Cindy Stein inducted into IBCA Hall of Fame
05/10/2019 | 10:54:00 | Women's Basketball
Southern Illinois women's basketball head coach Cindy Stein was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame Saturday, May 4 at the 47th annual IBCA Hall of Fame ceremony inside Redbird Arena in Bloomington, Ill.
Stein was honored alongside a who's who of Illinois basketball greats. Jill Hutchison, the longtime head coach at Illinois State and the first President of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, was the first female recipient of the Buzzy O'Connor Award given for service and dedication to the game of basketball. SIU alumna Karrie Redeker was honored as the Junior College Coach of the Year after she led Illinois Central College to a 31-1 record. Perry Range, who starred at the University of Illinois at the same time as Stein, was in the 2019 IBCA induction class as was former NBA player Quentin Richardson and Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
"It was fun and I'm glad I went," Stein said. "I enjoyed seeing Jill and I got to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a while. It's a tremendous honor to be inducted alongside the likes of Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Craig Sager."
Stein was inducted as a player after a stellar prep career at Peoria Richwoods High School. She earned varsity letters in volleyball, softball and basketball and was three-time all-conference in both softball and basketball.
As a senior, the Peoria, Ill. native was named All-State honorable mention after she helped the Lady Knights to a 20-2 record. On the softball diamond, Stein hit .522 to earn Richwoods' Female Athlete of the Year award.
A 2013 Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, Stein went on to play both softball and basketball at Illinois Central College for the legendary Lorene Ramsey. The ICC women's basketball team advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament in back-to-back seasons. During her freshman season, ICC won a then school-record 24-straight games, and the following season, Stein became just the fourth player in school history to earn All-America honors with a turn on the second-team in 1981.
From there, Stein transferred to the University of Illinois, where the Illini went 35-24 during her two seasons and advanced to the second round of the inaugural women's basketball NCAA Tournament in 1982. Stein dished out 323 assists during her two seasons, which still ranks eighth in Illini history while her 170 helpers during the 1982-83 season are still the second-most in a single-season in program history. Her 13 assists against her hometown team, Bradley, on Dec. 22, 1982, meanwhile, remain tied for the fourth-most in a single game in school history.
