Bleill's chatting at 1 p.m. Friday - take part here

GAME 31

UI women at Western Kentucky, 7 p.m.  Friday

LINEUPS

Western Kentucky (21-10)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Kenzie Rich 5-7 Sr. 9.8

G Amy McNear 5-8 Jr. 11.5

F Dominique Duck 5-11 Sr. 9.4

F Arnika Brown 6-2 Sr. 11.5

F Jessica Magley 6-0 Sr. 3.0

Top reserves

F Keisha Mosley 6-1 So. 3.5

G Hope Brown 5-8 Jr. 5.2

G Lashay Davis 5-8 Sr. 2.8

ILLINOIS (16-14)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Lacey Simpson (right) 6-1 Sr. 9.7

G Lydia McCully 5-9 So. 4.5

C Jenna Smith 6-3 Sr. 18.1

F Kersten Magrum 6-1 Fr. 3.9

F Karisma Penn 6-2 Fr. 10.6

Top reserves

G Fabiola Josil 5-9 So. 2.0

G Whitney Toone 5-10 Sr. 2.6

G Adrienne GodBold 5-11 Fr. 5.7

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky. First-round game of the WNIT. Winner advances to face the Marquette-Eastern Illinois winner at a time and site to be determined.

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

Series: Western Kentucky leads 2-1. The last meeting was the 2002 WNIT, when Illinois won 91-84 in Champaign in a first-round game.

Coaches: Mary Taylor Cowles (175-80 in eighth season at Western Kentucky and overall); Jolette Law (46-50 in third season at Illinois and overall).

TONY BLEILL'S STORYLINES

1

Scouting report

The Hilltoppers were the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament (the top two, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas-Little Rock, received NCAA tourney bids), falling in the semis to Middle Tennessee. Their only losses since early January were against Middle Tennessee (twice) and Arkansas-Little Rock (once). They rely on a creative, good-shooting guard in McNear and the inside prowess of Brown, who pulls in 11.2 rebounds a game. Opponents typically try to force the Hilltoppers to win the game from the perimeter. They shoot 31 percent from three-point range, ranking 174th nationally.

2

All about Jenna

Friday's focus isn't so much on who wins, but rather on Smith's historic achievement. With three points, she'll break Ashley Berggren's career scoring record at Illinois. With 10 points, she'll move into 10th place on the Big Ten's career scoring chart. Smith already owns the UI's rebounds and blocked shots records, and Friday's accomplishment will serve to reinforce her position as one of the top players in the program's history. It's a long shot, but if Smith can collect 15 more blocks by season's end, she'll become the second player to finish in the top 10 of the Big Ten's scoring, rebounding and blocks lists.

3

Familiar connections

Illinois will see an old foe  Friday night: Purdue transfer Mosley, who as a freshman helped break the Illini's hearts in the 2008 Big Ten tournament title game. She was named to the all-tourney team as part of her effort but, by the following December, had encountered academic difficulty at the school and sought a transfer. She's a frontcourt backup for the Hilltoppers. If the Illini need an updated scouting report, they can call on former assistant Karen Middleton, now the head coach at Western Carolina. Middleton's Catamounts lost to Western Kentucky 61-41 in December.

PREDICTION

ILLINOIS 61, WESTERN KENTUCKY 58

Much like football's bowl games, the WNIT is all about motivation. It's impossible to say which team will have more Friday night. Illinois does have something to prove, however, tugging an 0-4 record all time in WNIT road games into the contest. For the UI seniors, this is their third WNIT, compiling a 1-1 record in each event. (News-Gazette prediction record: 19-11)