The 2025-26 Western Illinois University women’s basketball team finds itself in rarified air among university programs.
This year’s squad is just the third in the history of the program at WIU to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament joining the 2016-17 Leathernecks.
Before them however, the first WIU team to boldly go where no women’s basketball team had gone before was the 1994-95 squad.
Two members of that team were senior guard Vicki Adelman and senior forward Oberon Pitterson.
Now, 31 years later, Vicki Adelman Hamill and Oberon Pitters-Nattie still have fond memories of that special season.
But the achievements by the team didn’t come easy.
“It was one of those things where you do what you have to do,” said Pitterson-Nattie. “And we did just that. It was back-to-back games. It was playing on the road.”
“To end our career, being the first team to go to the NCAA Tournament, it was like all the hard work (paid off),” said Adelman Hamill. “It’s something that they can never take away from us.”
“We got crushed those early years,” she added. “There were seven of us from that year we went 3-21 left. It was a big turnaround. The new coach came in and a lot of people left, it was really special for us.”
Coach Regina Miller took over a team that went from three wins in her first season in 1992-93 to a 15-13 mark in 1993-94.
“Coach Miller came from a winning program everywhere she went,” said Adelman Hamill. “She had the expectation that just kind of willed us that ‘you will be winners.’” “It was the whole idea that you were expected to win,” she added. “You were expected to work as hard as possible.”
“Regina took no excuses from us,” said Adelman Hamill. “It didn’t matter. We played fullcourt man-toman run-and-jump. She didn’t care if there were seven or eight of us playing or five of us.”
“You worked harder than you thought you could ever work,” she added. “I learned to empty the tank.”
Miller was named Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year, for her efforts, while Pitterson was named Newcomer of the Year.
“They got trampled on their freshman and sophomore years,” said Pitterson- Nattie of then-seniors Adelman and Val Vincent. “But when Coach Miller came in, it was a totally different kind of attitude.”
“It was training, playing hard and playing for each other,” she added. “We got a taste of it my junior year.”
“We had great leadership at the time, especially from our seniors,” said Pitterson- Nattie. “For (Vincent and Adelman) it was important to them. They had been there since they were freshmen.”
“It was an incredible experience, especially the way that it came about,” said Adelman Hamill. “For Val (Vincent) and I, we were on the team that was 3-21 our sophomore year.”
“There’s something about those relationships when you’re going through the struggles,” said Adelman Hamill who roomed with Vincent.
“Then Oberon came in. she transferred in her junior year and we went from finishing in the bottom of the conference to finishing third,” Adelman Hamill said.
Back in those days, long before the rebrand to The Summit League, the Mid-Continent Conference had a much different look.
Even entering the 1994-95 season, it was a time of huge change for the league.
Northern Illinois, Cleveland State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago and Wright State left the Mid-Con for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the Horizon League.
Meanwhile, WIU, along with Youngstown State, Valparaiso and Eastern Illinois remained.
The quartet was joined by newcomers Buffalo, Northeastern Illinois, University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), Troy State (Ala.), Central Connecticut and Chicago State.
“I loved the conference our junior year,” admitted Adelman Hamill. “Just the closeness geographically.”
Adelman Hamill also believed it provided a turning point for the team her junior year when WIU beat UWGB 57-54 back in Jan. 22, 1994.
“We realized how good we could be,” she said.
But the non-conference slate entering the 1994-95 season proved to be difficult for the Westerwinds, as it started with five games away from home.
WIU opened with a 79-52 loss at Wisconsin. The team headed to Evanston for tournament play, losing to Louisville (67-60) before defeating Hartford (72-45). Western then lost at Western Kentucky (85-40) and at Drake (82-71) before its home opener.
“I remember the road trip home from Western Kentucky,” said Adelman Hamill. “I tell people the resiliency that we built up is what has carried me through my life today.”
“We went through a lot,” she added. “I’m a mom of five now and I’m a college professor. I can say all those experiences really helped shape who I am.”
The Westerwinds then lost home games to Minnesota (73-63) and Missouri (71-54) on New Year’s Eve.
“The one thing that (Coach Miller) did when she came in there it was the first time we played (games) at Western Hall,” said Adelman Hamill. “Prior to that, we didn’t play in Western Hall.”
“We were the first team to get a locker room at Western Hall,” she added. “We had our own space. It was really neat.”
Western split its next four games, including a 75-58 loss to Southeast Missouri State in its final non-conference contest.
The Westerwinds then got rolling, winning seven straight games, five on the road, including victories at Youngstown State and Buffalo.
WIU entered its final league game at Troy with a chance to claim the Mid-Con regular season title outright. But Western lost 65-63, finishing league play with a 14-4 record, sharing the crown with Youngstown State and Buffalo, who also finished 14-4.
Not only did Western lose that game, but Miller had an altercation with an official that resulted in the conference suspending her from coaching in the upcoming league tournament.
