Women take yet another national title

Illinois women's wheelchair team captain Carlee Hoffman was overwhelmed with emotion Saturday.

"We did it! We did it!" Hoffman screamed as she hugged teammate Shelley Chaplin. "It's finally over!"

The Illini had just beaten the University of Alabama 44-43 at Huff Hall on Saturday to earn their third national title in a row and their sixth in seven years.

"There wasn't a single person on the team who didn't contribute," said co-captain Sarah Castle, who also helped organize the home tournament. "Whether or not they played in that championship game, everybody contributed and that was one of the best parts about it."

Illinois was ahead for most of the game, but Alabama tied the score with seven minutes left. With less than six seconds left in the game, Illinois was ahead by one and Alabama had possession of the ball. But Alabama missed its final shot, sealing the Illini victory.

"It was a super tough game," said Shelley Chaplin, who was named tournament MVP. "In previous years we had won by quite a lot, so it just meant so much more to us having a team really push us to the very last shot. It was amazingly gratifying."

The women didn't shoot particularly well, averaging 28.6 percent in the second half to Alabama's 45.8 percent. But they attribute the win to a strong defense and good coaching in the final crucial minutes of the game.

"We didn't shoot as well as we could have," Hoffman said. "But you know what they say: Defense wins championships. It really showed in that game."

Hoffman led the scoring for the Illini with 19 points, followed by Chaplin with 12 and Castle with nine. Chaplin and Amanda McGrory were named to first team All-Tournament and Hoffman was named second team All-Tournament.

First-year head coach Patty Cisneros had a big effect on the team's success.

"She just did an unreal job and got us over the line," Chaplin said. "The last ten minutes of the basketball game was all coaching."

To get to the championship game, the women defeated Denver 59-33 and the RIC Sky 44-26. They then played Alabama for the first time, coming out on top 44-37. Because it was a double-elimination tournament, however, the Illini again faced Alabama in the championship match.

"This team deserved that national championship," Castle said. "We worked for it, Patty led us as a coach and everyone stepped up."

With the season's completion and the team on top, the women will take some time off from practice, but will resume again soon because many have tryouts for their respective national teams in the coming months. Some will also be training for the Paralympics in Beijing this September.

For some of the Illini women, this championship and this season were special because it will be their last year on the team. Castle, in particular, has been with the team for six years.

"I couldn't have asked for a better way to leave Illinois," Castle said. "We had all put in so much time and so much work and we all felt the payoff."