Starting point guard Shelley Chaplin’s basketball wheelchair broke on its way back from Baltimore, Md., and a new one has yet to be shipped in. Chaplin still had to play a big role this weekend for the Illini’s three games, borrowing former Illinois player Jen Ruddell’s wheelchair.

“(The wheelchair) is a completely different size for her,” starting forward Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy said. “It’s like playing with shoes that are two sizes too big or small.”

Nonetheless, Chaplin was a top-three scorer in all three of the Illini’s games this weekend at home. The women’s team won the games with scores of 54-37, 57-32 and 54-25, all against the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Express.

O’Kelly-Kennedy said she was impressed that Chaplin can play at such a high level while in pain. Her knee was bloodied and bruised due to the configuration of the wheelchair she used.

“(Chaplin) is an amazing player for that, to have to adapt like that,” O’Kelly-Kennedy said.

Head coach Mike Frogley liked how Chaplin incorporated lots of players into the game plan. Because the team played well early, Frogley was able to experiment with freshmen and newcomers during the weekend.

“(The newcomers) are really (getting) some experience on the court and a confidence that is going to be invaluable down the stretch,” Frogley said. “We’re going to see it pay off in two ways: one, as they get better, the quality of our practices will get better, and that will push our veteran players because they’re going to be up against better players on a day-in, day-out basis. We’ll also see it in March (when) different freshmen are going to have to make big plays for us,”

Freshman Dana Fink was pleased to see minutes this weekend and be able to work on different aspects of her play in a real-game situation. In general she is happy about her situation with the Illini.

“It is exciting because I’ve never really been in a position to play basketball everyday, to have a coach everyday,” Fink said. “It has really improved my game.”

Junior Carlee Hoffman noticed that when freshmen were put in toward the ends of games, the women’s team never lost the momentum it had while the veteran players were playing. Hoffman said that this was a great sign for the team.

The known veterans really got the ball rolling for the weekend, and Frogley knew it. Hoffman led the team in its second game with 27 points.

Additionally, Frogley liked the play of his post players. O’Kelly-Kennedy was consistent throughout the games and first-year player Arley McNeney led the team in scoring in two of the team’s three games.

“When you get your big guns showing up like this, that really makes it tough on other teams,” Frogley said.