Massey Basketball

1997 Streaks vs. Taylorville

2012-02-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

In 1997, the Galesburg vs. Taylorville game set an IHSA record for girls state tourney attendance. Even though they do not publicize attendance figures anymore, I am confident the record still stands.

IHSA records for single session and for the entire weekend were set in 1997. Back then there were four sessions. Today there are 4 sessions for the A/AA weekend and 4 more for the AAA/AAAA weekends.

My question-- do you think this year's 8 sessions of girls state tourneys will equal the 4 sessions of the state tourney in 1997?

Hint- they don't open the upper deck anymore for any of the games!!

2012 Season Notes

2012-02-25T13:48:00.000-08:00

Streaks were rated as high as #7 in 3A.

Streaks have been rated in the top 10 in Illinois 14 of the last 19 years.

Streaks highest rankings were #1 in 1997 and again in 1999.

31.2 turnovers forced, is the highest total ever by a Streaks team.

Sadee Hamilton had 246 rebounds this season, #16th in GHS history.

Jessica Lieber 95 steals and Sadee Hamilton 91 steals rank #12 and #13 in GHS history.

Jessica Lieber 147 assists was #15 in GHS history.

Myra Diggins at 63% FG is #2 in GHS history.

Jessica Lieber with 90 threes, ranks #3. Sharron Diggins with 57 (#14) and Paige Klinck 48 (#17).

Jessica Lieber with 537 points ranks #9 all-time.

Sharron Diggins at 466 points ranks #17.

Liebers points are #3 for a junior and Diggins are #6 for a junior.

Sadee Hamilton's 15 defensive rebounds vs. Quincy was a school record.

Sadee Hamilton with 567 career rebounds ranks #12 all-time.

Myra Diggins career 60% FG ranks #2 all-time.

Jessica Lieber 173 made threes (#3), Paige Klinck 72 threes (#11 all-time).

Jessica Lieber's 894 points ranks #17 and Sadee Hamilton's 689 ranks #32.

2011 Stats & 2012 Stats

2012-02-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

Forced Turnovers
2011- 28.0
2012- 31.2

Threes Made
2011- 397
2012- 276

FT's Attempted
2011- 737
2012- 884

Points Per Game
2011- 69.8
2012- 68.8

FGA's
2011- 63.7
2012- 66.8

Offensive Rebounds
2011- 16.7
2012- 18.9

Our Turnovers
2011- 18.2
2012- 19.4

Individual Three Points Made
2011- 139- Howard, 80- Lieber, 57-Rodriguez, 39- Johnson, 21- Klinck
2012- 90- Lieber, 57- Diggins, 48- Klinck, 20- Mangieri

Streaks Basketball Records

2012-02-25T12:40:00.004-08:00

Just updated Streaks records....

http://masseybasketball.blogspot.com/p/ghs-records.html

Cory Weissman: Sky's The Limit

2012-02-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Must see.

Inspiring story about a Gettysburg College basketball player.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7607463/college-basketball-emotional-return-court-gettysburg-college-cory-weissman

Yoga for Basketball

2012-02-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

Alan Stein leading DeMatha doing Yoga during the season--

Our players at DeMatha have been doing Yoga for a while. Here is a video of a recent workout: http://youtu.be/8JRW4aYl4oY

Pat Knight- Senior Rant

2012-02-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

Many people may accuse of coaches of being blaw in their post game comments. I don't think they will say the same about Pat Knight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/pat-knight-rant-may-press-conference-155511578.html

WB6 Leaders

2012-02-23T15:22:00.000-08:00

Points
1- Lieber Gale 17.4ppg
2- Fallon UT 16.2
3- Romeo Mol 14.7
4- S.Diggins Gal 13.9
5- Goldsmith RI 12.9
6- Brewer RI 12.9
7- Kelso All 12.8
8- Dade Q 11.3

Rebounds
1- Hamilton Gal 9.3
2- Kelso All 8.4
3- McCormick Mol 7.0
4- Morrow RI 6.8
5- Goldsmith RI 6.6
6- Fallon UT 6.2

FT%
1- Romeo Mol 83% 53-64
2- Eisenberg Q 76% 19-25
3- McCormick Mol 75% 21-28
4- Fallon UT 75% 37-50

Threes Made
1- Lieber Gal 23
2- Brewer RI 16
3- Garcia RI 12
4- Klinck Gal 11
5- Dade Q 10

Camps and Leagues

2012-02-23T06:35:00.000-08:00

Massey- Purlee Shooting Schools

Streaks Spring Academy

Streaks Summer Camps

Galesburg Summer League

Galesburg Weekend Shootouts

Check back at the beginning of next week, all dates and info should be posted and finalized.

Poll Results

2012-02-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

How should senior nights be handled?

What should happen if a coach is purposely teaching players to break a rule if they won't get caught?

Seniors Nights-- 85 respondents

7%    All seniors should start and should play most of the game.

24% Seniors should start, play at the beginning, then play it like a regular game.

34% Don't have to start seniors, just get all the seniors in.

34% Play it like a regular game.

Teaching a Player a technique that breaks the rules.-- 60 respondents

17%   It is the refs job to start enforcing the rule, until they do, keep teaching it.

53%   The coach should be told to stop it.

30%   The coach should be fired.

Tough Injury

2012-02-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

Story coming out of Chicago is one of the top teams in 3A/4A tourneys was on their way to celebrating a Regional title. Their star player rolled her ankle with 2:58 to go in a game her team was winning by +20 points. Obviously this is every coaches nightmare.

The team went on to lose the first game of the Sectional by 20 points.

Springfield With Sectional Win

2012-02-22T14:23:00.001-08:00

Springfield newspaper.....

A big game by senior star Zahna Medley and huge defensive night by Springfield High School resulted in a 72-53 win over Champaign Centennial in the semifinals of the Class 3A Taylorville Sectional girls basketball tournament.

Medley scored a career-high 37 points, one more than her previous record.

The Senators’ victory set up an all-Central State Eight Conference title game Thursday at Taylorville High School. Springfield (27-4) and Chatham Glenwood (18-12) will meet for the championship at 7:30 p.m.

Springfield, the top-ranked Class 3A team in the state, got off to a slow start against No. 10 Centennial. The Chargers took an 11-4 lead four minutes into the first quarter. The Senators’ 9-0 run gave them a 13-11 edge early in the second period.

“They came out the aggressor right at the beginning,’’ Springfield coach Brad Scheffler said. “We had to match that and we did right after the first four minutes. They made the run early, but overall it took its toll as the game went on.’’

The Senators have been known to press teams into countless turnovers. It was no different against Centennial. Applying full-court pressure was the turning point in the opening half, and Springfield kept it going through the fourth quarter.

Centennial committed 15 of its 25 turnovers before halftime.

Behind its defense and an 11-0 run, Springfield pulled away for a 24-13 advantage, which grew to a 36-24 halftime lead.

