Green Street 'We need Maddie Webber to be Maddie Webber'
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Green Street 'We need Maddie Webber to be Maddie Webber'
Nov. 6—Some of the Illinois women's basketball team's preseason practice time in the lead-up to the start of the 2026-27 season was impacted by a few injury absences.
One of those was a hamstring injury that Illini starting point guard had been dealing with. Jackson was back in an Illinois uniform and started both Illinois' exhibition game against Illinois-Springfield last Friday night and the season opener against Detroit Mercy on Wednesday night.
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But Green also disclosed the fact had to miss time in the practice gym at Ubben Basketball Complex due to an undisclosed injury. This after the senior guard had an uncharacteristic offensive performance in the 23rd-ranked Illini's 84-50 victory against Detroit Mercy at State Farm Center.
Webber logged 21 minutes off the bench in the 34-point win over the Titans, but the 6-foot native of Bridgeville, Pa., finished 0 of 5 shooting while ending up with four points (thanks to four made three throws). Webber pulled down four rebounds and handed out two assists and added one steal. The veteran guard, who played her 100th career college game after starting out at Villanova before transferring to Illinois ahead of the 2025-26 season, did have three turnovers, as well.
But Green wasn't too concerned about Webber's stat line. The Illinois coach, in fact, lauded the impact Webber had despite a lack of offensive production.
"Maddie is another one," Green said in the postgame press conference after the Illini's season opener. "She was out for a little while with an injury, and I think she's really finally getting that groove back. She's had her best stretch of practice the last two days, and I thought she played like that tonight. I really didn't even know she was 0 for whatever (shooting). I don't care. Maddie was playing her butt off. She defended at a high level. She never took a break. Her motor was constant. She had great energy. She's talking to her teammates. She's talking to the locker room. She's talking in huddles. That's what we need from Maddie. She's going to score. I know she's going to score.
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"But she the last three days has been so locked in and her motor is back to what she's capable of doing. We need Maddie Webber to be Maddie Webber. And the best version that she can be, and I think she just has stacked a few really really good days together. You have got to get that rhythm back when you have been out for a while. I can see her getting back. Believe me, she's not going to have many days where she goes 0 for 5 I can tell you that much."
