Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Timothy V. Johnson

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Stephanie Glance, Illinois State University's women's basketball coach, for being named the 2012 Coach of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference. Glance guided ISU to an 18 12 record in advance of their appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament on March 15th. She is in her second year as head coach of the Redbirds, after 15 seasons as an assistant at North Carolina State and one at Tennessee.

The ISU women's team finished second in the regular season this year after returning just one of its top six scorers and landing sixth in the MVC preseason poll. Glance was named Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year in 2011.

Glance credited her players for being eager to learn and improve. ``They respond so positively to anything you talk to them about,'' she said. ``It's really a special group.'' She also pointed to assistant coaches Sheila Roux, Danielle Santos, and Ryan Bragdon for their contributions. ``My staff works really hard. They are very driven,'' said Glance. ``They are people who want to be their best. This is not some kind of individual award. It's about the whole program.''

I would like to congratulate Stephanie Glance on a great year at the helm of the Redbirds. The players and their families, as well as Redbird fans and the entire Illinois State University community are extremely proud of her accomplishments and contributions.