It’s no secret the Illinois women’s basketball team has a plethora of new, young talent. The highly-touted recruits and transfers were the main focus of the preseason, and all eyes remain on those new faces seven games into the regular season.

Among all the hype surrounding Illinois’ roster renaissance, one returning player is easily overlooked. That player is senior guard Ivory Crawford, who has been playing the best ball of her career and is not ready to relinquish the spotlight that has been on her since last season.

Crawford was one of Illinois’ lone bright spots last season, and she proved she could be a go-to scorer when there wasn’t much offense surrounding her. With all of the offensive additions around her this season, one would think Crawford’s scoring numbers would decline, but because of a more efficient approach, she actually sits at No. 10 in the Big Ten with 16.3 points per game.

Through seven games this season, Crawford has attempted almost one less 3-pointer per game than last season. With more shooters around her, Crawford has attacked the rim and gotten to the free throw line much more often than previous seasons. Her field goal attempts have been much closer to the basket this season, which is apparent in her career-best 44.7 field goal percentage, more than a 5 percent improvement on her career mark.

Before the season, Crawford said her main focus heading into her senior year was just playing smarter.

“Foul-wise, I think I just need to keep my hands off,” Crawford said. “But then other than that, I’m really dangerous on the floor, and so are my other players.”

For the most part, Crawford has been able to avoid foul trouble this season while remaining aggressive. Crawford’s wiser, yet assertive play has her in the top three in the Big Ten in steals per game, as well as in the top-15 in the conference in offensive rebounds per game.

Besides sophomore forward Jacqui Grant, Crawford is the only returning Illini to play more than 30 minutes total this season, and as the longest tenured Illini in the rotation, she has embraced a leadership role.

“To lead, I just have to do my part first,” Crawford said. “First you have to look at yourself and prove what you can do, so you can get the respect and the responses you need.”

Crawford has put forward the body of work to be an unquestioned leader on the team, especially after becoming just the 27th Illini to join the 1,000 point club last season. She has been steadily climbing the Illinois scoring ranks and currently sits at 20th all time with 1,113 points. 

But Crawford said the records aren’t as important as winning.

“That really doesn’t mean anything to me, points-wise,” Crawford said. “I just want to get wins and get where we need to be and make a difference from last year.”

Like past seasons, Crawford has let her performance on the court speak for itself and has set an example for all of the young players on the roster. She may have arrived a few years too soon to be a part of a significant program turnaround, but Crawford has already left a notable mark on Illinois women’s hoops and still has a whole season ahead of her.

Joey can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @joeyfigueroa3.