That left assistant coach Julia McGhee in charge of the team entering tournament play.
The Westerwinds were awarded the top seed in the tournament based on the tiebreaker of posting a 3-1 record against Youngstown State and Buffalo.
Pitterson was named the league’s Player of the Year, while Adelman was named to the Mid-Con All-Conference Second Team.
Pitterson averaged 14.0 points, 12.6 rebounds and was top three nationally with 5.0 steals per game.She was named Mid-Con Player of the Week three times on the way to being named the league’s Player of the Year.
Adelman averaged 12.6 points and 3.0 assists per game.
YSU swept Buffalo in the regular season in earning the No. 2 seed.
Six teams earned Mid-Con Tournament berths in 1995 with WIU and YSU receiving opening-round byes.
At that time, the league had opening round and semifinal round games played at campus sites.
The first round had No. 3 seed Buffalo defeating No. 6 seed UMKC 77-62, while No. 5 seed Eastern Illinois downed No. 4 seed Valparaiso 78-73.
In the semifinals, WIU edged Eastern Illinois 78-76, while YSU beat Buffalo 87-69.
Back in 1994-95, the Mid-Con had announced host sites in advance for sports finals with Macomb and WIU being selected to host the women’s basketball championship contest.
The Westerwinds made the most of that opportunity as they defeated Youngstown State 73-60 in capturing the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Miller, who was suspended for the tournament, joined the team on the court in its post-game celebration.
“We had to hold it together because we had to give Coach Miller one more chance to coach us,” said Pitterson-Nattie. “That was part of our motivation.”
“The school had never gone that far and we wanted to do that,” she added. “It was will and determination and us, we had a great chemistry. We looked out for each other, not just on the court, but off the court. We helped each other, both in basketball and academics.”
Adelman, along with junior forward Lori Haskett and Pitterson were named to the All-Tournament Team with Pitterson named the Most Valuable Player.
“It’s really interesting. What comes first? Is it investing in the program and then success? I think the fact that we appreciated everything that they gave us, the new uniforms, having shoes, even the training gear outside of basketball. These are things that for these kids nowadays is commonplace,” said Adelman Hamill. “But we were the first group that were treated that way and we were expected to act like champions.”
“I think that had a lot to do with it, changing that mentality.”
WIU entered NCAA Tournament play as a No. 14 seed, earning a trip east to face No. 3 seed North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Tarheels were the defending National Champion entering the 1995 Tournament.
The Westerwinds fell behind 50-24 by halftime on the way to seeing their historic season end with an 89-48 loss.
WIU finished the year with a final record of 17-12.
“The coolest thing I have to say was getting the opportunity to play at North Carolina on such a historic floor with some of the most historic players,” said Adelman Hamill. “Just being able to go and being in front of the biggest crowds, that’s really cool.”
“It was really, really a great experience and it was a lovely environment,” added Pitterson-Nattie. “We lost, but we took a lot from it. They had just won (the national championship) the year before. It was good to be able to compete against them.”
The 1994-95 team scored 1,887 points, the sixth most points in school history. The team also set program records in steals (438) and in rebounds (1,224). Those records still stand today.
Members of the roster included the following: Seniors
Oberon Pitterson, 5-foot, 11-inch forward Vicki Adelman, 5-8 guard Valerie Vincent, 5-7 guard Juniors Lori Haskett, 5-11 forward Susan Edwards, 6-2 forward/ center
Sophomores
Deirdre LaFrance, 5-6 guard Melissa Stahl, 5-9 guard Nikka Nohl, 6-2 forward/ center Michelle Gosa, 5-8 guard Freshmen
Rachel Lee, 6-2 center Lyneice Lush, 5-8 guard Tameka Jones, 6-0 forward Dee Anderson, 5-9 guard Both players noted they kept tabs of the progress of this year’s team.
“We keep track of what's going on at Western,” said Adelman Hamill. “We’re super-excited for them to have this experience.”
And when Pitterson-Nattie found out the Leathernecks were heading to North Carolina?
“I shouted at the roof and it was like déjà vu,” she said. “Is that something else?”
And as for advice they would give to the current squad?
“I would say enjoy every moment and have no regrets. No would of, could of, should of,” said Adelman Hamill. “Every opportunity you get to be on the floor, every second. Make the most of it. That’s important.”
“I would tell them to go in there and give it everything that they have,” added Pitterson- Nattie. “Don’t worry about what record the other team has, just go there and compete. You have nothing to lose. You’re already the underdogs. It doesn’t matter. Just go in there with no fear and enjoy it.”
“It’s a great experience,” she added. “I wish them luck and I’m going to be watching. I’m excited for them. They have a shot.”
“They need to know it’s chaos time, so it’s a different kind of mentality going into that game,” said Pitterson- Nattie.
