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2007-08 Women's Basketball Season Wrap-up
May 12, 2008
Complete 2007-08 Women's Basketball Season Wrap-up Notes (PDF) 2007-08 Illinois Women's Basketball Season Wrap-upHighlights The Coaching Staff Finishing Touch Illini Headlines • Lucky #20: The second round WNIT victory over Drake gave Illinois its first 20-win season since 1999-2000. It marks the seventh 20-win season in school history. • Bjork Has Grand Year: Junior Lori Bjork broke Krista Reinking's 10-year old school record for career three-point field goals (194) with a trey 30 seconds into the win over Penn State on Feb. 21. She finished the year with 214 career treys and became the 21st Illini to reach the 1,000-point milestone with 19 points against Indiana on Feb. 10. • Block Party: With 59 blocked shots on the season Jenna Smith became Illinois' single-season blocks leader, surpassing Kendra Gantt's 25 year-old record of 57. In addition, the Illini broke the team record for blocks in a season with 156, breaking the old mark of 151 that was set in 2006-07. • Postseason Streak: With the WNIT bid, Illinois has now advanced to postseason play in 11 of the last 12 years, with only 2003-04 being the odd year out. The Illini have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times during that streak and to the WNIT the other six. • Double Trouble: Jenna Smith recorded double-doubles in 16 of 35 games this season, which led the Big Ten, and has 22 double-doubles in her career, which ranked second in the Big Ten at year end behind only Wisconsin senior Jolene Anderson (26). Only a sophomore, Smith scored double figures in 34 of 35 games on the season, including a string of 28 straight. • Taking Care of the Rock: Illinois led the Big Ten and set a new school record for fewest turnovers per game (15.3). In the Feb. 21 victory over Penn State, Illinois established a new school record for least number of turnovers in a game with just five. • Long Year: The Fighting Illini played 35 games on the season, making 2007-08 the longest in school history. Previously, the longest season was 1999-2000 when the Orange and Blue played 34 games, going 23-11. Team Awards Most Valuable Player - Jenna Smith 2007-08 Letterwinners: Lori Bjork, Chelsea Buher, Stephanie Chelleen, Chelsea Gordon, Rebecca Harris, Erin McCarthy, Lacey Simpson, Jenna Smith, Audrey Tabon
Illini make Historic Big Ten Tournament Run • Illinois reached the championship game for the first time since 1999 and the third time in school history. The Illini have never won the tournament. • As a No. 9 seed, Illinois was the lowest seeded team to ever advance to the championship game. The previous lowest seeds to make it to the Big Ten Tournament final were No. 7 Penn State in 1998 and No. 7 Ohio State in 1995. The lowest seed to ever win the tournament is the No. 5 seed (Indiana in 2002; Purdue in 1998). • The Illini's win over Ohio State in the quarterfinals gave the Buckeyes their first-ever loss in their opening round game. Previously, OSU was 13-0 in its tournament openers. • Jenna Smith and Rebecca Harris were both named to the All-Tournament Team. Smith averaged 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, finishing one board shy of breaking the tournament rebounding record. Harris averaged 15.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from behind the arc in tournament play. Illinois in the WNIT Illinois has lost just once it its opening-round game, on the road at Indiana State in 2005. In each of the five other WNIT appearances the Illini have won their first game and lost the second. The Orange and Blue are 5-2 all-time in WNIT games played in Champaign and are 0-4 in games on the road. Smith and Bjork Named to All-Big Ten Teams Smith is the first Illini to earn first team All-Big Ten honors since Angelina Williams in 2005 (media) and is the first named to both the media and coaches first teams since Iveta Marcauskaite in 2002. She is also Illinois' first unanimous first team selection by one of the voting parties since Tauja Catchings was a unanimous choice by the coaches in 1999-00. Smith Becomes a Star • In Elite Company: Smith was one of just eight players nationally to average at least 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in 2007-08. The others on the short list were DeWanna Booner of Auburn, Natalie Doma of Idaho State, Traci Edwards of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Crystal Kelly of Western Kentucky, Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, Tamera Young of James Madison and Magan Frazee of Liberty. • Honors Everywhere: Smith earned honorable mention All-America status by the Associated Press and was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten choice by the media. She was also named to the Big Ten Tournament All-Tournament Team, was tournament MVP at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic and was Big Ten Player of the Week three times. Smith became the