Illini women trying to avoid a deeper freeze

Robin Scholz/The News-Gazette Illinois guard J-Naya Ephram (0) in a NCAA basketball game at the State Farm Center in Champaign on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.CHAMPAIGN — J-Naya Ephraim walked into Ubben Basketball Complex on Wednesday afternoon wearing an "Illinois" stocking cap over her dreadlocks.

While waiting for an interview, Ephraim — no longer wearing that same headgear — was seen shivering, as she stood close to the back door.

You see, Ephraim isn't used to the kind of sub-freezing temperatures that have settled over Champaign-Urbana the past few days.

Sure, Ephraim lived five years in Durham, N.C., attending Southern Durham High School, but the freshman guard on the Illinois women's…