In a game between bitter rivals, every shot counts.

Such was the case on Saturday, when the RIC Express defeated the Illinois women’s wheelchair basketball team 40-39 in Slippery Rock, Pa. to win the national title.

The Illini led early 9-4, but that five-point margin was the largest lead for either team during the entire game, as the two teams battled down to the wire.

The loss ends Illinois’ run of three-straight national titles. The Illini finished the season 17-23.

“The character of this team showed through in the end,” said head coach Mike Frogley. “We didn’t get down. We took everybody’s best.”

The tournament began well for the Illini, who defeated both Alabama and Arizona by large margins Thursday, advancing to the semi-finals. Senior Jennifer Warkins led the Illini in both games with 26 and 23 points, while Freshman Carlee Hoffman chipped in with 13 and 14 points, respectively.

“I thought we came out of the gate really, really well,” Frogley said. “I was really pleased with our defense and our offense, overall for the whole tournament, but especially for the first two games.”

The wins advanced the Illini into a showdown with the Express. The Illini fell behind early, but rallied several times before falling 45-41. Hoffman led the Illini with 18 points, and Warkins added 15 points and 22 rebounds.

Luckily for the Illini the tournament was double elimination. They rebounded from the RIC loss to defeat Arizona 69-43 for a second time, advancing to the finals. Warkins nearly recorded a triple-double in the game with 33 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Hoffman was the only other Illini in double figures with 12 points.

Frogley was very impressed by Hoffman’s performance and excited by her development.

“She (Hoffman) hit big shots; she hit shots at times when we needed to have baskets and showed a lot of mental toughness as a freshman,” Frogley said.

The win set up a rematch with the Express for the title.

After the Illini jumped out to the early lead, the Express quickly rallied. The game was a seesaw affair for the remainder of the first half, with the Express taking a 24-23 lead into the break. The second half proved more of the same, as neither team could extend their lead past three. RIC finally took the lead for good on a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left and held on for the win.

Warkins finished with a game-high 19 points and Hoffman chipped in with 14. Warkins was the leading scorer in the tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team in her final college game.

“Warkins is a great player,” Frogley said. “I think what we will miss about her is not so much the fact she’s a great player – we’re gonna miss her when it’s crunch time. She has so much experience.”

The success of this season should be a springboard for the Illini next season, as the underclassmen continue to grow.

“We love to win national championships; we win a lot of them here,” Frogley said. “This was definitely a rebuilding year. We got beat up on early this year, big time by a lot of teams. For this team to come this far, to come within one basket of winning a national championship – and to be this young – it’s really incredible what these ladies did.”