FEBRUARY 09, 2012; Champaign, IL, USA: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Karisma Penn (00) is guarded by Ohio State Buckeyes center Ashley Adams (33) during the first half at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Ben Woloszyn-USPRESSWIRE

Penn and the Liberty will begin training camp on May 6th and will begin their regular season on May 25th against the Connecticut Sun.

Karisma Penn had a pretty amazing senior season with the Illinois Fighting Illini this past year. She was named honorable mention All-American, first-team All-Big Ten and Illinois’ team MVP while averaging 19.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.91 steals and 2.18 blocks per game.

She also led the league in offensive rebounds (3.8 rebounds per game) and ranked 25th nationally in steals per game, 28th in scoring, 29th in blocked shots, 35th in field-goal percentage and 59th in rebounding.

After signing her free agent contract, Penn said:

Having the opportunity to go to New York and learn from him and his staff is exciting. It’s a great opportunity for me to make a team, where if I had been drafted by a lot of the teams, I would have just filled a training camp roster versus having a real chance to make a team.

Although she was not drafted by a WNBA team this year, Penn could be the most overlooked player coming into this season. She was the fuel and the leader for Illinois this past year and led her team to a deep WNIT run in the postseason.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see her earn some serious minutes this season as a rookie for the New York Liberty.

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The Toledo Rockets were among the best defensive teams coming into Thursday’s game, but it was Illinois that put on a defensive show.

The Illini broke the Big Ten single-season steals record with 13 steals in the game. They had five players record at least two steals each and the team was led by Amber Moore (four steals).

November 20, 2011; Berkeley, CA, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Amber Moore (42) shoots the ball during the first half against the California Golden Bears at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

However, Toledo’s defense was not bad in the game.

Both teams played well defensively from the tip. Illinois forced seven turnovers and the Rockets forced four in the first 4:41 of the game. Both teams combined to shoot 1-of-11 in that span and Illinois led 2-0.

It was a very back and forth game, but the Rockets led 22-20 at the under-4:00 media timeout.

Before that timeout, Illinois was scoreless until Karisma Penn made a layup to end the scoreless streak. Illinois would end the half strong and lead the Rockets, 30-24, at halftime.

The game was just as hard fought in the second half. Both teams exchanged the lead and Illinois tied the game at 47 on a Penn layup with 6:15 remaining.

Although, Illinois would play very effective defense from then on and would end up winning on the road, 63-55.

After the game, head coach Matt Bollant said:

We had a lot of poise tonight and played with a lot of heart, which was really encouraging to see. I think this is as good of a road win as we’ve had in a long time. To come into this really tough environment against a Toledo team that is in the top 40 in the RPI, this is a really good win for our team.

Illinois only had two players score in double-figures against Toledo. These players were Karisma Penn (23 points) and Amber Moore (18 points).

The biggest strength for Toledo coming into the game was their defensive. The question for Illinois was about how they were going to get past it?

The answer was to step up to a WHOLE other level defensively. Penn and Moore led the team in steals as Illinois recorded 13 steals and forced 23 turnovers.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are now in the Elite 8 of the WNIT. The last time Illinois made it to the Elite 8 of the WNIT was in 2010. In that year’s Elite 8 game, the Illini lost by two points to their interstate foe, Illinois State. Penn and GodBold were the only current players on that Illinois team. As a sophomore, Penn started and scored 13 points in the loss.

Even though Illinois didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, this WNIT run is making the team and their fans feel good. Matt Wttersten of WCIA TV had this to say after the win on Thursday.

I think this WNIT run for #illini is better than 1 & done in NCAA. More time to work with brilliant coaches @coachd_illini & @coachbollant

— Matt Wettersten (@MattWettersten) March 29, 2013

If the Illini would have made the NCAA Tournament, they might have won a single game, but they could have lost in the first round. I rather play in the NIT and make the Elite 8 than lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Just like Wettersten mentions, this is giving Illinois more time to work with their new coaching staff.

Penn and GodBold are the only seniors on this Illinois roster. The team is going to grow and mature from this WNIT run and, even though there is more postseason basketball this season, they will be better next season.

The Fighting Illini will being playing in the Elite 8 of the WNIT on Saturday. Their opponent will be the Kansas State Wildcats. Kansas State defeated Ball State, 60-48, on Thursday. The Elite 8 game will take place at Kansas State.

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Although Illinois came out with the win, the Panthers were the ones to start the game off right on Monday night. They led the Illini 13-4 at the 14:49 and were looking to blow Illinois out early. However, the Fighting Illini hit their groove after that. They hit their next three shots and closed the gap to within two points.

Both teams would then go cold for the next five minutes. Neither team made a basket until Ta’Kenya Nixon of Eastern Illinois made a free throw. Illinois would lead by four points at the 4:11 mark as Ivory Crawford hit a three-pointer. The Panthers would call a timeout and come out of it with a 10-2 run.

Eastern Illinois would lead the Illini, 29-26 at the half.

Coming out of the halftime locker rooms, the Panthers seemed to be just as hot as they were to start the game. They scored the first four points of the second half and extended their lead to eight points by the 14:06 mark.

However, Eastern Illinois would not score for the next four minutes in the game.

Illinois would fight back to take a 40-39 lead (their first lead of the half) after Crawford hit a layup off of a Karisma Penn steal. Mariah King would hit a jumper to pull EIU back up by one, but Illinois would take it from there.

The Illini turned on the offense to cruise to a 62-54 victory.

After the game, head coach Matt Bollant said…

It was a big win for us tonight and it’s a win that, a couple of months ago, I’m not sure we get that game because things weren’t going our way. At the start of the second half, we gave up about five offensive rebounds in the first five minutes and it just seemed like it was a struggle and we didn’t have a lot of joy. Before, I think we wouldn’t have kept fighting and really had the heart to make it happen, and today, we did. I think that’s growth in our team. I thought KP, in the second half, just refused to be guarded. That was big for our team. (Source: fightingillini.com)

Illinois had four players score in double-figures against Eastern Illinois. These players were Adrienne GodBold (10 points), Ivory Crawford (11 points), Amber Moore (16 points), and Penn (19 points).

Penn was truly the star of the game for the Illini. She went 7-of-17 from the field, led the team with 19 points, and hauled in nine rebounds.

One key stat in the game was free throw shooting for both teams. In the first half, EIU attempted eleven foul shots compared to Illinois’ two. However, Illinois limited the Panthers to just two foul shots in the second half compared to their twelve attempts.

The Fighting Illini will being playing in the Sweet 16 of the WNIT on Thursday. Their opponent will be the Toledo Rockets. Toledo defeated Youngstown State, 61-43, in their second round game. The Sweet 16 game will take place at Toledo.

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