Stef Mitchell- Tough & Confident

 

Stef Mitchell was a great shooter for the Streaks from 1991-1995. She could do a little bit of everything. She could handle the ball vs pressure and she could pass. Today she still ranks #9 all-time in assists with 364. She could score from threes but she could also post up. Today she is still the #10 all-time scorer for GHS with 1135 points. She had the height to guard multiple positions, to post up, and to rebound.

 

The biggest thing she brought to the Streaks program was a combination of a toughness and of a confidence. She started as a sophomore in 1993 on a team dominated by seniors- Christy Hickey, Heather Aten, and Ann Henderson. They went 26-4, and lost a heartbreaker in the Sectionals. To play as a sophomore on a mainly senior team is not easy, you are tested. This experience helped shape her over the next two years.

 

A huge part of Stef’s competitive strength came from her experience as an all-state golfer. In golf, you are out there by yourself. As a golfer, she learned to handle tough situations. That personality gave her an edge that she brought to the basketball court. After golf, often it seemed like tough situations basketball were easy for her to handle- she seemed competitive but calm.

 

As a senior, we needed her leadership and example. We had a very deep team.  Bonny Apsey, Sara Wood, Molly Watson, Ami Pendry, Gina Miller, Jen Bulkeley, Mandy Rinker, Jen Wright, and Jenny Cirmotich played significant minutes. The majority of our roster was made up of underclassmen and players with limited varsity experience. The 1995 team went 29-3, and made it to the Sweet 16.

 

Quincy was our toughest conference opponent. Their coach, Tom Berry, had been an assistant for Jerry Leggett. Quincy girls did everything the Leggett play book- 1-2-2 zone, 1-2-2 ball press, and 101 set plays. They had two players who went onto to play D1 basketball. During regular season, we had won at Quincy by 11, then won a tight game at Galesburg by 4. We faced them in the first round of the Sectional at Galesburg in front of the second largest crowd to ever see a girls game in Thiel.

 

Obviously, it took a team effort to win. With under two minutes to go, it was Stef Mitchell who got open vs their zone for a three just to the left of the top of the key, and about 5 feet off the arc. She didn’t hesitate- she hit this shot which put us in the lead. There are a lot of great memories in Thiel, but when I look at that spot to the left of the key at the East end, I think of Stef and one of the biggest shots in Streaks history.

 

A couple nights later, we played Peoria ND for the Sectional championship in Thiel. This was the largest and loudest crowd to ever watch girls in Thiel Gym. PND was the best team in Peoria. We had beaten them by 15 earlier in February. To take advantage of Stef as a ball handler and passer, we ran a play we called #34 Up. Stef would get the ball at the top of the key. Gina Miler or Jen Bulkeley would come to set a ball screen for Stef to go to her right. As soon as Stef went off the screen, they would turn, go to the opposite block to set a screen for Bonny popping into the middle of the lane. In the first quarter vs PND, over and over Stef either hit a jumper coming off the pick, or had an assist to Bonny. By the middle of the second quarter, the game was over.  

 

Stef was one of the best players to ever play for GHS. While her assists and her points were huge, her toughness and confidence helped take the Streaks to a different level. With her we won our first Sectional title. The next year she wasn’t playing, but her approach carried over into the 1996 team’s culture that allowed them to take third in State!

Growing up on a farm, how did you get started playing golf and basketball?

I shot a lot of hoops at home as a kid and my mom used to take me out to the course when I was young. Luckily with all the basketball camps and YMCA leagues for kids I was able to play a lot. 

You were a great shooter with tremendous range in basketball. How did you become such a good shooter?

Lots and lots of repetition. I was able to practice with Donald Brannon at Hawthorne Center when I was in Junior High and high school.  He made sure I got lots of shots in. 

I always saw your sports personality as being confident and being very competitive. As a high school athlete in basketball and golf, and then as a college athlete in golf, did you feel pressure before or during contests? Was there a difference in pressure you felt or how you handled it in golf vs basketball?

I’m not sure I felt pressure, I felt more nervous than anything. Since basketball was a team sport I definitely felt less nerves because I had very good teammates. If I wasn’t playing up to snuff my teammates would pick up the slack! Golf was a whole different animal. I was on my own. When I traveled, when I played, I didn’t have anyone else to rely on. I was nervous and pressured all at the same time, especially during my professional career. 

