Women’s Basketball Team Take the Court on Spring Break
Eleuria Starfish
March 10, 2023
Illinois Central College (ICC) Women’s Basketball to advance in the postseason. While most of their peers are off campus enjoying Spring Break, the lady cougars will head to Mattoon, IL to face off against Lake Land in hopes of advancing into the NJCAA Division II National Tournament beginning March 21.
Recently placed as the #4 seed in the Region 24 Tournament, the lady cougars at ICC enjoyed an exciting win this past Wednesday in the Region 24 tournament. Held at ICC’s very own Lorene Ramsey Gymnasium, the women came home with a W against the Lincoln Land Loggers. The final score was 60-48. The Loggers were the #5 seed and the lady cougars are now on a two-game win streak.
During the Wednesday game, the women forced 22 turnovers and caused the Loggers to be held to a 29% shooting average. The two top ICC scorers of the night were Cierra Mcnamee with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, and Peyton Dearing with 11 points and 2 assists.
The Lady Cougars currently are 1-2 against Lake Land. Friday, December 30th, the ICC team won against Lake Land in a home game with a score of 72-69. Wednesday, January 18, the Cougars lost against Lake Land in their away game finishing the game with a score of 55-69. On the 15 of February, the Cougars lost in an overtime home game against Lake Land with a score of 88-93.
“My favorite part of the end of the season is watching how our team has come together to become a strong team. We have faced a lot of adversity with injuries and played a very tough schedule (8 of our losses have been to rank teams) among other things, but our team is still working hard and enjoying spending time together and enjoying the process. Seeing how our team has grown through tough times and still has the desire to be coachable and improve is a testament to our players’ character and commitment,” said women’s coach Karrie Redeker.
The lady cougars have upheld continuous momentum toward improvement and team development. When asked what has been the biggest area of improvement within the team coach Redeker remarked,
“I think we’ve improved a lot in two areas—shooting and team defense. Our offensive system works best when players play with what we call “disciplined freedom” meaning they use their strengths to do what they do best but still play team basketball. We have a lot of weapons, both inside and on the perimeter, and players are complimenting each other by using their unique skill sets to help our team. Defensively, we’ve been more aggressive and started to work more as a unit and paid more attention to our scouting reports which have helped a lot.”
The women’s team is currently sitting at a record of 20-10. The upcoming game occurs on March 11th at 2:00 pm. If the two-hour drive from Peoria to Mattoon is too far, the game will be televised live on BoxCast and broadcast live via Radio on Mixlr. Be sure to support your post-season cougars from the comfort of your home or in Mattoon! For more sports updates follow our social media and check our website at iccharbinger.com.