Jan. 2, 2007
Game 15: Illinois-Michigan Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game 15: Illinois (11-3, 1-1) at Michigan (7-8, 0-2)
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007 // 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT // Crisler Arena (13,751) // Ann Arbor, Mich.
On The Air
Radio: Illini Sports Network - WDWS and WDAN - LIVE (Dave Loane and Derek Neal)
Internet: Fightingillini.com live streaming audio and Gametracker
The Series
Illinois leads 36-20 - Last Season: ILL 67, Michigan 48 (12/29/05 @ Champaign) and ILL 67, Michigan 57 (2/26/06 @ Ann Arbor)
The Coaches
Illinois: Theresa Grentz, 663-302 overall (33rd season), 202-147 at Illinois (12th season)
Michigan: Cheryl Burnett, 351-207 overall (19th season), 32-61 at Michigan (4th season)
Quick Hits
• For Openers: The Fighting Illini look to bounce back from their first Big Ten setback of the season when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Thursday to face the Michigan Wolverines. Illinois (11-3, 1-1) is coming off a 70-61 loss at Minnesota on Sunday that snapped a five-game winning streak. Michigan (7-8, 0-2) has lost three in a row and five of its last six, while the Illini are 3-3 away from home this season.
• After a loss, Illini go streakin': After their first two losses of the season, the Illini rattled off three-game and five-game winning streaks, respectively. Following Sunday's loss at Minnesota, they will try and start another win streak vs. the Wolverines.
• Trey-mendous On Both Ends: Illinois ranks second in the Big Ten in 3FG made per game (5.5) and fourth in 3FG percentage (.355). Lori Bjork leads the way, hitting 37-of-92 (.402), which makes her the conference leader and 31st in the nation in three's made per game (2.64).
On the other end of the court, the Fighting Illini lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (.250) and rank third in the conference and 13th in the nation in overall field goal percentage defense (.336). The Orange and Blue have not allowed an opponent to shoot over 40 percent in a game all year.
• Rebounding on the Rebound: Illinois leads the Big Ten in defensive rebounds (30.8) and ranks third in overall rebounding (42.9). Illinois ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 30th in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.4) and has out-rebounded its opponent in 10 of 14 games, including the last six in a row.
• Illini Trends: This year the Fighting Illini are...
...9-0 when allowing less than 60 points
...7-0 when scoring at least 70 points
...7-0 when shooting over 45 percent from the field
...2-0 when coming off a loss
...10-1 when shooting better than their opponent
...10-1 when leading at halftime
...3-3 on the road
• No Harm, No Foul: According to the Dec. 31 NCAA statistics, Illinois ranks sixth in the nation in fewest personal fouls committed per game (13.6). As a result, opponents are averaging just 14.4 free throw attempts per game.
• Home Sweet Home: Illinois is 7-0 at home this season, has won eight straight games at home dating back to last season and holds an all-time record of 223-118 (.654) at home and 184-96 (.657) at Assembly Hall.
Up Next
Illinois returns home to host Indiana on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Fans with a ticket stub from Saturday's Illinois-Ohio State men's game will be able to get in free and the Illinois fly ball dogs will be performing at halftime. In addition, UI staff members who donated to the Campus Charitable Fund Drive will be in attendance.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan has lost three straight, most recently a 71-58 loss at Indiana, and is 7-8 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines have struggled offensively, ranking last in the Big Ten in scoring (58.9), FG percentage (.392) and 3FG percentage (.288), while averaging over 20 turnovers per game. Junior guard Janelle Cooper (9.1 ppg) and 6-6 freshman center Krista Phillips (8.3 ppg) lead the balanced attack that has 14 players averaging at least 9.7 minutes per game. Phillips also leads the Wolverines in rebounds (4.9 rpg) and blocked shots (20).
• Michigan Coach Cheryl Burnett is in her fourth season at the helm of the Wolverines. She was a member of the Illinois staff as a both a graduate assistant and an assistant coach for three seasons (1981-84). Recruiting coordinator Lynnette Robinson played for the Illini from 1978-82 and still appears on several UI career lists.
The Illinois-Michigan Series
Illinois leads the all-time series 36-20 and is 15-11 vs. UM in Ann Arbor. The Illini swept both games last season, winning 67-48 in Champaign to open conference play and 67-57 in Ann Arbor to close the regular season. The Illini have now won four in a row in the series and four in a row at Crisler Arena. Grentz is 13-9 all-time vs. Michigan, all while at Illinois.
Bjork Makes Point
• Sophomore sharpshooter Lori Bjork has been on fire all season for the Orange and Blue. She has hit at least two three-pointers in every game this season and leads the Big Ten in threes made per game at 2.64. Her .402 shooting percentage beyond the arc (37-of-92) ranks fourth in the league, while her scoring average of 15.1 is seventh in the conference.
• Bjork has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games, which is the second-longest current streak in the Big Ten behind only Jessica Davenport's streak of 16.
• Bjork has had to make the transition to point guard this season after the Illini lost Maggie Acuna and Janelle Hughes to graduation last spring. She has flourished in the role, leading the team in scoring (15.1), assists (46), three-point field goals (37) and minutes (34.8).
Clutch Crutch
• Junior forward Danyel Crutcher posted her second consecutive double-double, her third of the season and the eighth of her career with 10 points and 14 rebounds vs. Penn State on Dec. 28. That came on the heels of a career-high 15 rebound performance vs. Bradley, which was the most for and Illini in a game in over a year, since Audrey Tabon had 15 at Florida on Dec. 9 last season. She is averaging 11.7 rebounds per game over the last three.
