(Updating: to reflect in first item Pepperdine's visit, coached by Julie Rousseau, to Rutgers)
By Mel Greenberg
Penn State will host Illinois Wednesday night and this second Big Ten encounter of the season for the Nittany Lions and the third for the Illini will be historically diffrerent than in past meetings the previous 12 years.
That's because when the two teams take the floor at the Bryce Jordan Center, two former Immaculata teammates and longtime coaching rivals will no longer be opposite each other from the bench.
The Nitany Lions' Rene Portland resigned in March and Illinois' Theresa Grentz did likewise several weeks later.
Instead, the Illini (10-3, 2-0) will be run by former Rutgers associate head coach Jolette Law, while Penn State (9-4, 0-1) will be under the guidance of former Notre Dame head coach Coquese Washington.
With the Big Ten looking less powerful top to bottom than in previous seasons, this is actually a key matchup. Penn State has been tough at home, so a victory by the Illini could mean an eventual NCAA bid if they finish in the top three.
Because of Ilinois' record to date, this could also be game with a victory that helps Penn State move back in the direction of postseason play.
And, this will probably be noted elsewhere in internet-land, but the Washington-Law matchup marks the second time this week that two African-American women coached a key contest against one another.
On Sunday, Temple, coached by the legendary former point guard Dawn Staley, went up against Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer of Rutgers in a nonconference triumph dominated by the home team.
Actually, it was the third. Stringer was again on one bench while Pepperdine's Julie Rousseau, a former coach of the WNBA';s Los Angeles Sparks, was on on the other when the Waves visited Rutgers Thursday night.
Penn State is 11-4 in Big Ten home openers and 11-2 against Illinois in Happy Valley.
Last season after Illinois grabbed a 74-65 overtime win in Champaign and then Penn State got even with a 61-49 upset in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
Repelling the Wave
No. 6 Rutgers (9-2) gets its shot at revenge Wednesday night in its last nonconference game for a while when Pepperdine (5-6) visits.
It was during the dreadful part of Rutgers' later glorious season a year ago that the Wave pulled a shocking 75-73 upset in overtime.
So, though not really necessary, this can be another measuring stick on how different the Scarlet Knights are 12 months later heading into this weekend's opening of Big East play.
Rutgers is coming off the lopsided 70-34 victory over Temple on Sunday. The Owls are on the road Wednesday night trying to get their act back together in a nonconference visit to Miami of Ohio, part of the football deal with the Mid-American Conference that has the Temple women playing four MAC opponents each season.
Reports are that in the past few days Dawn Staley -- in the manner of C. Vivian Stringer and former Temple men's coach John Chaney -- took full advantage of the academic break to teach a heavy course load of Basketball 101.
Trenton Homecoming for Virginia's Debbie Ryan
Virginia will visit Rider Wednesday night in Lawrenceville, N.J., outside of Trenton in a nonconference game that brings Cavaliers coach Debbie Ryan back to her native Mercer County.
Ryan, who will be part of next summer's Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction class, has battled pancreatic cancer and will be honored as the inaugural sponsor of the Courage Award in memory of Chris Somma, a guard at Hamilton West High who died of colon cancer in 2005.
The Colonial Valley high school Conference will present the award Feb. 22 at the championship game of the Mercer County Tournament to a Mercer County athlete.
Rider is under a new coach this season, former St. Joseph's assistant Lynn Milligan.
Here Come the Huskies
The No. 1 team in the nation comes to the area Thursday at 7 p.m. when Connecticut and Villanova get a portion of the Big East competition under way.
The Huskies, one of three remaining unbeaten Division I teams along with Arkansas and Georgia, feature freshman sensation Maya Moore, the No. 1 newcomer in the country.
Of course, likely to be seated in the Pavilion is Wilmington's Elena Delle Donne, the current top prospect who has committed to UConn for next season.
Villanova, now at 10-3 has been experiencing a renaissance after suffering with a worst-ever 8-21 season last year after graduating six seniors.
Connecticut also has the top prospect of a year ago in sophomore center Tina Charles from Christ the King in New York.
The game will mark the annual homecoming of Connecticut Head Coach and Hall of Famer Geno Auriemma, who grew up in Norristown.
Earlier in the day, St. Joseph's, fresh off its upset of nationally-ranked Auburn, will host Gonzaga at noon in the annual field trip day for school-age students.
-- Mel
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