up to expectations after a strong freshman season in 2003-04 that saw her start 26 of 28 games and average 7.3 points per game.

Illini Among NCAA Leaders
Illinois ranks among the national leaders in a couple categories according to the Jan. 18 NCAA statistics. As a team, Illinois ranks 20th in FG percentage (.461) and 19th in blocks per game (5.3). Individually, Angelina Williams is the nation's 25th ranked scorer (19.3).

Illinois & Ranked Opponents
When Illinois topped No. 21/20 Louisiana Tech, 71-65 in OT on Dec. 4 it marked the 11th straight season in which the Illini have beaten a ranked opponent. Since then the Illini have also beaten No. 16/17 UCLA and are now 2-1 vs. ranked teams this season. During the 11-year streak Illinois has knocked off a ranked team on 25 occasions.

Streak Busters
Illinois' win at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 4 ended a couple of impressive streaks for the Lady Techsters. Prior to Saturday, La Tech had won 161 consecutive home games against unranked teams and 30 consecutive home games overall - the second longest streak in the nation. The win by the Illini also helped bump La Tech out of the most recent AP Top-25 poll, ending a streak of 220 consecutive weeks on the poll. From a winning percentage standpoint, La Tech is the toughest place to play in women's basketball. The Techsters are 413-25 (.943) all-time in Ruston.

The win vs. La Tech was not the first time a Grentz led Illinois squad ended a long home court winning streak for its opponent. On Dec. 30, 2000, the Illini knocked off No. 14 Auburn, 73-56, ending the Tigers 55 game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. Also, on Jan. 17, 1997 in Grentz' second season with Illinois, the Illini handed No. 25 Penn State its fist ever Big Ten home loss, ending their string of 34 straight conference wins in University Park, Pa. with an 85-74 victory.

Moving up the Charts...
Several Illinois players are moving up the Illini's career statistical lists this season, most notably Angelina Williams. In addition to currently standing ninth on the career points list with 1,396, Williams is also fifth on the career blocks list with 93, fifth in career FG made with 570, ninth in three-point field goals made with 66, 11th in steals with 167, 14th in rebounding with 552 and 16th in assists with 234.

Tiffanie Guthrie also appears on several Illinois career lists. The senior guard currently is 10th in three-pointers with 51, 10th in FT made with 284, 12th in blocks (55), 14th in steals (143), 15th in career points (1,142), 17th in FG made (403) and 19th in assists (220), and rebounds (496). Senior sharpshooter Jeré Issenmann is sixth in career three-pointers made with 91.

Angel Honored by Big Ten
Angelina Williams was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week the conference the week of Dec. 27 after coming up huge for the Illini in an 82-72 win over Illinois State. She scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, 2-of-4 from behind the arc and 5-of-5 from the line. She also added eight rebounds, a career-high five blocks, four assists and one steal in the victory. It was Williams' second career Big Ten Player of the Week honor as she earned the accolade on December 30, 2002. Williams shared the award with Michigan State guard Kristin Haynie.

Watch Illinois on the Web
A new feature to fightingillini.com this year, fans unable to make it to Assembly Hall can catch live streaming video of Illinois women's basketball action on the web. Home game action and post-game press conferences can be viewed with the purchase of a College Sports Pass subscription ($6.95 per month, $49.95 per year).

Subscribers will have access to Illinois multimedia offerings, in addition to broadcasts for any other teams within the College Sports Network (over 140 schools). All audio and video is archived on the site. For more information, go to fightingillini.com and look for the "Live Coverage" box on the right-hand side. As always, GameTracker, as well as statistics, box scores, recaps, game notes, feature stories and much more is updated daily on fightingillini.com.

Big Ten Teleconference
Coach Grentz will participate in the weekly Big Ten Coaches Teleconference every Tuesday morning during the Conference season. Grentz will be available to take questions for eight minutes beginning at 9:32 a.m. (CT) each Tuesday. Media wishing to participate should call the Big Ten office for details (847-696-1010). Archived audio of each teleconference is available online at www.bigten.org.

Illini on the Tube
Five Illinois games can be seen on local, regional or national television this season. The Illini have one game each on CSTV and FSN Chicago and three games will be picked up by local Insight Cable. Games on Insight can be see seen tape-delayed on Ch. 2 in Champaign-Urbana, Ch. 5 in Springfield and Ch. 13 in Decatur on selected dates after the game. Check local listing.

2004-05 televised games:
Dec. 7 Bradley Insight
Jan. 13 at Penn State CSTV
Jan. 16 Wisconsin Insight
Jan. 27 Indiana FSN Chicago
Jan. 30 Ohio State Insight

The Theresa Grentz Show
The Theresa Grentz television show is filmed every Friday morning and is aired on WCIA-TV on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. The show features game highlights and analysis, a previews of upcoming games, coaching tips and behind-the-scenes footage of some of your favorite Illini.

Illini Reach out to Community
On Friday, Jan. 7, the Fighting Illini women's basketball team visited the Champaign County Nursing Home to host the home's fourth annual "Winter Olympics". The Illini have volunteered to help at the event in each of the four years.

The nursing home visit is just one of many ways that the Illini are active in the Champaign-Urbana community. The Illini are also active in the Red-Ribbon Campaign against youth drinking and drug use, Coaches vs. Cancer, and often welcome junior and grade school teams into the gym to observe practice and give tips.

Nyquist Sidelined
Freshman guard Megan Nyquist, who injured her right knee in the exhibition victory over BK Poprad, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The Lee's Summit, Mo. native was the 74th-ranked senior last season according to Blue Star Report.

Coaches vs. Cancer
Head Coach Theresa Grentz, along with Illini men's coach Bruce Weber, join many coaches across the country to help support the fight against cancer. The Coaches vs. Cancer program was created in 1993 and has raised more the $20 million to benefit the American Cancer Society, the nation's leading voluntary health organization. Coaches vs. Cancer is a partnership between the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the American Cancer Society dedicated to reducing the risk of cancer. To help fight cancer, anyone can pledge specific amounts for each 3-point shot the Illini make during the 2004-05 season or make a flat donation. For information call (800) 252-1110.