Illini Replay: Lisa and Lynette Robinson

Lisa and Lynette Robinson (Image courtesy of UI Athletics)

Opponents of the Illinois women’s basketball team were seeing double 40 years ago, as the twin 1-2 combo of Lisa and Lynette Robinson packed scoring punch as sophomores for the Fighting Illini. Hailing from the northwestern Illinois town of Annawan, Lisa averaged 18.1 points per game while Lynette chipped in 12.6 points to go with her 8.5 rebounds during their stellar second season in Champaign in 1979–80. Lisa went on to become the school’s all-time leading scorer while Lynette finished as the program’s second all-time scoring leader and leading rebounder. Highlights among their accolades included Lisa’s Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1982, the same year that Lisa and Lynette led the Illini to the program’s first NCAA Tournament. They remain among the team’s top 20 scorers, with Lisa still standing as the fifth-best point producer in Illini history. Both Robinson sisters went on to long and successful college basketball coaching careers.