“This is the fastest team I’ve ever been on in the past four years and we’re using it to our advantage,’’ Medley said. “Fortunately, turnovers are turning into points for us.

“My dad always tells me ‘Defense wins games and championships. That’s what is proven to us now. Our defense is helping us win, helping us score and get our points. That’s how we’re winning.’’

Centennial coach Susan Thomas praised the Senators’ defensive effort.

“They were fantastic,’’ said Thomas, who watched SHS end Centennial’s season for the second straight year. “They gave good pressure and good traps. We were a little surprised we didn’t get to the free throw line all game, especially with the pressure they were giving, but I guess that happens.’’

The Chargers, who were led by Katelynn Martinez’s 19 points, made both of their two free-throw attempts. The Senators converted 18 of their 19 free throws. Medley was a perfect 14-for-14 on foul shots.

Springfield now turns its attention to Glenwood. During the regular season, the Senators swept Glenwood in a pair of CS8 games.

Danielle Cooley

2012-02-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Coach Cooley-- ROWVA grad who has taken her LeRoy team to state after upsetting Annawan.

She brought her team to our Thanksgiving Tourney the last two years. She has obviously done a great job.

The following appeared in the Register-Mail.

http://www.galesburg.com/sports/hs/x565043033/High-School-Notebook-Ex-ROWVA-CSC-star-headed-to-state

Streaks Go Down

2012-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

From Register Mail

The Galesburg High School girls basketball season came to an end Monday evening with a 79-52 loss at the hands of Peoria Richwoods in the Class 3A Sectional at Thiel Gym. With the loss, the Silver Streaks finish the season at 27-6 while the Knights move to Thursday’s championship against Morton at 27-3.

The Streaks got off on the right foot when Jessica Lieber nailed a long 3-pointer on their first possession in the opening seconds of the game. Unfortunately, that’s the only field goal Galesburg would put on the board in the next 10 minutes.

The Knights ran off 26 unanswered points for a 23-3 lead at the quarter and 26-3 early in the second period.

“That first quarter was the difference,” said GHS coach Evan Massey.

“We had nothing offensively in the first quarter. Once we got into a rythym, we got some shots but couldn’t put them in.”

The Streaks committed nine of their 18 turnovers in the first eight minutes.

The Streaks finished the game hitting just 5 of 25 shots from beyond the arc.

While the Silver Streaks were relying mostly on the 3-pointer, Richwoods was going inside. Junior Brenna Detra, with a variety of driving layups and short jumpers, poured in 26 while the Knights 6-1 senior post Brenna Baker added 20.

“We had a couple of bad physical matchups against them,” said Massey. “Detra with her quickness and speed and Baker with her size were too much for us to handle.”

The Knights built their lead to 39-16 at the break. In the third quarter, the Streaks tried to mount a comeback as Paige Klinck hit back-to-back threes but Richwoods countered with a run of its own for a 63-37 advantage heading into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter had no flow as there seemed to be a least one whistle on every possession.The Knights maintained their big lead going 8 of 10 from the charity stripe while also getting four field goals.

With just over two minutes to play and the issue no longer in doubt, coach Massey substituted individually for his three seniors. As each came to the bench they got a standing ovation from the Silver Streaks faithful.

“Each of the seniors, in their own way, were tremendous leaders for us,” said Massey. “Sadee (Hamilton) as a scorer and ball handler was the backbone of what we were trying to do. Myra (Diggins) was just a great competitor setting a great example of the rest of the team and Paige (Klinck) was an inspiration to her teammates with her unselfish play.”

Hamilton led the Streaks in her final game with 17 points. The only other player in double figures for the Streaks was Lieber, who finished with 10. The junior had only a pair of field goals to go with four free throws as she was hounded all over the floor by the Richwoods defense.

The Knights ended with four players in double figures. Joining Detra and Baker were Asyia Williams with 14 and Maddie Pierce with 11.
“It was a great season,” said Massey. “No one thought we’d win as many games as we did or capture a regional title but the players continued to believe and never gave up.”

Morton 52, Ottawa 25
Morton outscored Ottawa 21-6 in the first quarter and led 36-13 at the break in a Class 3A Galesburg Sectional win Monday.

The 30-2 Potters held the Pirates to single-digit scoring in all four quarters while advancing to Thursday’s championship against Richwoods.

Sarah Livingston led Morton with 16 points and Courtney Allenbaugh chipped in 15.

Ottawa finished the season 21-7.

Feb 20!!!

2012-02-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

February 20, 1997 was a big day in the Massey family. Allen Massey was born. He will be 15 years old on Monday night. From the moment he was born, basketball has gotten in the way of his birthday.

The night of Allen's birth, we beat LaSalle-Peru in the Regional Championship game 110-30.

If we are still playing on Allen's birthday, we know it has been a pretty good season.

Happy birthday- Allen!!

Richwoods

2012-02-19T08:48:00.000-08:00

When I started coaching at GHS in 1974, I didn't know for sure where Richwoods was. I wasn't sure if it was a suburb. But you have to realize I wasn't sure where Churchill or Lombard were. Needless to say, it didn't take long in high school coaching to figure out who Richwoods was.

My first experiences were coaching cross country vs. Richwoods. Their coach was a coaching legend, Ty Franklin. He was a no nonsense guy with about six boys in the program, and they all could beat our top runner that year. I don't think he talked to me, I was 22 and he probably thought I was one of the runners.

My first basketball experience was as a boys assistant in 1974-5. We lost the Regional championship game at Richwoods by a score of something like 105-55. And it was not that close. It was a demoralizing loss because our best players were sophs and juniors but so were their's.

As an assistant for Coach Owens, you spent a lot of time on the road scouting. Don Wright and I probably saw only about half the Streaks games. I think Mike Owens saw Richwoods play about anytime we were not playing, and then Don and I went the other times. Mike was a great scout. He would send us with directions just to watch for one or two things. I remember once, he told me just to chart every time Mark Smith got the ball. Where did he get it? Exactly what did he do with it? And the big deal was- off the dribble did he jump to pass?

Richwoods entered the Regional at Galesburg #1 in Illinois. Galesburg pulled of the huge upset. Many Galesburg people say it was the greatest high school game played at Thiel Gym. I don't know, I never saw it. Don Wright and I were scouting at Manual. We stopped on the bridge by Brimfield to catch the end of the game on WGIL. To this day I have never seen the game. But I do have the original copy of the VHS tape- but it 2 inches thick.

My next basketball experiences were vs. the great girls basketball teams of Mary Kay Hungate and Ralph Gallo. They were the most organized and most disciplined basketball teams I have ever seen. They simply did not beat themselves. Mary Kay was way ahead of her time. She only kept 10 players on the roster and you had to earn it. She used to bring the team up to work as counselors at the Knox Buck's Camps. She had them out running on the track in the morning, shooting at noon, and scrimmaging late into the night. I remember her once telling me a 6' returning post player probably wouldn't get to play the next year. The reason was the girl had not worked hard enough on her ft's she felt. She was only a 60% ft shooter. It turns out the girl did start, was all-state, and by season was shooting 75%. Motivation.

