Game Notes for Illinois Season Opening Weekend
November 11, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2010
2010-11 Record Book
2010-11 Season Preview
2010-11 Schedule
Complete Game 1 and 2 Women's Basketball Game Notes
GAME 1 - Illinois State (0-0) at Illinois (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 // 7 p.m. // Assembly Hall (16,618) // Champaign, Ill.ON THE AIR
Video Stream: fightingillini.com All-Access ($9.95 monthly)
Radio: Tape delayed after Illini volleyball on WDWS AM-1400 (Dave Loane and Mike Koon)
Livestats: fightingillini.com GameTracker
THE SERIES
ILL leads 20-13
Last Meeting: ISU 53, Illinois 52 in WNIT Quarterfinal, March 28, 2009 at Normal, Ill.
THE COACHES
Illinois: Jolette Law, 49-51 overall and at Illinois (fourth season)
ISU: Stephanie Glance, 0-0 overall and at ISU (first season)
GAME 2 - Illinois at South Carolina
Monday, Nov. 15, 2010 // 7 p.m. ET / 6 CT // Colonial Life Arena (18,000) // Columbia, S.C.ON THE AIR
Radio: Live on WDWS-AM 1400 and online at fightingillini.com (Brian Moline and Mike Koon)
Livestats: fightingillini.com GameTracker
THE SERIES
ILL leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Illinois 91, USC 58 at FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami on Nov. 23, 2007
THE COACHES
Illinois: Jolette Law (fourth season at Illinois)
USC: Dawn Staley, 196-113 overall (11th season) and 24-33 at South Carolina (third season)
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QUICK HITS
• Tip-off: Illinois opens its 37th season of women's basketball Friday night when in-state rival Illinois State comes to Assembly Hall. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. with streaming video and radio coverage online at fightingillini.com (All-Access subscription required). Following the opener vs. ISU, the Illini will hit the road to face South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET/6 CT.
• Illini in Openers: Illinois is 22-14 all-time in season openers, but is 14-1 when starting the season at home. The Orange and Blue are beginning the season at home for the first time since 2006. Illinois is 5-7 when opening the season on the road, including a 82-78 overtime loss at Temple last year, and is 3-6 when starting on a neutral floor.
• Familiar Foe: The Fighting Illini may have some extra motivation for Friday's opener, as their opponent, Illinois State, is the same team that ended their season last year. The Redbirds won a thrilling 53-52 game in Normal on a late three by Katie Broadway, ending Illinois' WNIT run in the quarterfinals.
• Where are the Seniors? Illinois is one of only seven Division I teams in the nation without a senior on its roster heading into the 2010-11 season, joining Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Murray State, Oral Roberts, Purdue and Rutgers. With the absence of senior leadership, Illini head coach Jolette Law has singled out redshirt junior Lydia McCully and sophomores Karisma Penn and Kersten Magrum as players who have stepped up as leaders in the offseason.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
Like the Illini, who must replace senior stars Jenna Smith and Lacey Simpson, the Redbirds have a much different look than they did in last year's two meetings with Illinois. ISU lost its top three scorers from last year to graduation - Ashleen Bracey (14.7 ppg), Maggie Krick (13.9 ppg) and Nicolle Lewis (11.9 ppg) - and has an entirely new coaching staff, led by first-year head coach Stephanie Glance. Junior guard Katie Broadway is the team's top returning scorer at 7.7 ppg.
ISU won its lone preseason game over Illinois-Springfield, 78-28, and is picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches poll. Last season, the Redbirds were 28-8 overall, won the MVC regular season title and advanced to the semifinals of the WNIT.
Illinois owns a 20-13 overall record over ISU since the series began in 1976 and is 9-4 against the Redbirds in Champaign. The Illini have won 13 of the last 15 in the series, and had won eight straight vs. the Redbirds before falling in last year's WNIT quarterfinals. The two teams met twice last season, with Illinois winning 62-51 on Nov. 24 in Normal before ISU got revenge with the postseason win.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina was14-15 last year under second-year coach Dawn Staley. This year, USC is picked to finish seventh out of 12 teams in the SEC preseason media poll.
The Gamecocks return four starters from last year, led by senior guard Valerie Ninima (17.0 ppg in 2009-10). Their lone loss is center Kelsey Bone, who averaged 14.0 points and 9.2 rebounds last year as a freshman before transferring to Texas A&M after the season. This year, USC adds Maryland transfer Marah Strickland, who sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, as well as junior college transfer Markeshia Grant. South Carolina opens its season Friday night by hosting #5/6 Xavier.
• The Illinois-USC Series: Illinois and South Carolina have met just once before, with the Illini rolling to a 91-68 win at the 2007 FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami.
