Jan. 6, 2006
Illinois-Northwestern Game Notes in PDF Format
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GAME 14: Illinois (9-4, 1-1) vs. Northwestern (4-9, 0-3)
January 8, 2006 • 2 p.m. • Assembly Hall (16,618) • Champaign, Ill.
On the Air
Radio: Illini Radio Network - WDWS-AM 1400 - LIVE (Dave Loane, play-by-play; Mike Koon, analysis)
Internet: Fightingillini.com streaming video, audio and Gametracker
The Series
Northwestern leads 31-22 - Last season: Illinois 73-65 (1/9/05 @ Evanston); Illinois 68-33 (2/16/05 @ Champaign); Illinois 66-43 (3/3/05 @ Indianapolis)
The Coaches
Illinois: Theresa Grentz, 645-288 overall (32nd season), 184-133 at Illinois (11th season)
NU: Beth Combs, 53-79 overall (5th season), 9-34 at Northwestern (2nd season)
ILLINOIS (9-4, 1-1)
Probable Starters
Pos. No. Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG APG Notes
G 21 Maggie Acuna 5-6 Sr. 3.8 5.0 4.6 Ranks third in the Big Ten in assists
G 1 Janelle Hughes 5-8 Sr. 14.6 3.2 2.2 Averaging 18.6 points over last six games
F 32 Danyel Crutcher 6-2 So. 7.2 5.2 0.3 Big Ten POW 12/19 after CH 24 vs. Oklahoma
F 34 Erin Wigley 6-1 Jr. 11.8 4.8 1.5 Averaging 18.0 points over last four games
F/C 15 Audrey Tabon 6-2 Jr. 8.0 6.6 0.4 Consecutive double-doubles vs. Bradley, Florida
Off the Bench
C 00 Erin McCarthy 6-5 Fr. 3.2 2.0 0.6 Poured in season-high 12 points vs. St. Louis
G 14 Megan Nyquist 5-10 r-Fr. 3.0 1.0 1.0 7 pts. in 7 minutes vs. Michigan
G 20 Lori Bjork 5-11 Fr. 9.6 2.9 1.5 Leads all Big Ten freshmen in 3FGM
F 33 Chelsea Gordon 6-0 Fr. 2.2 0.8 0.2 Scored a season-high 9 points vs. St. Louis
G 35 Danielle Gratton 6-0 Fr. 5.2 2.3 1.1 Tied CH with 9 pts. vs. Michigan
F 44 Brittney Daugherty 6-2 Sr. 1.1 1.8 0.1 Started half of UI's games in 04-05
F 50 Stephanie Chelleen 6-3 So. 2.1 1.1 0.0 Can provide offensive spark off bench
Out for Today's Game
F 11 Victoria Arndt 6-2 Fr. - - - Intends to redshirt the 2005-06 season
F 22 Lacey Simpson 5-11 Fr. 2.0 2.5 1.0 Out indefinitely due to illness
Quick Hits
• For Openers: After finishing its non-conference slate 8-3 with a 73-62 victory at Rhode Island, Illinois (9-4, 1-1) returns to Big Ten play by hosting Northwestern (4-9, 0-3) at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Illini have won seven in a row at home and 12 straight vs. the Wildcats
• A win over Northwestern would...
...be the 13th in a row over the Wildcats
...improve Illinois' home record to 5-0
• Illini Trends: This year the Fighting Illini are...
...6-0 when scoring 70 or more points
...5-0 when holding opponents to under 35% shooting
...5-0 when shooting 45% or better
...4-0 at home
...8-1 when shooting better than their opponent
...7-1 when leading at halftime
• Home Cookin': Illinois is 4-0 this year at Assembly Hall and is riding a seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season, the longest since an eight-game streak in 2002-03. All-time, Illinois is 213-113 (.653) at home and 174-91 (.657) at Assembly Hall.
• Out of the Ordinary: After starting the same five players for the first 12 games of the season, Coach Grentz switched up the lineup by inserting Danyel Crutcher for Lori Bjork Thursday vs. Rhode Island. To that point, Maggie Acuna, Janelle Hughes, Bjork, Erin Wigley and Audrey Tabon had started every game.