After Hungate quit at Richwoods, I was fortunate to draw on her GHS roots and got her to come up and spend a day talking with my team in summer camp, and picking her brain. I have no idea how many ideas she gave us, but it had a huge impact on our program.

Ralph has been involved in the girls basketball program forever. He is one of those guys who make high school sports program work. He seems to be willing and able to do whatever Richwoods needs. He has the low ego to work with dozens of head coaches, and has the respect of his rivals.

Coach Snarr was a coach who came over from the boys side to the girls side in the 1990's. Snarr was and is old school. His teams didn't mess around with a lot of gimmicks, they just played basketball. He was a coach who had a story the moment you walked into the door.

My longest experiences were in coaching cross country vs. teams coached by veteran Bob LaCroix. He could be considered one of the greatest coaches in Richwoods or Illinois history. When he was first at Central and then at Richwoods, he would regularly have 75-100 males and females on his cross country teams. He had the rare ability to involve lots of kids but at the same time develop an elite team which would compete for spots at state. Talking to Bob at a cross country meet was like a coaching clinic.

A lot of memories having teams compete vs. some of the Richwoods coaching legends.

Monday Night at Thiel

2012-02-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

The last two times Galesburg has played a Sectional at Thiel Gym, Galesburg fans have set and reset the State record for Sectional attendance in girls basketball. Let's do it again on Monday!!

Streaks Win 21st Regional

2012-02-16T22:22:00.000-08:00

Exciting night. 33 point 3rd quarter. 21st Regional title!

Our students were awesome!! Thanks!!

Some happy players!!

Students joining the celebration!!

Proud!!
Pictures by Ray Mendez-- Thanks Ray!!

Dan Tomlin- Thanks

2012-02-14T21:59:00.001-08:00

DanTomlin_DA Has to admit I'm going to miss covering the streaks... Tough brand of basketball!

Argus On Streaks Win Over Leafs

2012-02-14T21:54:00.001-08:00

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

Devan Griffin played the best game of her life Tuesday night.

Unfortunately for Griffin and the rest of the Geneseo girls' basketball team, her effort wasn't enough. The senior center registered an impressive triple-double, but the Leafs fell to Galesburg 67-59 in a thrilling Class 3A regional semifinal at Rock Island High School.

With the win, the Streaks (26-5) advance to take on Dunlap for the regional crown Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Griffin scored 16 points, pulled down 20 rebounds and blocked an incredible 14 Silver Streak shots. Her blocked shots rank her ninth in state history for most blocks in a game.

The senior willed the Leafs (24-5) back into the game after getting down by 19 points midway through the second quarter. Trailing 35-16, Geneseo marched into halftime on a 13-1 run, doing it all with free throws as Galesburg got into foul trouble late in the half.

Coming out of the half, Geneseo controlled the tempo and burst out to a 51-46 lead in the opening minute of the fourth. With their backs against the wall and two baskets in 15 minutes, the streaky Streaks turned to their star, junior Jessica Lieber, and she delivered. Although she only shot 7-of-24 on the night, Lieber drained a three to tie it at 53, and four straight free throws to seal it at the end.

On the night, Galesburg put up 77 shots, making good on 20 of them, for an average of 26-percent shooting.

"We're not very pretty," Galesburg coach Evan Massey said. "Things can go wrong, and they do, but we keep moving on. The girls kept their composure and weren't panicking."

The Streaks employ "The Grinnell System" offense of subbing 11 girls into the game in waves, keeping the intensity and tempo of the game at a high level, forcing turnovers and never passing up an open look at the basket.

Geneseo had practiced 5-on-7 in anticipation of the pressure, but was shell-shocked from the start as they turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter. They looked drained at the end after working to come back.

"It was four minutes of just shock," said Geneseo first-year coach Scott Hardison. "We didn't handle it well at all. If we could get that four minutes back, it would be a whole different game."

Griffin was the only Leaf who was consistent, dominating the paint all night, and ending her prep career with her best.

"We knew we had to come back, we just had to," Griffin said of the attitude when trailing by 19 just 12 minutes into the game. "Once we had the lead, I was so confident because we just kept countering them every time they scored. They just came back even harder in the fourth and we slowed down a little."

In typical Galesburg fashion, the three quarters of 11-on-7 wore down the Geneseo seven while the Galesburg 11 kept on the pressure.

"Our depth and subbing wears people out by the fourth quarter," said Lieber who led Galesburg with 22 points. "We've always been a pretty strong team and we knew we just had to keep playing."

Reserve Chloe Anderson scored seven of her 11 points over 60 seconds in the fourth, extending Galesburg's lead from two to 10.

"The girls all see themselves as regulars, so it's not a surprise that Chloe could come up big like that," Massey said. "She probably spends more time at the free throw line in practice than anyone."

Galesburg, which finished third in the Western Big 6 Conference and seventh in the final Class 3A state poll will play for its 22nd regional championship Thursday against the Eagles, a team the Streaks beat twice already this season. Dunlap could have the rare stat of losing to the same team to start and end its season. Lieber drained a trey at the buzzer for the Streaks to beat Dunlap in Game 1.

The loss ends the season for the Leafs after winning the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference title in the final week of the season. They just ran out of gas against one of the top teams in the state.

Streaks Win

2012-02-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

We jumped out to big lead, but then fouled too much in the second quarter. They got 23 points from the foul line in the first half.

Third quarter we struggled to make shot and fell behind.

Fourth quarter made plays when we needed to. Chloe Anderson scored 7 straight points.

Tough game vs. Dunlap on Thursday. Go Streaks!

One game from getting to play in Thiel for the Sectional.

Dunlap Hits Buzzer Beater

2012-02-14T04:50:00.000-08:00

From the Argus....

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

Rock Island didn't do much to deserve the regional win, but it seemed like, as bad as it played, it was always in control.

Until the Rocks weren't.

After playing what could have been their worst girls' basketball game of the season, the Rocks' 21-win campaign came to an abrupt end as Alexus Hobbs drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime. The bucket gave Dunlap, the No. 4 seed, a 39-36 Class 3A Rock Island Regional semifinal win over the top-seeded Rocks.

Rock Island (21-8) never trailed in the game until overtime, and even then it was short-lived as it rallied to tie it up with 10 seconds to go. The Eagles (13-14) dribbled it across the time line and called timeout with :02.1 seconds left to set up Hobbs heroics.

"We had a set play; we tried them before, and they didn't work, so we said our senior is going to get the ball, and whatever happens, happens," Dunlap coach Patrick Garst said. "It was awesome."

Hobbs basically just stepped back, caught the inbound pass, dribbled a couple times and chucked the ball at the rim. The ending was definite.

"We're just numb," Rocky senior Sarita Goldsmith said. "It was just one of those nights were nothing was going right."

