CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - March Madness will come to the University of Illinois this week in the form of women on wheels.
The 26th National Women's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday (March 16-18) on the campus where women's wheelchair basketball began 30 years ago. Ten teams from the United States and Canada will compete for the national championship. All games are free and open to the public.
The UI team, the first and one of the most dominant throughout the sport's history, will be among the 10 teams competing in the tournament, with its first game at 2 p.m. Thursday in Huff Hall, 1206 S. Fourth St. The Illini have won eight national titles, including five in a row from 1990 to 1994, and have played in 13 of the last 14 championship games.
The tournament will start at 8 a.m. Thursday and run through Friday with games in both Huff Hall and the Intramural-Physical Education Building (IMPE), 201 E. Peabody Drive. The final games on Saturday will all be held in Huff Hall, with the championship game at 4 p.m.
Fan Appreciation Day is scheduled for Friday at Huff Hall, when local youth are invited to attend the noon and 2 p.m. games, and in between meet players on both the UI men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams.
On Sunday, many of the 165 women who played in the tournament will be competing for a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the 2000 Paralympics, to be held this October in Sydney, Australia.
| National Women's Wheelchair Basketball Tournament Schedule |
| | | | | | HUFF HALL | | | IMPE |
| Thursday, March 16 | 8:00 | am | | G1 | Casa vs Richmond | | G2 | Orlando vs RIC |
| | 10:00 | am | | G3 | LA vs Texans | | G4 | Bay Area vs Grizzlies |
| | 2:00 | pm | | G5 | UI vs WG1 | | G6 | WG2 vs Minn |
| | 4:00 | pm | | G7 | LG3 vs LG | | G8 | LG2 vs LG4 |
| | 6:00 | pm | | G9 | WG3 vs WG5 | | G10 | WG4 vs WG6 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Friday, March 17 | 8:00 | am | | G11 | LG5 vs WG7 | | G12 | WG8 vs LG6 |
| | 10:00 | am | | G14A | L/LG7 vs L/LG8 | | | (9th & 10th) |
| | 12:00 | am | | G13 | LG10 vs WG11 | | G14 | LG9 vs WG12 |
| | 2:00 | pm | | G15 | WG9 vs WG10 | | | (Semi-final) |
| | 4:00 | pm | | G16 | WG13 vs WG14 | | | (4th place) |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Saturday, March 18 | 9:00 | am | | G16A | L/LG13 vs L/LG14 | | | (5th & 6th) |
| (all games at Huff Hall) | 11:00 | am | | G17 | LG15 vs WG16 | | | (3rd) |
| | 1:00 | pm | | G17A | L/LG11 vs L/LG12 | | | (7th & 8th) |
| | 4:00 | pm | | G18 | WG15 vs WG17 | | | (1st & 2nd) |
| | 6:00 | pm | | G19 | WG15 vs WG17 | | | (if needed) |
| Legend | G | = | game |
| | # | = | game number |
| | W | = | winner |
| | L | = | loser |
| | L/L | = | loser of loser bracket game (for placement games) |
| The teams listed on the left are the home teams. |
| Casa Colina Shooting Stars, California | Richmond Lady Sunwheelers, Virginia |
| Orlando Ice, Florida | RIC Express, Chicago |
| LA Sparks, Los Angeles | Lady Texans, Texas |
| Bay Area Meteorites, San Francisco | Western Grizzlies, Oregon |
| University of Illinois Fighting Illini | Minnesota Timberwolves, Minn. |
Information
Contact Phyllis Jones at 333-4606.