• The ILL-NU Series: Illinois trails 31-22 overall, but has won 12 straight and 15 of its last 16 against Northwestern, including five consecutive games at Assembly Hall. The Illini swept three games from the Wildcats last season, winning 73-65 in Evanston, 68-33 in Champaign and 66-43 at the Big Ten Tournament. Grentz is 16-3 all-time vs. NU, 15-3 since coming to Illinois.
• Countdown to 650: With 645 career victories, Hall of Fame coach Theresa Grentz is just five away from becoming the eighth D-I women's basketball coach to reach the 650-win plateau. Georgia's Andy Landers (644 as of 1/6) and Stanford's Tara Vandeveer (643) are right on Grentz's heels nearing the 650 mark.
• Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day: University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman has given a pair of free tickets for Sunday's game vs. Northwestern to all UI faculty and staff as a "Thank You" for their hard work.
• D-D-D-Defense: After a lapse against Iowa, the Illini defense showed its true colors by holding Rhode Island to 28 second-half points. Illinois is third in the Big Ten in FG percentage defense (.372) and is fourth in points allowed (59.8). A major reason for those rankings is improved perimeter defense. During the first four games, opponents hit 42.2 percent of their threes, but have hit just 27.4 percent since.
• Hitting the Boards: Illinois leads the Big Ten in defensive rebounds (27.15) and ranks third in overall rebounding (39.1). The Illini have out-rebounded opponents in seven of their last nine games and grabbed a Big Ten season-high 59 boards vs. St. Louis.
• Getting to the line: After averaging only 13.8 FT attempts over the first eight games, the Illini have gotten to the line 118 times during the last four games (23.6 per game). They have hit 89 of those attempts (.754).
Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern enters Sunday's game losers of its last four games and seven of its last eight, with only a 77-60 victory vs. St. Mary's breaking the slump. The Wildcats are 0-3 in the Big Ten with home losses to Ohio State and Minnesota and a 74-45 loss at Wisconsin. NU is led by senior forward Ifeoma Okonkwo, who is shooting 55 percent from the field and averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game while also leading the team in rebounding with 7.6 per game. A.J. Glasauer is the Wildcats' only other double-digit scorer, putting in 12.1 per game. As a team, Northwestern is shooting 39 percent on the season, but only 32 percent from three-point range. They have been out-rebounded by an average of 8.7 boards per game as well.
• Combs Homecoming: Second-year Northwestern head coach Beth Combs is making a homecoming Sunday. The Decatur, Ill. native graduated from Illinois in 1992 and spent one season on the Illini basketball team.
Erin Wigging Out
After averaging 7.3 points in Illinois' first seven games, forward Erin Wigley has begun to live up to expectations as Illinois' leading returning scorer from last season. The junior poured in a career-high 22 points and grabbed eight boards in just 25 minutes vs. Illinois State and is averaging 18.0 points in the last four games and 11.4 for the season. Over that four-game stretch, Wigley has shot .529 from the field (27-for-51), .556 from three-point land (5-9) and .722 from the free throw line (13-18).
Sweet J
Senior guard Janelle Hughes, know as "J" by her teammates, has been tearing it up as of late, averaging 18.6 points over the last seven games. Illinois' leading scorer for the season (14.6), Hughes had a monster night in Illinois' 80-64 win over Bradley, hitting a career-best 4 of 6 from downtown en route to a career-high 22 points. In the upset win over Oklahoma, Hughes scored 11 consecutive points in a span of 2:39 to turn a 64-59 deficit into a 70-64 lead. The Illini took their first lead during the run and would not relinquish it. She also dropped 22 at Rhode Island on 8-for-16 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and making three steals in the Illini win.
Illini Leaning on Crutch
Danyel Crutcher's breakout 24 point, 11 rebound performance vs. Oklahoma wasn't shocking considering she was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection a year ago. However, it was improbable given that she entered the game with just 23 points on the season and was averaging just 9.0 minutes per game. The sophomore hit 10 of 15 shots to shatter her previous career-high of 13 points, set last season, and hit the glass hard against Courtney Paris, one of the top centers in the nation, to earn her third career double-double. She was named Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 19) following the performance and then followed that up with another double-double (12 pts., 10 rebs.) vs. Illinois State. After two relatively quiet games, she responded in her first start of the season at Rhode Island with 18 points and seven boards. She is averaging 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds in the last five games.