• Crutcher has stepped up big thus far for the Illini, especially after starting center Audrey Tabon went down with a season-ending knee injury before the season. Crutcher is averaging 9.3 points and 7.5 rebounds thus far, and against UIC early in the season she had a key putback with just eight seconds remaining to seal the 53-48 victory.
Simpson Sizzles
• Redshirt freshman Lacey Simpson has proven to be a tremendous all-around player this season, particularly in the last six games, where she is averaging 9.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.2 blocks per game. Her offensive game has been picking up as of late after a five game lull, making 7-of-14 from the field to score 21 points in the last two games combined.
• Simpson ranks in the top-10 in the Big Ten in four categories: steals (2nd - 2.93), blocked shots (5th - 1.71), defensive rebounding (6th - 5.64) and overall rebounding (10th - 7.9). She has led the team in rebounding a team-high seven times this season.
• Simpson showed that she will be a force to be reckoned with early in 2006-07. She posted game-highs in points (17) and rebounds (7) in Illinois' season-opening win over Butler, then followed that up with her first career double-double (12 p, 12 r) in the UIC.
• The Zion, Ill., native played four games early last season before missing the rest of the year after having internal surgery and taking a medical redshirt.
Freshman Phenom
• Illinois' lone true freshman, Jenna Smith, has wasted no time making an impact with her new team. Her double-double vs. Florida on Dec. 5 (22 p, 10 r) was the first of her career and the 22 points shattered her previous career high of 14. For the season, she is averaging 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting .495 from the field, which ranks 11th in the Big Ten.
• The Bloomington, Minn., native scored double figures in each of her first two games as an Illini (10 vs. Butler and 11 vs. UIC) and poured in a game-high 14 points against Northern Colorado, including making 6-of-6 from the line. She has also had five near double-doubles (12 p and 9 r vs. Saint Joseph's, 8 p and 11 r vs. Rhode Island, 11 p and 8 r vs. IPFW, 11 p and 8 r at Bradley and 10 p and 8 r vs. Penn State).
Wigley Nearing 1,000
• Senior Erin Wigley is inching closer to becoming the 20th player in Illinois history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. After scoring 2 points at Minnesota on Sunday, the Moon Township, Pa., native has 919 career points.
Gordon Has Career Night...Again
• Sophomore Chelsea Gordon was the lone bright spot in the loss to Ole Miss on Dec. 2, scoring a career-high 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds. It was the third time in a five-game span that Gordon eclipsed her previous career-high in points. In the victory at Saint Louis, the Erie, Pa., native hit 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from behind the arc for what was then a career-best 17 points, and on Nov. 20, she poured in 16 points at Northern Illinois, which was a career-high at the time. She is tied for second on the team and is 25th in the Big Ten for the season at 10.2 points per game.
JuCo Transfer Harris Coming On
• Rebecca Harris, a 5-8 point guard who transferred from Rend Lake College prior to this season, scored a UI career-high 12 points vs. IPFW and has been coming on offensively as of late. After scoring just 27 points in her first seven games (3.9 ppg), she has poured in 40 in her last six (6.7). She is averaging 5.2 points in just 16.7 minutes per game this season.
• Harris was slowed early in the season by a sprained ankle and missed the game vs. Saint Joseph's due to a death in the family, but played 20+ minutes five straight games, even earning a start in the win over Bradley, until logging only three minutes vs. Penn State on Dec. 28.
More Illini Tidbits
• Non-Conference Record: The Dec. 21 win over Bradley ended Illinois' non-conference season at 10-2, the best ever non-conference mark for a UI squad. Illinois has finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with two losses on three other occasions since 1982-83, when the Big Ten started sponsoring women's basketball - 2004-05 (9-2), 1996-97 (8-2) and 1986-87 (7-2) - but had never reached 10 wins until this season.
• Grentz Gets #200: Illinois' 74-47 victory over IPFW on Dec. 17 was the 200th win at Illinois for head coach Theresa Grentz. Grentz is 202-146 in her 12th season with the Illini and is 663-301 overall in her 33-year career, which ranks her 10th on the all-time Division I wins list. She is already the Illinois career wins leader.
• Dishing the Rock: Illinois racked up a season-high 27 assists on 33 made baskets in the Dec. 9 won over Rhode Island. Lori Bjork (7), Lacey Simpson (6), Jenna Smith (5) and Rebecca Harris (4) all set career-highs for assists in the game, while the team total was the most for an Illini team since March 14, 2002, when they had 27 assists in a first round WNIT win over Western Kentucky.
• UC Dominance: Illinois' 73-48 win over Rhode Island on Dec. 9 was Illinois' fourth in a row in the annual Lexus December To Remember Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Illinois is now 6-2 overall at the home of the Chicago Bulls, and has won the last four in-a-row at the UC by an average of 34.3 points per game.
• Postseason Streak: Entering 2006-07, Illinois had advanced to postseason play in nine of the last 10 years. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times during that streak and to the WNIT the other four.
• Giant Killers: Entering the season, Illinois had beaten at least one ranked opponent in each of the last 12 seasons. Last year, the Illini toppled 15th-ranked Oklahoma 86-75 to extend the streak. Illinois has yet to face a ranked foe this season.
