Women's Basketball Notes: Games 1-3

Women's Basketball November 10, 2011

Women's Basketball Notes: Games 1-3

QUICK HITS

 Tip-off: Illinois opens its 38th season of women's basketball Friday night when SEC foe South Carolina comes to Assembly Hall. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. with streaming video and radio coverage online at fightingillini.com (All-Access subscription required). Following the opener vs. the Gamecocks, the Illini will hit the road to face Cleveland State, on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET/1 CT and then return home to host Memphis on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.

 Illini in Openers: Illinois is 22-15 all-time in season openers, but is 14-2 when starting the season at home. The Orange and Blue are beginning the season at home for the second year in a row. Last year the Illini fell to Illinois State at Assembly Hall, 69-62, to open the season. Illinois is 5-7 when opening the season on the road and is 3-6 when starting on a neutral floor.

 Everyone's Back: Illinois didn't lose any players to graduation after the 2010-11 season. The Illini will play without Centrese McGee, who suffered an ACL tear during the off-season. The returnees have a combined for 243 starts from Lydia McCully (93), Eboni Mitchell (18), Lana Rukavina (34), Adrienne GodBold (5), Karisma Penn (65), Kersten Magrum (15), and Amber Moore (13).

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS

South Carolina continued its improvement under Dawn Staley. In her four seasons, the Gamecocks have improved by four wins each year, including an 18-15 overall mark and 8-8 SEC record last year. Staley will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 following a playing career that included three Olympic gold medals. She came to USC from Temple, where she led the Owls to six NCAA appearances.
 The Gamecocks are picked seventh in the SEC by the league's coaches and eighth by the media. La'Keisha Sutton and junior Ieasia Walker are pre-season second team All-SEC selections.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS

Cleveland State returns four starters from a team that finished 21-12 overall and placed third in the Horizon League. The Vikings advanced to the second round of the WBI. Junior forward Shalonda Winton is a first team All-Horizon League selection. Cleveland State opens the season at home Friday vs. Tennessee State

Homecoming for McCully, Penn: Sunday's game at Cleveland State will be a homecoming for Illini Lydia McCully and Karisma Penn, who are both from Cleveland suburbs. McCully is from nearby Bedford Heights, Ohio, and attended Bedford High School, while Penn is from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and starred at Shaker Heights High School.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Memphis returns four starters from a 21-13 team from a year ago. The Tigers went 8-8 to place sixth in Conference USA and lost in the first round of the WNIT. Chelsea Johnson paced four Tigers in double figures in a 79-57 victory over UAM in its most recent exhibition game. The Tigers host Saint Louis and Belmont on Friday and Sunday, respectively, before traveling to Illinois.

MAGRUM RETURNS FROM INJURY

After starting 15 games and averaging 4.3 points per game as a freshman, Kersten Magrum missed all but three games last season suffering from a stress fracture in her right foot. Magrum is considered the most versatile player in the Illini line-up. A natural guard, Magrum can play the 2, 3, or 4 position on the floor. Magrum started and scored 12 points in the exhibition win over Maryville.

MCGEE OUT FOR SEASON

Sophomore guard Centrese McGee will miss the 2011-12 season after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee just prior to the start of the school year. The Calumet City native had surgery on Oct. 6.

McGee started all 32 games for the Fighting Illini during her freshman campaign, averaging 5.7 points per game and ranking second on the team in rebounding at 5.3 per contest. She led all Big Ten freshmen in rebounding while ranking second among those first-year players in steals (1.2 per game). McGee had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in a victory over Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Following the season, she received the Coaches' Award at the team's annual banquet and was Illinois' representative on the Big Ten Sportsmanship Team.

A FULL FIFTEEN

For the first time under Jolette Law, the Illini have a full complement of players on the roster. Returning 10 players from a year ago, the Illini added an impressive class of five for this season.

The incoming class includes two players from state championship teams -- Alexis Smith (West Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist H.S.) and Taylor Tuck (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.) and all five players who have excelled in the classroom.

The rest of the class includes Ivory Crawford (Chicago, Ill./Proviso East H.S.), the No. 88 ranked player in the class (No. 6 in Illinois) according to Blue Star Basketball; Nia Oden (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King H.S.), the 30th-ranked wing player in the class according to ESPN HoopGurlz; and Kierra Morris (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park Academy), a first team all-state performer.

ILLINI TOP MARYVILLE IN EXHIBITION GAME

Illinois had four players in double figures in a 79-52 victory over Maryville in an exhibition game Tuesday night at Assembly Hall. The game served as a tune-up to the season opener, which is Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm

Freshman Ivory Crawford, who got the start, led the scoring with 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting. Senior guard Lydia McCully (6-7 FG) and junior All-Big Ten performer Karisma Penn each added 13 while sophomore Kersten Magrum, back from a medical hardship year, added 12 points.

Penn, who was among the Big Ten leaders in double-doubles a year ago, followed suit with one vs. Maryville, a Division II team from St. Louis. Penn had 11 rebounds and three blocked shots while making 4 of 9 from the floor.

As is the trademark for Jolette Law teams, defense was key to victory. The Illini forced 32 turnovers and blocked 10 shots while limiting Maryville to 29.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Illini used full-court pressure to help turn steals into points. McCully had six steals while Crawford had five as Illinois scored nearly 50 percent of its points off turnovers.

LAW LOCKS UP TWO FOR 2012

Illinois head coach Jolette Law has announced the signing of 6-0 guard Mckenzie Piper (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West H.S.) and 6-3 forward Nia Moore (Bolingbrook, Ill./H.S.) .

Piper committed to Illinois in June following Elite Camp. She also considered Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa State and Iowa among others. Piper averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and shot 41 percent from the field in helping Iowa City West to the championship game of the Class 4A state tournament. The Trojans also won the Mississippi Valley Conference for the first time in 22 years. Piper transferred to Iowa City West after playing her first two seasons at Keokuk, who advanced to the state quarterfinals during her freshman year. The three-star recruit also played for All Iowa Attack and is ranked as the 59th best guard in the class by HoopGurlz.

Moore committed to Illinois in October after also considering Notre Dame, Auburn and Wisconsin. She is the second player from the highly successful program to join the Illini, along with current freshmen Taylor Tuck. Moore was the starting center for the 2011 IHSA Class 4A champions. The Raiders have won the last three state titles in the largest class in Illinois. Moore is a three-star recruit according to HoopGurlz and transferred to Bolingbrook after playing her first two years at Morgan Park. HoopGurlz ranks her as the 82nd best forward in the class nationally and evaluates her as a "shot blocker/changer." She played for the Illinois Dream Team during the summer.

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