And when things went bad, they went real bad, real fast. The Rocks led 23-9 with 6:20 go play in the third quarter and looked to be in control. They finished by making just four baskets in the final 18:20 while turning the ball over 13 times in the second half and overtime.

As a team, Rock Island fired away at just a 23.5-percent clip from the floor and 3-for-19 (15.7 percent) from behind the 3-point arc.

"You gotta make the layups. You gotta make open shots. We didn't do it. You gotta make free throws -- we didn't do it," Rocky coach Thad Hoover said. "We must have missed 15 layups, and that's not an exaggeration. It's hard to win that way."

It was almost as though the Rocky players vanished. Shamell Mangrum was tearing it up in the first half, dominating the glass and pulling down nine rebounds in the opening 16 minutes. She didn't tally a point or a rebound in the second half or overtime.

Shavonne Brewer led the Rocks with 15 points and seemed to be willing them to victory through three quarters. In the fourth quarter and overtime, she attempted just three shots, missing them all. Goldsmith, the other big-timer for Rocky, was absent from the scoring column until the fourth, and ended up shooting 2-for-14 from the floor.

"It's disappointing, but they just didn't play well," Hoover said. "We got a lot of good looks; we just didn't make them."

Unfortunately for Rocky, it ends what had been an historic season in which Rock Island won its first Western Big 6 championship in 21 years and stayed in the state's top 10 poll the entire season.

Chuck Daly's "Dalyisms"

2012-02-13T06:13:00.000-08:00

Brendan Suhr’s Top 10 Chuck Daly “Dalyisms”
10. “12 O’clock Rule.” When you lose a game, feel sorry for yourself, be mad at your players, etc., but at midnight, you have to move on and get your team ready to play the next day.

9. “Nobody looks BAD in a blue suit.” Chuck loved to dress and he loved blue suits. He believed he was better at fashion than he was at coaching.

8. “All decisions are 50/50!” We all want to be right 95% of the time, but in reality the BEST you should ever expect to be is right 50% of the time. We would take Isiah out of the game and VJ would go in and make 5 shots in a row and you would think that by putting one of the NBA’s greatest players back in would be a no brainer, but only 50% of the time it is. Trust your instincts and knowledge when you make your decisions.

7. “Get past MAD.” Don’t hold grudges against your players. Also your job is to get the team ready for the next game, especially after a loss. The coaches that “Master” this concept in the NBA have the most success, because they focus on the next play. We got upset by Miami, who was an expansion team by 2pts. We were embarrassed and mad. 3 nights later, we played the same team again and we won by over 40pts.

6. “Whatever.” When Chuck didn’t want to give an honest response to a question, that is what he said. But, it had so many meanings, you could insert it everywhere and you can’t get in trouble. When we were the Bad Boys in Detroit, we were playing the Bulls in the Playoffs and a writer from Chicago asked Chuck if he felt Mahorn, Laimbeer, Rodman, Aguire, Isiah, etc..were “dirty” players, who were trying to hurt Jordan and Pippen? His terse response was “whatever.” End of interview and he never answered the question.

5. “Make it a one day story. Never get into a fight with a person who buys ink by the barrel.” Don’t argue with the media, you can’t win. Don’t make them one of your enemies. It will turn into several days instead of one.

4. “Coaching is like flying an airplane, there is going to be a lot of turbulence, but your job is to land the plane safely.” During the season, there are going to be a lot of ups and downs, but as the coach you have to understand you have to remain calm and poised and remember the goals that you have established for the team. On the road to each Championship season, we had major turmoil occur, but Chuck landed the plane safely.

3. “I’m not a pessimist, but rather an OPTIMIST with experience.” Bob Ryan, the great sports columnist from the Boston Globe dubbed Chuck “The Prince of Pessimism,” because of his negativity, the above DALYISM was his response at the Press Conference that day. Awesome line. When we were up 3 games to 0 in the NBA Finals in the 1989 season, against the Lakers, Magic and Byron Scott were out for the rest of the series with leg injuries. As we go to eat lunch at Edie’s Diner in Marina Del Rey on the day of Game 4, he said to me I don’t know if we can win another game and beat them. We won our 1^st Championship that night!

2. “Never Trust Happiness.” One of Chuck’s favorites, don’t become complacent, he liked to use this after a BIG win, or if we were going to play a bad team. If we won 4 or 5 games in a row, he would start practice and say to the team, “never trust happiness.”

1. “You can’t FOOL dogs, kids, or NBA players.” This is all about creditability. Players know if you can coach, they are street-smart and have high basketball IQ’s. You better have a good play in the last 2 minutes of a game, or else they will think you can’t coach. True story. We were playing Portland in Game 5 of the 1990 NBA Finals with 17 seconds to go, the score is tied and it is our ball. Chuck calls play “1C,” which is a quick-hitting last second play. Isiah and Laimbeer stare at me with a laser look in their eyes. They know we need to take the last shot! I tap Chuck on the knee hard, he looks at me and I say, “let’s run X into 1-4 Flat and take the last shot.”

Argus Dispatch Look at Regionals

2012-02-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

The girls basketball postseason is upon us, and this week the big schools start their tournament with two extremely tough regionals.

Top seed Rock Island is hosting the 3A regional that includes Dunlap (4), Galesburg (2) and Geneseo (3); Top seed United Township hosts the 4A regional with Normal Community (4), Moline (2) and Pekin (3).

Both championship are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Class 3A

Rock Island (21-7): The Rocks won the Western Big 6 championship for the first time in more than 20 years, and have beaten Geneseo and Galesburg already this season. They're athletic and have a pair of stars in Sarita Goldsmith and Shavonne Brewer. They've been ranked in the top 10 in the state all season, and are hoping to win their first regional since coach Thad Hoover's first season, 2008-09.

Galesburg (25-5): The Streaks have been impressive this season, going 19-1 outside of the conference, and splitting games with Rock Island. They're only loss out of conference play was to Morton, which could play for the sectional championship on Galesburg's court. The Streaks wear teams down with their waves of players, and have a knack for coming from behind. Jessica Lieber is the Streaks' leading scorer, averaging more than 16 points a game.

Geneseo (24-4): The Leafs captured the Northern Illinois Big 12 outright, and have been a wrecking crew all season. It's been two years since the Leafs won a regional, and they have just two in the last 15 years. Devan Griffin eclipsed 1,000 points earlier this season. The Leafs' strong suit is their defense. Teams struggle to score against the Leafs in their man-to-man defense,such as when Rocky beat the Leafs 31-30 earlier this year.

Dunlap (12-15): The Eagles have had a mediocre year. Their biggest win came against Alleman, and they nearly beat the Streaks in the season opener. Lieber drained a 3 at the buzzer to start Galesburg's season with a win.

Class 4A

United Township (21-9): The Panthers won the Western Big 6 and have made their way into the state's top 10 poll. This is their regional to win, having defeated all of the teams in the regional, including Moline twice. MiKayla Fallon is a 1,000-point scorer, Abby VanDeventer is as good of a defender as you'll find, and the rest of the Panther weapons make them tough to beat. They're turning into the team everyone thought they were.