Going into your senior year, we had a great summer. Usually we don't pay attention to a summer record, but that summer we played about 50 games and we never lost a game. We played the best teams in our area, we went to Maine West twice, and then we won the University of Michigan camp. It was a fun summer. What are some of your best memories about summer basketball?

I don’t really remember the record, but I remember the camaraderie that our team had. We spent so much time together we were like sisters and we got along so well which is rare! 

In the years before you got to GHS, we had some good teams. Then your sophomore and junior years we went 50-10, were twice WB6 champs, won two Regional championships, and were ranked in the top 10 in Illinois. But both those years we finished the season with tough losses. Sophomore year at Limestone and then junior year vs. IVC. It seemed like we just couldn't get thru the Sectionals, something always happened. What was different your senior year that allowed us to be the first GHS team to put a banner up by making it to the Sweet 16?

Again, I can’t stress how important the team chemistry was my senior year! We had great teams my sophomore and junior years, but the younger girls (Sara, Molly, Ami, all the Jens) that I played with were so good and they had been playing so long together. They loved and trusted each other in everything they did. I was lucky to have been a part of that even though it was my senior year. We broke through with that win and it opened the floodgates for the next year! 

Your senior year we hosted the Sectional. We played Quincy in the first game. We had beaten them twice by 11 and 4. In the Sectional we won a 3 point nail biter. In the Sectional Championship game we beat Peoria Notre Dame by 18. Those are probably two of the largest crowds ever for a girls game in Thiel as it was packed to the rafters. What are some memories you have of those games and the atmosphere?

The crowds and the atmosphere at the gym were spectacular! We had a special team that year and people knew it and came out to support us. When we were playing I don’t remember seeing or hearing the crowd, it was very surreal. All the practice and all the shots I had taken in my career took over and shots just fell in. It wasn’t until after, when we could celebrate, that the gravity of the crowds and the wins set in. 

During your great golf career, you got to play at a lot of courses. Of all the place you played, what is the course you liked the best?

Hmmm, now that’s a tough one. I never really got a chance to play a lot of famous courses. I played at Pinehurst which was pretty special. The course or should I say the two holes I remember the most in my career are the first and tenth holes at the Merit Club in Chicago where I played the US Open In 2000. I remember being so nervous that I thought I was going to top my first tee shot. Luckily, I birdied my first hole and was on the leaderboard for about 10 minutes. I didn’t really care what happened after that. That course was special because I was able to play in the biggest event in golf, in my home state with all my family and friends watching!

Bonny Apsey’s thoughts on Stef:   “I remember first meeting Stef when I moved to Galesburg in 4th grade. She was always nice to me, but she was definitely one of the cool kids and didn't think she would ever want to be friends with me.”

“We were teammates starting at Churchill, and I'm not sure if we would have won any games without her. It wasn't until high school that everyone else's talent was able to catch up. I remember our senior year everyone on the team got crazy flannel pants. Stef and I bought ours at Target. One leg was blue and black checkered and the other one red and black checkered. That became what we wore during the jv game and/or to school. We were the coolest...or so we thought.”

 

“I also remember running our out of bounds play under the hoop. Everyone in the gym knew what was going to happen. Gina would come and set a screen for me and Stef would lob it up for me to shoot. When teams starting catching on, the person who would guard Stef would turn their back to her to try to help guard me. We practiced this in practice and Stef would bounce it off the person's butt to then step in bounds and shoot the ball. It was so fun to watch the girl's reaction when that happened! “

“I loved having Stef as a teammate, but I'm more thankful that we are still friends today. So glad that cool 4th grade kid became friends with the awkward, dorky me.”

 

Sara Wood’s thoughts on Stef:  “Whenever I think of Stef, I think of someone that was a pure shooter but also a player that was incredibly versatile.  I remember watching her as a freshman and then getting the opportunity to play with her as a sophomore on the varsity team and just being in awe of how well she understood the game and her consistency.  She was an amazing three point shooter but she also had the ability to post-up making her difficult to defend.  She was also very welcoming to Ami Pendry and I when we joined the varsity team and made us feel like a part of the group instead of like outsiders.”

 

“Some of my favorite memories involve out post game dinners at Perkins and our summer trips to Michigan.  Looking back it's crazy to think about how many summer games we played (sometimes 3 or 4 games a night!)”