Although SIU-Edwardsville’s lineup featured five players less than six feet tall, 6-foot-3 Jenna Smith didn’t touch the ball in the post until the 10:15 mark of the first half. The Illini worked hard to find their game against the Division II Cougars, coming from behind in the second half to pull out the exhibition victory, 68-53.

Head coach Jolette Law was disappointed that her team could not find Smith down low early in the game.

“We ran every pattern to go to her but your guess is as good as mine why it didn’t happen,” Law said. “I just wanted to see how long it would take for us to realize that she needed to touch the ball.”

Smith said she wanted her teammates to get comfortable around her, but when they were down by as many as 10 in the first half, she needed a change of pace.

“My guards and everyone else was attacking, so I let them do what they were doing,” Smith said. “After a while I told the point guard to get me the ball. We were down, and we shouldn’t ever be down to Southern Illinois.”

Smith had eight points and seven rebounds in all 20 minutes of the first half. The Illini went to the locker room down 26-24.

In the second half, the guards frequently connected with Smith, who finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Senior guard Chelsea Gordon said playing with Smith makes her job easier. Though Gordon played the majority of the game at the off-guard spot, she still led the team with seven assists.

“I really don’t know how it happened,” Gordon said. “I’m just happy and I want to give credit to my teammates. Giving (Smith) the ball just gives you good assists. I just thank God (Smith) makes shots.”

The other Illini post player, 6-foot-3 freshman Lana Rukavina, also had a solid debut with seven points, seven rebounds and two key blocks that ignited Illinois’ fast break. With so many tall teams in the Big Ten, Law used the exhibition to practice using Rukavina and Smith on the floor at the same time.

Without any other true post players on the roster, the Illini will be throwing zone defensive schemes at opponents to help their posts stay healthy and out of foul trouble. Law’s 1-2-2 zone allows Smith and Rukavina to stay close to the basket, instead of chasing smaller guards around the court if they get switched on pick-and-rolls.

The defensive schemes also gave junior forward Lacey Simpson a chance to shine. She led the team with five steals in 18 minutes. However, her energy on the defensive end landed her in foul trouble early in the second half.

“Lacey was really, really, really excited,” Law said. “She was aggressive, but at times a little too aggressive. But that’s Lacey. I told her to calm down (during halftime) and she told me ‘got it coach’. Hopefully she got all the jitters out.”

Law said the game revealed the team’s weaknesses.

With 19 assists and 21 turnovers, the Illini will have to be more careful with the basketball.

“I wish I had another couple weeks to work on the little things, but it was good to go up against another team,” Law said. “This was a measuring stick for us, a quiz before next week’s test.”