Illinois hopes to repeat Iowa’s Cinderella comeback
Last season, Iowa was 8-10 when it went to Champaign, Ill., and defeated Illinois 74-65.
The Hawkeyes went on to win 10 of their final 12 games to close the regular season and earned a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois (7-14, 2-6) would like to start a similar run today against No. 18 Iowa (16-5, 4-4) in Assembly Hall.
“That was a Cinderella story and it started when they beat us,” Illinois coach Jolette Law said. “They came into their own. Right now, that’s what I’m thinking about. Improving. Hopefully we’ll have a Cinderella story of our own.”
The glass slipper hasn’t fit yet for Law, in her fourth season with the Illini. A former University of Iowa player and assistant coach under former Iowa coach C. Vivian Stringer at Rutgers, Law has a 56-65 record and two NIT trips with the Illini.
“She’s done a good job with recruiting; she had the No. 2 recruiting class in the country,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “But any time you are rebuilding a program, who knows how long it’s going to take.”
Last season, Illinois watched top freshman Destiny Williams leave the program after playing just one game. She ended up at Baylor. Another freshman, Brianna Jones, was removed from the team.
This year, Illinois has been hurt by the loss of sophomore Kersten Magrum, now out for the season with a foot injury. Redshirt freshman guard Amber Moore slowly has returned from an ACL injury.
“Early in the year, if I had this same team that’s working now…” Law said. “I’m not making excuses; it’s the hand I was dealt. We’ll get the most out of the kids we have.
“But a lot of people don’t realize some of the disadvantages we had early on. If I had a full team, our record would not be what it is right now.”
Illinois has lost four in a row, including a 67-65 loss to Penn State on Thursday. In the past three games — Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State — the Illini have led in the second half.
“We are getting better and getting everyone back healthy,” Law said. “We’re not thinking about what the record indicates. The focus is on getting better every day.”
The Hawkeyes held a mock graduation ceremony last year before the Illinois game, letting the freshmen know they needed to step up and play like upperclassmen.
All five starters off that team returned and have led Iowa to a Top 25 ranking. But the Hawkeyes are two games back of a four-team pileup atop the Big Ten and don’t have any room for error as the second half of the conference schedule begins today.
“We know how important that road win is, and that’s a place that we have had good success in the past,” Bluder said. “We have to use that, but also understand that … we cannot let down.”
The Illini are led by sophomore forward Karisma Penn — fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (17.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (10.6 rpg).
“The players here now are buying into this team,” Law said. “No one player is going to lead a team to national prominence, and they are starting to play together.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball
