Finale for 2 Hawkeyes

IOWA CITY - Get ready for open-mike night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Kachine Alexander and Kelsey Cermak will take their final bows tonight after the Iowa women's basketball team faces Illinois in their home finale. Neither intends to have postgame speeches prepared.

“I'll probably just wing it,” said Cermak, a co-captain from Norwalk.

Alexander, an exuberant guard from Minneapolis, said “I'm going to go off the cuff, exactly what I do for everything else.”

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder won't place a time limit on senior speeches.

“(Alexander) has the gift of gab as you've noticed, (but) I think she deserves the microphone as long as she wants it,” Bluder said.

The only Iowa player to reach 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in a career, Alexander has endeared herself to fans with her emotional play.

“She has a passion about the game,” Bluder said. “She doesn't back down from challenges.”

That includes off the court. Alexander missed the second semester of her freshman year because of academic deficiencies but plugged away, regained her eligibility and became a special player.

“It wasn't a fun experience, but it was an experience I needed,” Alexander said. “It shaped me into the person I am today. I had to grow up really fast.”

Cermak hasn't been an impact player at Iowa. She is averaging 2.6 points in 13.6 minutes per game in her final season. But she has been a leader.

“She is always the one ... with a servant's type of attitude toward everybody and making this program better,” Bluder said. “And I think that's harder to do when you're not getting the glory of being on the court.”

Cermak was asked her definition of leadership.

“A leader is someone that makes sure all the little things get done,” she said. “It's someone who holds everyone else accountable for their actions.”

Iowa (20-7 overall, 8-6 Big Ten) is favored to stretch its winning streak to four games tonight. Illinois (7-20, 2-12) has dropped 10 in a row despite sophomore Karisma Penn, who is averaging 18.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.

“She's a very athletic post player that has range, can penetrate and is very mobile inside,” Bluder said.

The Hawkeyes end regular-season play Sunday at Indiana (9-17, 3-11), then compete in the Big Ten tournament next week.