Moline (17-12): The Maroons are looking for revenge after UT beat them for the conference championship last Thursday. They'll have to get through Pekin first, but it would set up a tremendous rematch for the championship on Thursday. Kylie Romeo leads the Maroons, and her will to win could carry the Maroons to a regional title. They'll be playing without Jordan de los Reyes, who is out the rest of the season with a stress fracture. It'll be up to the plethora of Moline reserves to make up the difference.

Pekin (14-13): The Dragons have played right around .500 ball all season, but haven't really had a marquee win. The Panthers are the only regional team the Dragons have played.

Normal Community (6-22): The Lady Ironmen will be looking to pull the upset over UTHS, but shouldn't be much for the Panthers to worry about.

What's next

The 3A regional winner will play in the Galesburg sectional. For as loaded as the Rock Island regional is, with three of the top 12 teams in the state, Ottawa is the only team out of five in their regional with a winning record. The Pirates will likely win and play Morton, the top seed in their regional, while the Rock Island regional winner will either get Peoria Richwoods or Peoria High, both of whom have been top 10 teams this year.

The 4A regional feeds into the Bloomington sectional where Minooka, O'Fallon and Edwardsville are the top regional seeds of the sectional. Edwardsville is the only other ranked team in the sectional, as they are sitting at fourth in the state, with a record of 26-1.

Journal Star Regional Previews

2012-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

CLASS 3A

At Limestone

Pairings: Monday — Limestone vs. Manual, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Richwoods vs. Limestone/Manual winner, 6 p.m.; Central vs. Notre Dame, 8:10 p.m. Thursday — championship, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: The top seed and ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, Richwoods was undefeated in the Mid-State 6, which makes up 80 percent of this regional. Knights beat second-seeded Central the second time when the Lions were not at full strength. Central beat first-round opponent and third seed Notre Dame 54-33 two weeks ago but goes into that semifinal game without starter Jemia Carpenter. Richwoods has won its regional the last four years, and experience counts in postseason.
Next: Winner advances to Galesburg Sectional

At East Peoria

Pairings: Monday — East Peoria vs. Pontiac, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday — Morton vs. East Peoria/Pontiac winner, 6 p.m.; Washington vs. Metamora, 8:10 p.m. Friday — championship, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: Top seed Morton, ranked third statewide, is the only team in this regional with a winning record. Potters defeated everyone in it twice except No. 5 seed Pontiac, which it hasn’t played. Washington beat Metamora by one point last week, and Metamora won by two points earlier, so that semifinal should be hotly contested.
Next: Winner advances to Galesburg Sectional

At Rock Island

Pairings: Monday — Rock Island vs. Dunlap, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Galesburg vs. Geneseo, 7:30 p.m. Thursday — championship, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: A Galesburg-Rock Island final, which is likely based on the seeds, should be a great matchup. The Western Big Six teams split in the regular season. Rock Island won 69-60 at home, and Galesburg won the rematch, which took place after seeding votes were cast, 61-60. Rock Island is the No. 1 seed.
Next: Winner advances to Galesburg Sectional

Elsewhere
LaSalle-Peru is the No. 3 seed at the Ottawa Sectional. Ottawa is the only team with a winning record and is expected to advance.

CLASS 4A

At East Moline

Pairings: Monday — East Moline vs. Normal Community, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Moline vs. Pekin, 7:30 p.m. Thursday — championship, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: The only 4A school Pekin has played this year was top seed East Moline (52-33 loss), but the Dragons have been playing with confidence and could make it to the finals.
Next: Winner advances to Normal Community Sectional

Swirl Queen

2012-02-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

I got my picture taken with the Swirl Queen!!

Reaction to Technical for Pink Uniforms

2012-02-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

As a cancer survivor, if my team had to shoot the free throws, we would have missed and promptly thrown the ball out of bounds.

Brian Williams

Varsity Girls Basketball

Baltimore, MD

Ball Girls Perfect 10-0

2012-02-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

Our ball girls finish the season a perfect 10-0- Wow!!!!

Here they are giving basketball strategy ideas to our two
managers. With their special tips then relayed to the coaches
we can never lose. Thanks girls-- we have REALLY, REALLY
enjoyed having you!!!!

Streaks Escape vs Washington

2012-02-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

Down 11-1 after one quarter, and down 24-17 at half- the Streaks roared back with a 23-6 third quarter to take a 40-30 lead. Galesburg went on to win 64-51. The win gives the Streaks a 25-5 record on the season.

At 25-5, it is one game better than last year's regular season where we finished 24-6. Where does it rank in terms of fewest losses in a regular season? It is the 18th time Galesburg has finished with 5 or fewer losses in a season. The all-time best was 1996-7 team which was undefeated in the regular season.

Tonight Sharron Diggins led the charge with 22 points. She was followed by Jessica Lieber (10), Myra Diggins (8), and Sadee Hamilton (8).

It has been a great season. The girls worked very hard, and they achieved more than many expected.

Big thanks to our three seniors- Paige Klinck, Sadee Hamilton, and Myra Diggins- outstanding careers and outstanding leaders!!

Coach Dances After Win- Really

2012-02-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

By Marc Nesseler, nesseler@qconline.com

It had been a long time since Rock Island girls' basketball coach Thad Hoover had danced.

It had been even longer since the Rocks had won a Western Big 6 Conference girls' basketball championship.

With Rocky's 50-37 home win over Quincy on Thursday night, they now have their first title since 1991, clinching a share of the crown with United Township, both with 7-3 records.

And the big crowd on hand to celebrate Rocky history got to see Hoover dance, his players circled around him.

"Um, it wasn't that good. I'll give him a 3," said RI senior Rayven Morrow. "It was nice to see him dance though."

That's because a Hoover dance meant a Rocky title.

"We told the kids that we would do just about anything for a win, so dancing's not so bad," Hoover said after the Blue Devils, 0-10 in the WB6, gave the Rocks quite a scare for over three quarters.

With 6½ minutes left to play, it looked as if Quincy had most of the moves and were playing all of the right notes. A basket in the paint, where the Blue Devils controlled much of the game, cut the Rocks' lead to 31-28.

That is when the Rocks decided this was their dance.

"We finally realized what we were fighting for," said Morrow, who finished with 10 rebounds, half of that in the fourth quarter.

RI junior Shavonne Brewer took that a two-step further.

"We were down in the locker room at halftime," she said, as Quincy led 16-12 and the Rocks were coming off just a three-point second quarter. "I sat there and said to myself, I had to do more. In the second half, I took every open shot I had."

That translated to six shots. And six baskets. Half of those were 3-pointers. It accounted for 15 of Brewer's game-high 20 points.

It also led to the rest of the Rocks clicking. Point guard Raquel Garcia had four of her game-high five assists in the fourth. Center Sarita Goldsmith had seven of her 11 points in the fourth.

