The University of Illinois Springfield women’s basketball team was left in the offseason to bemoan the games that got away last season.
“When I look at last year’s season, there were eight games that we were very competitive in and had chance to win with five minutes left, and we won one of them,” UIS second-year coach Mark Kost said.
Winning those types of contests are vital moving forward.
“That is the next step for our program…closing out games that we have a chance to win,” Kost said. “I’m hoping we take that next step where we win our share of those games.”
Kost and his players are confident they have the necessary personnel to better last season’s 8-18 overall record and 2-16 Great Lakes Valley Conference record.
“I think we’ve definitely got the girls to do it,”
UIS has eight newcomers and six returners.
“I think our talent level is raised,” Kost said. “With the depth of our team, we can absorb more foul trouble or absorb injury or absorb more than two players not having a good night. We have other options to turn to, which I think will help us be more competitive.
“I believe we are more athletic than the past,” Kost said. “We score the ball better than we did in the past. We’re quicker and longer on the perimeter. We’ve added some depth in the frontcourt through recruiting to go with what we’ve got returning.”
UIS plays an exhibition at noon Sunday at Northwestern. It opens the regular season against Lake Superior State on Friday at the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge in Hillsdale, Michigan.
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on November 5, 2016.
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