Law hopes team can heal quickly

By Pamela Nisivaco

A heart can break into a thousand pieces. Like a puzzle, it takes time to rebuild. After self blame, denial, guilt, anger and finally acceptance one may learn to believe once again. For the Illini women’s basketball team, however, time is of the essence. Players will be only four days removed from last Thursday’s one-point loss to Ohio State when they take the court again at Assembly Hall on Monday to face the Iowa Hawkeyes.

In an effort to speed up the healing process, Illini head coach Jolette Law applauded the efforts of her team in the locker room after its loss to Ohio State.

“This loss is on me,” Law remembered saying to her team after the game. “Keep your heads up, we know what we need to do.”

Losing by slimmest of margins has been a problem for the Illini since beginning the Big Ten Conference schedule. In two of their three Big Ten losses the Illini have lost by just a single point. A controversial last-minute foul call at Penn State and a mental lapse in the closing seconds at Ohio State have turned a possible 5-1 conference start to 3-3.

“We are losing the small things,” Law said. “It’s not that teams are coming in here and beating us; we are beating ourselves.”

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Turnovers, blocking out, getting to loose balls and executing are all things Law said the Illini need to work on. Most importantly, she said her team has to “learn how to finally close and play a complete 40-minute game.”

The Monday night game against Iowa will be “different” for Law. From 1987-1990 Law was a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team. During those years, Law and the Hawkeyes let the good times roll, winning four Big Ten Championships. On Monday, the past will seemingly be forgotten at 7 p.m.

“I work here, I bleed orange now,” Law said. “It’s just another team in our way of our quest to become Big Ten champions.”

The Illini will have to key in on Hawkeye Kristi Smith. The junior guard is averaging 12.5 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field.

Law referred to Smith as “a floor general and a phenomenal shooter.” Her respect for Smith can only be expected as they will both forever be tied together in Iowa history. As a sophomore, Smith scored 400 points and had 100 assists. This feat has only been accomplished by two other Hawkeyes including Law.

“She definitely is a great player and someone we are going to have to contain.”

Monday’s game will just be the start of a long week for the Illini. Thursday the Illini will return to Assembly Hall to face the Michigan State Spartans at 7 p.m. Sunday they will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the Purdue Boilermakers.