Check out beat writer Tony Bleill's blog here.

Game 22

UI women

at Purdue,

6 p.m. today

LINEUPS

Purdue (11-11, 6-5)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Jodi Howell 5-11 Sr. 8.3

G Brittany Rayburn 6-0 So. 15.3

G FahKara Malone 5-3 Sr. 6.6

F Samantha Woods 6-3 So. 5.7

C Chelsea Jones 6-4 So. 6.5

Top reserves

G KK Houser 5-6 Fr. 6.0

F Sam Ostarello 6-2 Fr. 5.3

F Alex Guyton 6-3 So. 3.9

Illinois (12-9, 4-7)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Lacey Simpson 6-1 Sr. 9.4

G Lydia McCully 5-9 So. 3.4

C Jenna Smith 6-3 Sr. 18.7

F Kersten Magrum 6-1 Fr. 2.3

F Karisma Penn 6-2 Fr. 11.5

Top reserves

G Fabiola Josil 5-9 So. 2.5

G Whitney Toone 5-10 Sr. 3.0

G Adrienne GodBold 5-11 Fr. 6.5

Facts & figures

Site: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.

Radio: Dave Loane and Mike Koon call the action on WDWS 1400-AM and WDAN 1490-AM.

TV: Tape-delayed at 9:30 a.m. Friday on Big Ten Network, part of the channel's "Student U" series of student-produced telecasts.

Series: Purdue leads 44-16, highlighted by a 24-4 edge in West Lafayette. The Illini have lost 38 of their last 42 overall against the Boilermakers.

Coaches: Sharon Versyp (86-43 in fourth season at Purdue; 203-108 in 10th season overall); Jolette Law (42-45 in third season at Illinois and overall).

TONY BLEILL'S Storylines

1

Scouting report

Hit by graduation and injuries, the Boilermakers struggled mightily early, but they have since started to play a bit more Purduelike. The stars are in the backcourt, as the frontcourt is inexperienced. Freshmen Houser and Ostarello have provided major boosts at various points. Purdue isn't a great shooting team (10th in the Big Ten at 37.6 percent) and regularly gets outrebounded. But its defense produces the most steals in the Big Ten, a bad sign for an Illinois team that struggles to take care of the ball against pressure.

2

Multiple personalties

Purdue was terrible at Mackey Arena until late December, when it suddenly figured out the building is a tremendous homecourt advantage. Since Dec. 28, the Boilermakers are 5-1 at Mackey, the only loss a four-pointer against No. 3 Notre Dame. Included in that stretch was a 63-61 victory against Ohio State, the Buckeyes' first Big Ten defeat. Away from home? Different story. Purdue has dropped four of five away from home and looked downright awful in lopsided losses at Minnesota and Iowa.

3

Simpson's the spark

Lacey Simpson rebounded from subpar recent play to collect 15 points and eight assists Sunday at Minnesota, and it's probably no coincidence the Illini won the game. When Simpson is aggressive on offense, the Illini become a much more dangerous club. To wit: Illinois is 7-3 this season when Simpson scores in double figures. When she gets fewer than 10 points, Illinois is 5-6. In Big Ten games, those figures are even more stark. The Illini are 3-2 when she does and 1-5 when she doesn't.

Prediction

PURDUE 59, ILLINOIS 49

Considering that Illinois beats Purdue with all the frequency of a presidential inauguration, it isn't difficult to forecast a winner. Illinois just doesn't win at Mackey. Plus, the Boilermakers have the type of guard play that can give the Illini major problems. They have a penetrator in Malone and three-point shooters in Rayburn and Howell. That should be the difference tonight. (News-Gazette prediction record: 13-8)