The next time the Illini women take the court the end result will matter, this afternoon against the Reebok Lady Stars was the last chance to tweak the offense and to experiment with the starting five.

The Reebok Lady Stars came to Champaign to compete with the Illini women's basketball team Sunday afternoon. In a final tune-up, the Illini put down the Lady-Stars 78-45.

The Illini relied on their ability to get out and run to provide them with points; they put themselves in command with an 11-point run in the first half and a 12-point run in the second half.

The team initially got off to a slow shooting start but later warmed up when they were sparked by the shooting of junior Angelina Williams who finished with 23 points.

"The offense has been going good," Williams said. "There are a lot of people for us that can come out and score."

The Lady Stars provided Illinois offense with a lot of good looks from their defense, which changed strategies throughout the game. The Lady Stars opened up in a 2-3 zone, later switched to a 2-1-2 and finally to a man. For the rest of the game they shuffled giving sophomore point guard Maggie Acuna the chance to switch the offensive set on the run.

"It was good for us to have the chance to recognize what defense they were in," Acuna said. "We communicated well and we were able to see their defense and change without a time-out."

In the first half the Illini defense was slow, as they allowed 23 points and gave up 13 offensive rebounds, which inspired a halftime lesson from Grentz.

"It has been a long time that at halftime I have spoken to a team and they have been right with me," Grentz said.

"We started off slacking on defense," junior Tiffanie Guthrie said. "But we responded well after halftime and the post picked up their play and the guards did a better job of getting into the passing lanes."

The rebounding game is still missing senior Cindy Dallas who sat out of the exhibition. Grentz said that the doctors said she has been progressing well and could be ready for play in the opener.

"This team is a great group because I can get at them and they won't call their moms and tell them that coach Grentz yelled at me," Grentz said. "In the second half we had better defensive position, and that's all about heart, determination and desire."

Defensively in the second half the Illini attacked, went after the ball and ended up getting 16 steals on the night. The defense played to the athletic strength that the team possesses.

The team ended the night positively, but also found some things to work on before they open up against Wayne State at home on Friday.