To show how focused the Rocks were on grabbing that WB6 crown that was that close, consider this: the Blue Devils were at one time 4-of-5 from the floor in the fourth – and were losing ground to the Rocks.

"It's been that similar story the last few games," Quincy coach Greg Altmix said. "We have to develop a winner's mentality. We played the second half like we had question marks in our heads."

Brewer says the fact that Quincy, at 8-14, went winless in the WB6, is a testament to the toughness of the conference.

"That's not a bad team at all," she said. "Everyone was telling us how the conference was ours and that we should win easily since they were 0-9. But none of what happened before matters; this time is what matters. How well they played shows how tough the conference is."

Now the Rocks can change their focus, taking their first conference championship in 21 years into the regional along with a No. 1 seed back at their own gym.

The question, of course, is whether Hoover has enough dance in him, just in case.

"I'm done dancing," he declared with a 10-rated smile.

Don't take that as gospel, though. If the Rocks emerge from what could be the toughest regional in the state next week at home, it just might be the impetus to give the Rocks a different drummer for their coach's high-stepping.

UT Beats Moline- Wins WB6

2012-02-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

Relief washed over the United Township girls basketball team as the final horn sounded on Thursday night.

They were finally Western Big 6 Conference champions.

The Panthers staved off another comeback, this time by Moline, and won 43-40. In the fourth quarter they made just 10 of 21 free throws, which proved to be just enough to eek out the win.

MiKayla Fallon, who has been the team's leading scorer since her sophomore year put an exclamation point on the victory with a game-high 22 points and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch -- making 4-of-6 in the final minute.

"That was pretty nerve-wracking knowing everything is on your shoulders on the line," Fallon said of the fourth quarter freebies. "I don't know what to do now. I have so many emotions, I'm not sure whether to smile or cry."

UT had to down the four-time reigning Big 6 champs to grab the title share with Rock Island and Moline made it interesting. A Morgan Gerard trey with just 21 seconds left allowed the Maroons to close the gap to two.

UT's Jamie VanWatermeulen made her first free throw but missed the second. As Kylie Romeo grabbed the rebound, she fell to the floor and the ball came free. VanWatermeulen picked it up and laid it off the glass. The ball went every which way but down somehow falling out and Romeo flung it up court, but Moline's final hope fell short.

The Panthers flooded the court and washed away three years of close calls but coming up short.

It was just five years ago that UTHS was at the bottom of the league, losers of 43 straight conference games, but Thursday night the Panthers stood atop a league that's as strong as ever. With four teams ranked in the top 10 in the state, and a cut-throat battle waiting every Thursday, cherishing the title won't be an issue.

"So much stress is gone right now," senior Halle Lewis said. "We deserve this because we've been working so hard for three years, and for so long it seemed like it was just out of reach."

The Panthers finished one game better (7-3) than the previous two seasons and did so with gusto, winning their last six games after starting the Big 6 schedule just 1-3.

"You say 'hang in there,' you know, 'take it one game at a time,' all the cliché things," UT coach Justin Shiltz said. "We just kept finding ways to win at the end of games."

Thursday was no different, and it was the seniors who blazed the path. Brady added 10 points, Abby VanDeventer played tremendous defense and dished out four assists, while Autumn Vergeyle and Lewis combined for 15 rebounds.

Moline's big-timers came to play as well, as Romeo scored half of Moline's output, and Tiana McCormick ended with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Panther defense proved lethal in the first half as it held Moline to 2-of-16 shooting and just 6 points.

"The second half was a lot better and we'll use that for the our second season," Moline coach Steve Ford said, alluding to next week's regional opener. "We're trying to use this as a springboard to the postseason."

Moline had won the last four, and made UT earn its sixth league title, the first since 1992.

"It is survival of the fittest," Shiltz said. "You have to keep grinding. This is a typical Big 6 game."

VanDeventer summed up what every girl in orange and black was feeling in the locker room.

"I'm so happy right now," VanDeventer said. "We did it. We finally did it."

Geneseo Wins Conf

2012-02-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

DIXON -- A confident team can go a long way.

A night after earning a share of the Northern Illinois Big 12 West Division title, the Geneseo girls basketball team wanted to make a statement, and they did.

On the road, the Leafs won in overtime, 45-42, to win the conference title outright.

Against Ottawa, Geneseo shot less than 50-percent from the free-throw line. Thursday, the Leafs were 75-percent and Olivia Goethals made the difference.

"You could see it in her eyes that she was going to make the free throws," Geneseo coach Scott Hardison said. "They had us scouted and they were going after Olivia."

Goethals made the Dutchesses pay, shooting 4-for-4, including a pair in overtime.

"Since the conference title was on the line, I had more confidence," Goethals said. "I guess they think I'm not a very good free throw shooter, that's why they targeted me."

Brooke Bailey dropped in a game-high 18 points for Dixon, but the Geneseo twin towers of Devan Griffin, 13, and Kassi Anderson, 11, were too much.

The Leafs got another defensive gem from Kaci Storm who forced a turnover with 10 seconds left in regulation to take away Dixon's chance at an upset.

With a win at Streator, Ottawa could have forged a title split with the Maple Leafs had Dixon beat Geneseo.

"Everybody was just happy that we won the game and didn't have to share the title with anyone else," Hardison said. "We were talking about all the things we did this year and now we start over. That was a goal for us, we checked it off and we'll move on to regionals."

And if anyone wants to foul Goethals, she's ready for it.

"They may still target me, and hey, that's fine with me," Goethals said.

She now sports that added confidence, which is key.

Geneseo- Our Next Opponent

2012-02-09T21:04:00.001-08:00

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

OTTAWA — To win the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference title, the Geneseo girls' basketball team had to get defensive.

Playing on the road in Ottawa, the Leafs brought their A-game, and turned up the D, winning 46-35 at Kingman Gym on Wednesday.

Jumping out to an early lead, Geneseo held Ottawa without a basket for the entire second quarter and more than half of the third. All told, 12 minutes, 55 seconds went by between Pirate buckets.

At the half, the stats were ugly for Ottawa: 3-for-16 from the field, nine points and 10 turnovers.

Geneseo (23-4, 8-1) continued to pour it on behind a game-high 13 points from Devan Griffin, who played through the flu. She missed school on Tuesday but wasn't going to miss having a shot at a conference crown.

"I was really fatigued and tired (Tuesday), but I knew I had to get ready for Ottawa," Griffin said. "After they beat us on our court, we had to give it back to them."

It looked a lot like the previous game the two teams played as Geneseo had a comfortable, double-digit lead trimmed down to seven, but unlike last time, they responded with big baskets.

Leading by just eight and having no momentum, Kelsey Nystrom drained a 3-pointer to give the Leafs some breathing room.

"I got kind of chewed out about that," Nystrom joked after the game, "but it was a big shot for us and really brought us together."

The senior guard ended with a dozen points, and forward Kaci Storm scored 8 but had contributions that weren't in her stat line but showed up in the emptiness of Division I signee Kelcie Rombach's stats.

