Senior pours in career-high 34

CHAMPAIGN – For most of Illinois' home games this season, Jenna Smith's parents made the eight-hour drive from Bloomington, Minn., to see their daughter play.

On Thursday, they chose to stay home and watch it on BigTenNetwork.com. Bad timing.

Smith put together her finest single-game stretch as an Illini, sinking her first 10 shots – including five from three-point range – and scoring 28 first-half points as Illinois buried Northwestern 81-50 at the Assembly Hall.

"The snow's been holding them up," said Smith, who finished with a career-high 34. "It took them 11 hours last week.

"They couldn't make it this time. They always buy it on the computer, so I'm sure they saw it. I saw that I had a text from them. I haven't read it yet, but I can only imagine what they were thinking at home."

For Smith, the first half further defined her as one of the program's all-time greats. She scored 28 points in the game's first 13 minutes as the Illini bolted to a 36-12 lead. "We knew she could shoot the ball," Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said. "It would have helped if we had breathed on her a little bit in the first half, or maybe waved at her, or sent her a postcard. She was wide open.

"She's been one of the best post players in the league for a long time. I'll be glad when she graduates."

Smith's 34 points were the most by an Illini since Allison Curtin poured in 35 against Iowa in a 2001 Big Ten tournament game.

It was also a much-needed boost in her quest to break Ashley Berggren's career scoring record. Entering Thursday, Smith had averaged 12.7 points in her last eight games, a dip that made her task much more daunting than it appeared in early January. But Thursday's outburst means she'll need to average 20 points during Illinois' final five games, or less than that if the Illini (13-11, 5-9 Big Ten) can win a game in the Big Ten tournament or reach the WNIT.

Smith moved past Jonelle Polk for second place during Thursday's game. She needs 101 points to reach Berggren's 2,089.

Smith's spectacular effort mirrored her team's play early. The Illini were crisp and active on both ends of the floor. With Karisma Penn posting up underneath, Smith spent most of her time on the perimeter, and the Illini used crackling ball movement to get open shots. Fueled by Smith, the Illini sank 13 of their first 16 shots.

"I don't know what came over me," Smith said. "All my teammates were laughing, like, 'What did you eat before the game?'"

At that point, the offense became simple.

"Get the ball to Jenna and let her keep shooting," freshman Kersten Magrum said.

Penn had 11 points and seven rebounds. Magrum added 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. The Wildcats (14-10, 5-8) got 25 points from center Amy Jaeschke.

The victory extended Illinois' win streak against Northwestern to 20 games.