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FINAL: Illinois 75, Lewis 40

Jenna Smith had 13 points and freshman Karisma Penn added 11 points and seven rebounds as Illinois beat Lewis University 75-40 in its only exhibition game.

The Illini open the season at Temple on Friday.

Freshman Brianna Jones added 10 points and nine rebounds, mostly during the second half, for the Illini. They played without McDonald's All-American Destiny Williams, who was ill.

Illinois did most of its damage in the second half, outscoring the Flyers 42-17.

HALFTIME: Illinois 33, Lewis 23

Observations from the first half:

--Amber Moore has lived along the three-point line, hitting her first 2 from beyond the arc and finishing 3 of 4. Her body and offensive style remind me of Kara Lawson. But don't misunderstand. I'm not saying she's as good as Lawson, an Olympian and WNBA star. Just looks like her a bit.

--UI defense struggled early to contain Lewis' three-point shots, not applying the type of on-the-ball pressure that Jolette Law likes to see. But the Illini turned it up as the half went along, and Lewis scored two points in a span of 9 minutes. Lewis has 11 turnovers at the half.

--I wrote a couple weeks ago in a Sunday centerpiece story that Karisma Penn, strictly from a physical standpoint, looks the most advanced of the freshmen, to me. She has what the recruiting gurus call "a college body." Trim. Defined. In shape. A few of the other freshmen aren't on that level yet, and they likely won't be there until next season. It's quite common for freshmen to enter with one body, and then return for their sophomore season with a different physique. In recent years, a good example was Audrey Tabon. 

--The UI defense is clearly ahead of the offense at this point, but you probably expected that. Just the way Law operates. We'll find out in the postgame if Law has been putting a recent emphasis on the defensive end, but I suspect the answer is yes. The offense has little flow and rhythm, and there have been 12 turnovers. That's a ghastly number for a regular season game, but not unexpected for an exhibition game. 

--The offense probably isn't helped by the frequent substitutions. Law is trying to look at combinations, and by the 9:27 mark, all 13 available Illini had seen action. That's just the way it is in the preseason. With such a large roster -- it feels weird to type that -- the Illini will have to get as many looks as possible at different combos. That might lead to some ugly basketball at times.

--Number crunching: Simpson 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals. Jenna Smith and Moore lead team with 9 points. Among the frosh, Penn has played 11 minutes and Adrienne GodBold 9. One surprise: Fab Josil has played only 3 minutes, though she does have two fouls. Maybe we'll see more of her in the second half.

--For whatever it's worth, Lewis played Bradley on Nov. 1 and lost to the Braves 93-62.

PREGAME:

Greetings from the Assembly Hall for another season of UI women's basketball news. Today's exhibition game is against Lewis University, a Division II school from Romeoville (Catholic school about 30 minutes southwest of Chicago).

A UI spokesman says freshman Destiny Williams won't play today because of illness. That's all we know at this point. She's dressed and sitting on the bench.

Starting lineup: Lacey Simpson, Jenna Smith, Karisma Penn, Macie Blinn and Lydia McCully.

Moment of silence before the game to honor EIU assistant coach Jackie Moore, 28, who died unexpectedly last week.

 

 

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