Storm held Rombach to just 2-of-11 shooting and five points before the senior center fouled out with two minutes to play. The only girl to get anything going for the Pirates was Allie Miceli, who had a double-double, scoring 13 and pulling down 11 rebounds. On the night, Ottawa shot less than 30 percent from the field.

"It's a challenge to play her, and if we want to win you have to accept those challenges," Storm said. "It was really a team effort though, and it always has been. That's what we preach."

It's strange to think of man-to-man defense as a team effort, but Geneseo head coach Scott Hardison agrees with Storm.

"When you play good man-to-man defense, it is a team effort because you're always talking and switching and playing together," Hardison said. "I'm very happy with how we played tonight. Last time, they made a run and we stopped being who we are. Tonight, we weathered the storm.

"They threw punches, and this time we stood up and were ready to finish the job."

The Leafs clinched a share of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference's West Division title and can win it outright tonight with a win over Dixon. The Pirates travel to Streator and are rooting for the Duchesses to knock off the Maple Leafs to tie for the NIB-12w title.

It's the first time the Leafs have won the crown since 2007-2008 when Kara Russell and Alli Rivera were donning green and white.

"We're pleased to get at least a share of it for now," Hardison said. "Your whole life, you're taught to share, but (tonight) we're going to be selfish. We don't want to share the title with anyone."

Team Assessed Technical for Pink Uniforms

2012-02-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Read this and see if you are not shocked.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/omaha-girls-handed-technical-foul-wearing-pink-fundraising-161151474.html

Senior Night- How Should Coaches Handle?

2012-02-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

This past week, I had a conversation with a high school coach who discussed how "Senior Night" can turn into a difficult situation sometimes for a coach and for a team. His basic question centered around how a coach should handle playing time and starting for the senior players. There are many players, many parents, and many coaches who have differing perspectives on how the night should go. While coaches may have differing perspectives on how to handle Senior Night, all of the coaches want to honor the seniors in their program. I don't think the differing approaches to senior night are due to some coaches not wanting to honor their seniors.

I don't remember how my high school coach handled Senior Night. In college, Coach Knosher always started the seniors on Senior Night. I don't know what he did if more than five seniors were involved. In my career at Knox, I had come off the bench half of my junior and seniors years, and started half of those seasons. Before Senior Night, I went to Coach Knosher and told him on Senior Night I preferred to come off the bench like I was doing at the time. I expressed I felt comfortable in the role of coming off the bench. Coach Knosher, said I would be starting because he felt strongly it was an important expression of appreciation to seniors.

My logic as a player was based on my feeling my role coming off the bench was valuable, important, and something I was comfortable doing. I honestly felt by starting on Senior Night, it was in a way expressing my bench role was not as important.

As years have gone, I have never started seniors on senior night. I have seen too many senior nights where the coach would start seniors, play them for 2-3 minutes and then yank them out. In some situations, it becomes a situation where seniors placed in a role which is not their normal role may have a bad experience. They may start and their team may be down 8-10 points and never catch up. In my earlier conversation with a coach, they explained in their Senior Night, he started the seniors, they got behind, lost the game, and some of the seniors were upset because they felt the coach chose not to compete on Senior Night.

My belief has been we honor seniors before the game on Senior Night. The ceremony to honor them is the special part of the night, the game is to compete. On Senior Night as a coach, I try to get all of the seniors into the game, and in most cases have been successful.

Other people would strongly disagree with my logic. I had a mother from a neighboring community tell me a couple years ago the coach at their school was being fired, in part because he did not start seniors on Senior Night.

Other people would also so say, so what if the team loses on Senior Night, it is more important to honer those dedicated players than it is to worry about winning a game.

Answer the poll on my blog to show what you think should be done on Senior Night. Thanks.

Ethical or Not?

2012-02-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

A dictionary definition of ethics is "to be in comformity with socially or professionally code of what is considered right or wrong."

When we play another team, if one player on the other team is grabbing our player's jerseys so it is tough for them to cut or get open- that is a violation of the rules. If the referee does not call that as a foul because they don't see it happen- it becomes a competitive advantage for the other team. If one player on the opposing team does this, you feel like it must be something the player learned "on the playground." If mulitple players are grabbing jerseys, you begin to wonder whether the opposing coach is ignoring the player's behavior or perhaps if the opposing coach is actually teaching them how to break the rule and not get caught. If the coach is teaching this behavior- is it ethical behavior?

If a coach knows what the IHSA's rules are in regards to residency and eligibility but they allow a player who does not live in their community to play-- is it ethical behavior? Several years ago we had a player whose family was involved in a complicated divorce with one parent living in one community and one living in another. The IHSA ruled the player was eligible to play for Galesburg, but on the ruling, it finished by saying it was up to our school to make sure the situation was both accurate and that it remained the situation thoughout the year. In other words they told us it was our ethical duty to make sure the player's living situation was true as stated. It is frustrating then when there are schools who are very successful in a sport and sometimes do very well in a state series with players who are acknowledged not to live in that community.

The theme of this essay came to me as I was watching tape of a possible opponent. As I was watching, I noted that consistently the team was getting offensive rebound after offensive rebound on missed free throws. My first reaction was that the opposing team was not very good blocking out. But after it happened repeatedly, I slowed down the tape. The players are supposed to wait until the ball touches the rim. I started to put the tape into slow motion, and then to pause the action when the ball was two feet from the rim. Consistently not just one player, but multiple players from this team were 3-4 feet into the lane and the ball was two feet from the rim.

I had a flash back that this "getting in early" had happened to us once before in my career. I remember at a meeting with refs before the game, trying to plant a seed by saying, "Can we get in the lane before the ball hits the rim on a ft?" The opposing coach and the opposing players immediately looked at each other and smiled. I knew at that moment it was a taught behavior. That particular coach was teaching his players to violate the rules of the game in order to game a competitive advantage.

Is doing something like this unethical? I would argue where you are purposely teaching a player to violate a rule with the hope it will increase your chances of winning that you are involved in unethical behavior. Think about it, is this a lesson that you want athletes to take with them into adult life and their careers? Do you want some of them to grow up to be an accountant who takes the view,"This is a way to make money and I won't get caught."

Senior Week- Teammates Talk About the Seniors

2012-02-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

We have had some great senior classes, and this year is no exception. Paige, Sadee, and Myra have given so much to our basketball program. To quote Allison Mangieri- “Each one CARES about the team and always come to play.”

Any memories from first meeting our seniors?

Jessica Lieber- I remember playing Junior Streaks bball with Sadee and Paige, Sadee was always the one we would always be scared of because she was so good just like she still is. I don’t really remember alot about playing with Paige or Myra but I remember Streaks Camps every year with all 3 of them.

Allison Mangieri- I first met Sadee in junior high and I thought she was very nice and worked hard at basketball. My thoughts are the same to this day!

