SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – She came within a three-pointer of tying the Big Ten record, threw in 54 points and played for the championship team.

What's a woman gotta do to make an all-tournament team around here?

"That stuff, it's all political," said Illinois sophomore Katie Coleman, ignored at the San Juan Shootout on Sunday. "Coulda gone one way, coulda gone another. I really don't care."

Six players were picked by sports information directors and media covering the tournament (none of the five covering Illinois was asked to cast a ballot).

Their picks included two Illini: senior Ashley Berggren and sophomore Tauja Catchings, who was shocked to hear she'd been named Shootout MVP.

"I'm happy that it stayed on our team, but I thought it'd be Katie," Catchings said.

"I know you can't put everyone from Illinois on the team, but Coleman belonged there," Illinois coach Theresa Grentz said. "She was great."

Coleman had the top offensive night of the tournament in a 106-74 Saturday semifinal win over Providence. She scored 32 points, which ties her for 16th place all-time at the UI, and canned nine threes, a school record by three.

Her high school teammate was no slouch, either. Catchings nearly averaged a double-double – 14.0 points, 9.3 rebounds – and led the Illini with nine steals.

She had incentive to perform well in Sunday's 77-65 win over Duke.

"I told Tauja, 'Look Tauj, one more game and we're going shopping,' " said Grentz, a shopaholic herself.

Berggren was her usual steady self, collecting 54 points and 17 boards on the trip.

She was joined on the All-Shootout team by Duke's Payton Black and Michelle VanGorp, Providence's Kerri Chatten and Southern Illinois' Theia Hudson.

"I think we could have had quite a few players on that all-tournament team," she said. "That just goes to show that we have so many different weapons in our repertoire."

Sunny outlook.

This year, Puerto Rico. Next year, Florida?

Grentz says there's "talk" of the Illini playing in the Elite Four tournament next December in Orlando, Fla., with Tennessee, Louisiana Tech and someone else.

"I'm trying to take this program to this level," Grentz said, reaching as high as she could. "It's not a goal. A goal is to win the national championship. I'm talking about vision. I'm talking about doing things that people haven't even thought about doing yet. That's vision."

Welcome home.

It's no Huff, but Fort Buchanan had a homey feel to it this weekend for the Illini.

A cheering section of close to 100 made it to the U.S. Army base Sunday to watch Illinois beat Corey Maggette's college of choice.

They put up an orange Illini flag and a sign that read "The Huff (South)." They yelled nasty things at the refs. They got the I-L-L ... I-N-I thing going and chanted "501, 501" afterward in honor of Grentz's 501st college victory.

The group, which included 12 members of point guard Krista Reinking's family, threw a party on the patio of the Condado Plaza Hotel and Casino.

Grentz had a blast.

"You're looking over the ocean and the palm trees and the trade wind, and I'm thinking, 'Wow,' " she said. "What happened to all those nights I was in a gym on a bench, yelling at some kid or some referee, or some parent's yelling at me. The bus is late. It's snowing. And the plane's canceled. You think of a lot of those things.

"It was a great moment."

Dunkin' Devil.

VanGorp got the Dookies riled up by throwing down a one-handed dunk at the end of pregame warm-ups.

"There's nothing less important ... than some kid dunking in warm-ups," Grentz said. "I don't get too excited about that."

Join the club.

Expect a delay of game after Reinking's next three-pointer. She's one long shot away from becoming Illinois' 12th 1,000-point scorer.

The Illini host Marquette on Sunday.

Sore losers.

Duke didn't come out to accept its second-place trophy and two all-tournament plaques.