• Homecoming for Law, Gilmore: Monday's game at South Carolina will have plenty of Illini orange in the crowd. Illinois head coach Jolette Law (Florence) and Usha Gilmore (Moncks Corner) are both South Carolina natives who still have plenty of friends and family in the state. Law was a three-time All-American at Wilson High School and is a member of both the Florence city, and Wilson High School, Halls of Fame. Gilmore, meanwhile, was named the state's Ms. Basketball in 1996.
FRESH FACES
Four newcomers show up on the Fighting Illini roster this season, two players and two coaches. Jolette Law and staff welcome two freshman players to the squad in Centrese McGee (Calumet City, Ill.) and Alexis Burke (Bainbridge, Ga.), while redshirt freshman Amber Moore (Detroit, Mich.) is back in the mix after missing all but one game last season with a torn ACL. New on the sidelines are assistant coaches Michael Peck and Usha Gilmore.
ILLINI CRACK CENTURY MARK IN EXHIBITION WIN
Illinois looked impressive in its 2010-11 Assembly Hall debut, dominating Kentucky Wesleyan right from the tip en route to a 100-37 exhibition victory on Tuesday night. Karisma Penn led seven Illini in double figures with a double-double of 18 points and 11 boards, while Lana Rukavina also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. As a team, the Orange and Blue shot a sizzling 66 percent from the field while holding the guests to just 24 percent shooting.
The young Illini pushed the tempo early and often, while Penn and Rukavina made the most of their size over the Panthers with a 50-14 points in the paint advantage. Illinois jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 2:13 of the game behind eight quick points from Penn and never looked back. After 10 minutes of play, the Illini led 33-11 and had hit 14-of-15 from the field. By halftime, Illinois led 55-19 and was shooting at a 77 percent clip.
The Illini also excelled behind the arc, nailing 9-of-17 from downtown. Amber Moore led the way from the perimeter, hitting 4-of-7 threes and finishing with 16 points. Junior point guard Lydia McCully hit all three of her three-point attempts on her way to 11 points and eight assists in only 22 minutes.
MAGRUM OUT SIX WEEKS
Sophomore forward Kersten Magrum will miss approximately six weeks with a stress injury in her foot. She had surgery on Nov. 10 to fix the problem and hopes to return in late December prior to Big Ten play. Magrum emerged as a key player for the Illini during the second half of last season, starting the last 15 games and averaging 6.9 points per game during that span.
GODBOLD SUSPENDED
Sophomore guard Adrienne GodBold is serving a six-game suspension for violating team rules. She sat out the team's lone exhibition game and will miss the first five regular season games as well. She should be eligible to return to action for the second game of the Hawai'i tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. GodBold averaged 5.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last year as the Illini's first sub off the bench.
LAW LOCKS UP FIVE FOR 2011
Coach Jolette Law announced the signing of five talented student-athletes to national letters of intent on Wednesday, Nov. 10, the first day of the early signing period. Ivory Crawford, a 5-9 combo guard from Chicago, Ill., Kierra Morris, a 6-3 post from Chicago, Ill., Nia Oden, a 5-10 wing from Brooklyn, N.Y., Alexis Smith, a 5-9 point guard from West Islip, N.Y., and Taylor Tuck, a 6-0 wing from Bolingbrook, Ill., all will join the Fighting Illini for the 2011-12 season.
LOCAL SCHOOLS LINING UP FOR NOV. 22 YOUTH DAY
Illinois will be hosting Youth Day on Monday, November 22, when Cal Poly comes to Assembly Hall for an 11 a.m. top. The game is free for the general public, as well as the students, teachers and administrators from area elementary and middle schools. Families of the students are encouraged to meet their children at the game for lunch and entertainment at Assembly Hall.
With the game running during lunch hour, students can bring their own sack lunches to the game. There will also be an educational aspect to Youth Day, as Coach Law and some of the players will give a post-game speech to the students on sportsmanship, teamwork, quality education, anti-bullying, fitness and more, all components of Illinois' statewide public service announcement campaign called Tough Enough, Smart Enough.
For more information on Youth Day or to get your school involved, contact Shanna Diller at 217-244-0062 or sdiller2@illinois.edu.
ILLINI SEE UNPRECEDENTED TV, INTERNET COVERAGE
The Illini will appear on national television at least eight times this season, with seven games slated for broadcast on the Big Ten Network and one set to air on ESPN2 (at Penn State, Jan. 16). In addition, 13 more games will be streamed live online (11 on BigTenNetwork.com and two on FightingIllini.com All-Access).
For the season, all 16 Big Ten Conference games and all Illinois home games will be either national televised or streamed online. In addition, all 10 Big Ten Tournament games will be televised, with the Big Ten Network airing the first three rounds and ESPN2 broadcasting the championship game.
