A losing record generally isn’t cause for celebration.
But when the Illinois women’s basketball team went 12-15 (7-11 in the Big 10) last season, it was the team’s best record since 1987. Coach Kathy Lindsey’s Fighting Illini go into 1993-94 with more experience and their eyes on a first-division conference finish.
“We did make an improvement last season,” Lindsey said. “But we would like to move up in the standings.
“The biggest challenge facing us is the mental side, not the physical,” Lindsey said. “We’re in the toughest conference in the nation and we have to believe that we can compete for the top division.”
Illinois will have to play the first half of the season without Robbyn Preacely, who led the team in scoring as a freshman last year. The 5-foot-5-inch guard from Morgan Park High School was declared academically ineligible for the first semester. She could return for the bulk of the Big 10 schedule.
Without Preacely, who averaged 14.3 points a game in 1992-93, the Illini probably will look for senior guard Mandy Cunningham to carry some of the scoring load. Cunningham is eighth on Illinois’ all-time scoring list with 1,093 points. She hit 37 three-point field goals last year, one fewer than the rest of her teammates combined. She shot 33 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range.
If the Illini are to move up, they’ll need another big year from 6-foot forward Kris Dupps, who was second in the league last year with 8.2 rebounds a game. She also provided inside scoring power, averaging 11.7 points.