Jenny Yopp described her Illinois State womens basketball team as capable of competing with its upcoming opponents. She described upcoming opponent Illinois-Chicago as a quality opponent capable of competing with any team it plays. How all that plays out will start when the Redbirds play the Flames at 7 p.m. Thursday at the UIC Pavilion.
Illinois-Chicago is similar athletically to Illinois, said Yopp, whose 1-3 team is coming off a 71-46 loss to the Illini. They have a new coach (Lisa Ryckbosch) who has revitalized their confidence and energized their aggressiveness. They have shown themselves to be tremendously competitive.
The Flames, 3-1, have a great inside-outside combination in senior guard LaKesha Williams (19.5 points per game) and senior center Jaysie Chambers (13.5 points, 10.3 rebounds per game). UIC opened the season and opened some eyes by beating Northwestern 58-53. The only Flames loss was a 65-64 decision to Mississippi last week. Except for the Rebels, the only thing to stop the Flames from winning this season was a broken water main at Chicago States gym, causing Tuesdays UIC-Chicago State game to be rescheduled for Dec. 19.
UIC is talented, athletic and experienced, said Yopp. We will have to be more disciplined in controlling their drives (to the basket) and in running our offense.
Despite the lopsided score against Illinois, Yopp saw some good things. Her team handled the Illini press and wsa able to measure up to a tall, physical Illinois team on the boards. The Redbird offensive productivity, though, was a disappointment.
You cant beat teams scoring 46, said Yopp. We have to run our offense better. We have to get the ball into the posts. When we force drive situations, we arent as successful as we are when we reverse the ball and get it into the post. That gives us a lot of options for different players to score.
Getting the ball inside, where junior Zora Skrabalova has emerged as one of the Missouri Valleys top post players, continues to be a priority. Skrabalovas 11 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game lead Illinois State. She is No. 2 in the Valley in rebounding, No. 5 in field goal percentage (.571) and tied for No. 3 in blocked shots.
We went through a six-minute (scoreless) stretch against Illinois where our posts only touched the ball four times, said Yopp. Thats not enough. I know we have the talent to do better.
The Redbirds complete a three-game set of Illinois opponents with a 4:05 p.m. Saturday game at the new Convocation Center at Northern Illinois.
--##--
