CHAMPAIGN — Mackenzie Blazek ran nearly the entire length of the floor at State Farm Center. The Illinois women's basketball freshman caught a lob pass from Brandi Beasley deep in the post, and in one fluid motion, scooped in a layup while drawing contact from 6-foot-2 Maryland forward Stephanie Jones.
Blazek's bucket in the final seconds of the third quarter of Monday night's 80-66 loss by the Illini to the Terrapins showed the skill sets that drew the Illinois coaching staff to recruit the 6-foot-3 forward out of Franklin, Ind.
Blazek's progress during her first college season has been helped even further by going up against the likes of forwards Alex Wittinger, whose 256 blocked shots are only 15 behind Karisma Penn's school record of 271, and Sarah Shewan, a graduate transfer, in practice.