The Illinois women’s wheelchair basketball team entered the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament with a sense of urgency. The Illini lost to Texas-Arlington last weekend in Alabama, and head coach Stephanie Wheeler was determined for her team to not repeat such a poor performance.

“The team realized we didn’t do the things that we can control,” Wheeler said regarding the previous loss to Texas-Arlington. “If we just prepare and execute those things, we knew we would put ourselves in a position to win.”

The Illini opened Friday’s game with an early lead, but Texas-Arlington surged back later in the half to tie the game. Illinois’ Helen Freeman drained a mid-range shot right at the buzzer to give her team a 26-24 lead at halftime.

It was a high-scoring start in the second half and both teams went on scoring runs that again left Illinois with a two-point lead. Wheeler used a timeout following an 8-1 Texas-Arlington run to refocus her team’s defense.

“I told my ladies, ‘This is still our game, and we’re still in control,’” Wheeler said. “From there, we were able to build a lead and finish the game strong.”

In the final minutes of the game, the Illini defense shut down the Mavericks offense, forcing two turnovers in the last minute of the game and cementing their position in the championship game with a 49-45 victory.

The national championship game pitted Illinois against Alabama. The Illini struggled on the court early on, allowing the Crimson Tide to score 10 unanswered points to open the game. After Wheeler called a timeout, seniors Freeman and Megan Blunk led the way and helped cut Alabama’s lead to four. The remainder of the first half was a defensive showdown, and neither team finished the half with more than 30 points.

Alabama entered the second half leading 28-22. The Crimson Tide steadily increased their lead over the course of the second half, but some late foul trouble gave Illinois an opportunity to get back in the game. With six minutes left, Freeman sunk a mid-range bucket to give the Illini its first lead of the game.

However, Illinois’ lack of scoring touch in the final moments hurt the team and it fell to Alabama 58-52.

“We didn’t capitalize on our offensive opportunities toward the end of the game,” Wheeler said. “We had opportunities, layups actually, where we created great shots for ourselves, and we just didn’t capitalize on them by finishing the shot.”

Despite not capturing a national title, Wheeler only felt pride for her team’s effort. They showed resiliency throughout the season and knows that it all started with the team’s dedicated work ethic.

“Our motto was to show up to every practice ready to give everything they had and to show up at every game and give it everything they had,” Wheeler said. “No matter the result, it doesn’t diminish the journey they were on all season. It was all worth it.”

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