Basketball Hall of Fame

The 1998-99 Lady Cougars successfully defended their National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament crown with an 86-81 victory over Northwest-Shoals Community College (AL). Other wins preceding the championship game included the defeat of opponents Mesa (AZ) 81-69; Monroe (NY) 84-71; and Mott (MI) 78-51. Marlena Williams and Beth Zeone repeated as members of the All-Tournament 1st Team and were joined by teammate, Elena Karama. Zeone was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Williams and Zeone were also named to the NJCAA All-American 1st Team with Williams also being named a Kodak All-American. She was then drafted by the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. Lorene Ramsey was again named NJCAA Division II National Coach of the Year, making it the fourth time that she had received the award. The roster was again filled with several players from high schools in the Greater Peoria area. At the time of their induction, the ’98-99 team held ICC records for single-season field-goal percentage (.499) and Assists (749). They finished the season with a record of 31-2.