first Illini in over 20 years to pick up three Big Ten Player of the Week honors in the same season. Jonelle Polk was honored four times in 1985-86, which is the most for an Illini in a single season. Polk and Ashley Berggren share the career mark for Illinois, with five each. • At Her Best Against the Best: Smith fared well against top competition in 2007-08. In three head-to-head meetings with Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, the coaches Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds compared to Lavender's 14.3 points and 10.7 boards. Against Michigan State and 6-9 All-Big Ten center Allyssa DeHaan, Smith averaged an identical 16.3 points and 8.3 boards in three games, compared to DeHaan's 9.7 points and 6.3 rebounds. • Smith Does It All: Smith put up big numbers at an amazingly consistent clip despite constantly seeing double and triple teams from opponents. She scored double figures in 34 of 35 games on the season and ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in seven different statistical categories. She showed tremendous passing abilities out of the double teams (fourth on the team in assists) and showed that she can take her game out beyond the arc as well (11 threes). • Moving Outside: With defenses collapsing on her in the paint, Smith stepped out to hit 5-of-7 from behind the arc in the Big Ten tournament. She shot 42 percent from downtown for the season (11-of-26), despite not hitting her first three of the year until game #20 at Purdue on Jan. 27. Smith showed a soft touch from 15-18 feet throughout her career, but had rarely stepped outside the arc until the final 15 games of 2007-08. Before going 11-of-24 in those games (458), she had hit one three-pointer in five attempts in her career. • Smith Holds Her Own vs. NPOY: Smith faced her toughest competition of the season when 2006-07 AP National Player of the Year Courtney Paris came to Assembly Hall on Dec. 5. Smith more than held her own against the Sooners star, hitting 7-of-9 from the field for 15 points, pulling down eight rebounds and blocking two shots. Paris had her usual big numbers, but Smith served notice that she will be a force to be reckoned with for the next two years. • Career Day: Smith scored a career-high 32 points and had 10 boards against SIU on Nov. 18. She hit 13-of-19 from the field and scored 11 straight points for the Illini at one point in the second half.
Versatile Simpson Does it All • Doubling-Up: Simpson was the only player on the team to have a double-double in two different ways. She had 10 points and a career-high 12 assists in the win over Chicago State on Dec. 8 and then finished the season with a 12 point, career-high 14 rebound performance against Marquette in the WNIT. She now has four career double-doubles as she heads in to her junior year. Bec Blows Up In non-conference play Harris averaged 6.1 points per game and nearly doubled that in Big Ten play, averaging 11.2. Her big numbers in the postseason upped her overall season average to 10.0 points per game. • Hot From the Stripe: Harris had a streak of 24 consecutive made free throws snapped in the regular season finale against Purdue. Despite going 22-of-35 in the last seven games (62.9 percent), Harris still ranks among the best free throw shooters in Illinois history. In fact, her career percentage of 79.3 (130-of-164) will go down as the sixth-best career FT percentage at Illinois. • Perfect 10: In the Feb. 14 loss to Wisconsin, Harris kept the Illini in the game down the stretch by scoring the team's final 10 points, all in the last two minutes. In the game Harris hit 10-of-10 from the free throw line and finished with 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half. • No TOs: In the Jan. 31 win over OSU, Harris was stellar, not only scoring 14 points, but playing all 40 minutes without a turnover. Bjork Finishes with a Flurry • Automatic from the Stripe: Bjork led the Big Ten in free throw shooting for all games, hitting 87.5 percent from the stripe (70-of-80) on the year. The percentage is second to only Lisa Robinson's school-record 88.8 percent from the line, which led the nation in 1980-81. Her career FT percentage of 83.5 puts her atop the UI career list, just ahead of Robinson's 83.3 percent. • Grand Game: With 19 points against Indiana on Feb. 10, Bjork became the 21st player in Illinois history to reach the 1,000 point milestone. Two free throws with 24.4 seconds left gave the guard her 999th and 1,000th career points. • Bjork Earns Academic Honor: Bjork was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team for the second straight year on Feb. 7. Bjork is a political science major with a 3.93 GPA. Last season, she was one of two sophomores to earn Academic All-America status, as she was named to the third team. Close Calls • Jan. 2: Illinois thought it had a last-second win at Penn State, but fell 49-48 when Rebecca Harris was called for a charge on a would-be game-winning lay-up as time expired.
Taking the Freebies • Knocking 'Em Down: Lori Bjork led Illinois and the Big Ten from the line, shooting 87.5 percent, while Rebecca Harris (78.8 percent) and Jenna Smith (77.8 percent) were close behind. Bjork finished her career (83.5 percent) ranked first on the Illini career FT percentage list and Harris (79.3 percent) finished sixth on the list. Halfway through her career, Smith is eighth on the last at 77.6 percent. • Iced Kohl: Illinois set a new Kohl Center record by hitting 21-of-22 from the line (95.5 percent) on Feb. 14 against the Badgers. It equaled the sixth-best single-game FT percentage in Big Ten history and would have been the all-time Big Ten record if Bjork, the team's best FT shooter, hadn't missed the only freebie of the game for the Illini. Leading the Way in the Big Ten As a team, Illinois paced the league in scoring defense (57.2), FT percentage (.771), fewest turnovers (15.3) and rebounding defense (33.0) during all games, and ranked second in blocked shots (4.46). In Big Ten play, Smith was just as dominant, ranking in the top three in six categories, including second in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.1). Additionally, Bjork led the league in three-point field goals per game (2.39) in conference play. Team-wise, Illinois led the league in FT percentage (.778), fewest turnovers (13.3) and scoring defense (57.8), while ranking second in FG percentage defense (.394) and blocked shots (4.17). Climbing the Charts Single Season Career Team
Chelleen Shines on Senior Day With Purdue trying to mount a charge down the stretch, Chelleen took over, hitting four three-pointers in the final 7:04 to put any hopes of a Boilermaker comeback to rest. The guests cut the UI lead to single digits on three different occasions, but each time Chelleen answered with a three to push it back into double figures. Chelleen, who was honored before the game on Senior Day along with fellow seniors Rebecca Harris and Audrey Tabon, hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points in 13 minutes, one better than her previous career-high of 13 points. Looking for the Right Combo Illinois record by starting line-up: More Illini Tidbits • TV Time: Illinois received more television exposure in 2007-08 than ever before. The Illini appeared on national TV 12 times on the season, including an appearance on ESPN2 for the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. The Orange and Blue were also shown 11 times on the upstart Big Ten Network, which was available in over 30 million homes across the country, making it the most broadly distributed network in its first year. • Senior Send-off: The March 2 regular season finale vs. Purdue was the last regular season home game for Illini seniors Stephanie Chelleen, Rebecca Harris and Audrey Tabon. Chelleen made the most of it, nailing four second-half three pointers for a career-high 14 points to lead the Illini to victory. In addition to Chelleen's heroics, Harris finished with nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes, while Tabon played 15 minutes and chipped in two points, two boards and a steal. • Think Pink: Illinois joined over 1,000 other women's basketball teams in the WBCA's "Think Pink" initiative when Indiana came to Assembly Hall on Feb. 10. Most of the 2,733 in attendance joined the UI staff and players in wearing pink to help increase cancer awareness. Proceeds from the sale of the pink Illini Madness shirts went toward Coaches vs. Cancer. • Giant Killers: The Jan. 31 win over #19 Ohio State extended Illinois' streak of seasons with a win over at least one top-25 opponent to 14. In 2007-08, the Illini were 2-2 against ranked foes, topping the Buckeyes twice when they were ranked #19 and #22 and falling to #9 Oklahoma and #16 Ohio State earlier in the season. • Dominance Over Northwestern Continues: Illinois' victory at Northwestern on Dec. 27 was the Illini's 17th straight over the Wildcats and their ninth straight in Evanston. NU has not beaten Illinois since Feb. 5, 1999. • UC Home Away From Home: Illinois continued its recent dominance in the annual Lexus December To Remember Classic at the United Center with a 73-46 win over Chicago State on Dec. 8. The Illini are now 7-2 all-time at the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, and have won the last five in a row by an average of 33 points.
• Illini Claim FIU Title: The Orange and Blue claimed their first tournament title since winning the St. Mary's Thanksgiving Tournament during the 2001-02 season by taking two games at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic. The Illini easily topped SEC foe South Carolina, 91-58, in the opening round on Nov. 23, before hanging on for a 60-59 win over Big East foe Providence in the title game on Nov. 25. • Smith, Gordon Nab Tournament Honors: Jenna Smith was named the Most Valuable Player of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic after averaging 23.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in leading the Illini to the title. In addition, junior guard Chelsea Gordon also had a great weekend and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Gordon averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds and played solid defense to help the Illini bring home the hardware. Law Era Off to Fast Start Law Signs Six for 2008-09 Macie Blinn, a 6-1 guard from Greenville, Ohio, and Lana Rukavina, a 6-3 post from Wheeling, Ill., both signed in November. The in the spring Law inked Fabiola Josil, a point guard from Coral Springs, Fla., Eboni Mitchell, a point guard from Decatur, Ga., TeAndrea Smith, a forward from East St. Louis, Ill., and Whitney Toone, a junior college forward from Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville, Fla., who will all join the Fighting Illini for the 2008-09 season. Bjork Earns Preseason Accolade Joining Bjork on the coaches All-Big Ten team were Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan, Minnesota's Emily Fox, Ohio State's Marscilla Packer and Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson. Ohio State's Star Allen replaced Fox and joined the other four on the media's All-Conference team. Coaches Pick Illini Third in Preseason Poll
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