I never knew Myra till I got to high school and I saw how she was always smiling and laughing- typical Myra. Paige and I just became really close this season and I'm glad we did. I love her! :)

Marisa Miller- I remember meeting Sadee a looonnng time ago at Railroad Days because our moms knew each other from something.

Hannah Smith- When I first met Paige and Sadee last year for the state tourney they were both nice to me. I remember the first time Sadee said hi to me. It was awesome and I felt so cool. I already knew Myra from Tai and church stuff.

Chloe Anderson- Myra bit me during YMCA basketball.

Casey Williams- Well I have known Paige since I was really young so she’s kind of like a sister to me.

Dani Teel- I remember playing basketball with Sadee in third grade...that was one of the best teams I have ever been on still!

Whenever I see Myra I can't help but to smile, she constantly makes my day.

Paige and I have a locker next to each other and I love joking around with her, I wish I would have been closer to her before this season.

This season, has there been any performance by them that you think was most impressive?

Jessica Lieber- Honestly every game with them is impressive but I would have to say the game that was one of Paige’s first times playing the 2 and she came in and made like 4 or 5 threes in a a row and couldn’t miss. Myra is always impressive how she gets all those rebounds even if the other post players are taller than her and the game at Rocky when they left Myra open cuz they didn’t think she would shoot then she made two 3s in a row. Sadee is always impressive, she feels like another point guard out there with me sometimes, she can do anything!

Allison Mangieri- Myra always gives the same, great effort every game so the team can always count on her.

I always have faith in Sadee when she's at the free throw line because majority of the time she makes her free throws!

Paige has been a 1, 2, and 3 for the team this year and has done great at all positions. It's always exciting when Paige hits her shots because they are good, smart shots.

Marisa Miller- Myra and Sadee do amazing plays on the boards and Paige shoots great shots

Hannah Smith- I think Myra has had many impressive performances this year. She always seems to get good rebounds and put backs in almost every game. Paige had impressive performances at Charleston and Sadee had some great games throughout the whole season.

Chloe- I don't remember specific games but Sadee comes to mind for her drives to the basket, Myra for her strength under the basket, and Paige for her composed dribbling and consistency.

Casey Williams- Playing in the same position as Sadee, I notice how well she plays it with a lot of blocks, rebounds, and points so I hope I become just as good as her!

Rainee Sibley- Paige had her wrist surgery this past summer and it was not only encouraging to watch her do every thing in her power to recover and stay healthy while she wasnt able to play but she inspired me and showed me no matter the situation, not to give up and work hard. Although she couldn't do much for a while she stayed in the gym and showed me and the rest of the team that she cared and wanted to be there.

Dani Teel- Sadee impresses me every game, especially after she came back from being injured with her knee. In games where everyone else seems to be slow, Myra brings our team up and gives us all energy. I always get really pumped up after Paige makes 3s, the second moline game is when she impressed me the most.

What trait to do they possess you admire and feel has made our team successful?

Jessica Lieber- Paige is a good leader on our team and always plays with a positive attitude and always works hard and it rubs off on all of us, Myra

just like coach said one time, she will always give 100% all the time which rubs off alot, and Myra can make anyone laugh, Sadee always plays hard and tries her best.

Allison Mangieri- Each one CARES about the team and always come to play.

Marisa Miller- they all have shown hard work.

Hannah Smith- Paige always knows what to say in the locker room at half time or before a tough game. She always seems to brighten people's day. Myra always has us laughing and smiling with her. They are both very outgoing and up lifting. Sadee is very quiet but she always knows what to say and when to say it.

Chloe Anderson- Sadee:poised nature, Myra: consistency, Paige: enthusiasm

Casey Williams- They all stay positive with everyone and none of them give up at any point in any game.

Rainee Sibley- All three of them are fun to be around but know when it's time to be serious

Dani Teel- Sadee is our go getter, she is always trying our hardest in games and reminds us how hard we always need to play. As I said before Myra gives us energy in every game!!! Paige gives great pre-game talks and half time talks, after she talks I tend to mentally prepare more!

Tell us which you rate the best at the following:

Jessica Lieber- I would have to say Sadee would be the best cook, I don’t know if I would trust Myra or Paige with my food, Paige can tell some funny jokes and her and Myra always make us laugh, Paige would probably be, she likes to go fast lol, Myra has worst temper, she got mad in the UT game at home and got a technical for tackling a girl, Paige would probably sky dive, she seems like the dare devil, Myra and Paige both text a lot, but Paige texts faster.

Allison Mangieri

- best cook? Paige--she made me a delicious birthday cake this year

- tells best jokes? Paige--she's good at pickup lines........

- worst driver? I've only been in the car with Paige and Sadee and they're both decent drivers soooo im going to say Myra!

- worst temper? Paige--she doesn't care if people know she is upset, she will speak her mind haha

- most likely to be skydiver? Sadee-- expect the unexpected ;)

- spends most time texting? Mrya--that girl is always on her phone

- fastest texter? hmmm, i dont know.. probably Sadee because she has a real fancy phone!

Hannah Smith-

- tells best jokes? Myra always has me cracking up with her jokes.

- worst driver? Well I have only been in paiges car so I would have to say Paige

- worst temper? Myra but that's only because I know what makes her mad.

- most likely to be skydiver?Sadee. I think sooner or later she will come out of her quiet shell and just do something crazy. Like skydiving.

- spends most time texting? I see all 3 of them on their phones a lot. But I don't know if they are texting or not.

- fastest texter? I would bet Myra.

Chloe Anderson

- best cook? Sadee- always has good food for team dinner, so since none of our seniors really cook, I imagine she would be the best

- tells best jokes? Paige- if she tells a joke it doesn't make sense so you have to laugh

- worst driver? Paige- she probably drives the fastest

- worst temper? Paige- not with the team, but I would't want to get on her bad side!

- most likely to be skydiver? Myra- up for anything

- spends most time texting? Myra- always either on her phone or looking for it!

- fastest texter? they're all about equal

Casey Williams

- best cook? I never have seen any of them cook so i wouldnt know!

- tells best jokes? Probley Myra or Paige, both of them make me laugh.

- worst driver? Myra, because before practice one day I was in the Jessica's car and Myra parked us half way in the parking spot and half way in the grass!

- worst temper? I dont know.

- most likely to be skydiver? Paige, i can just see her doing it.

- spends most time texting?None of them really.

- fastest texter? I dont know.

Rainee Sibley

- best cook? PAIGE!: we cook all the time before practices and games:)

- tells best jokes?Myra: there hasnt been one time ive been around her and not laughed.

- worst driver? Myra: Uhmm idk why... shes just so goofy.. i cant imagine her behind the wheel.

- worst temper?Myra: She's always slapping sharron in practice.

- most likely to be skydiver? Paige: She's just got a wild care free spirit sometimes.:)

- spends most time texting? Myra: SHES JUST SOO POPULAR:) i think she has 3 cellphones.

- fastest texter? Hmm.. i'm not sure... ive seen sadee go.. she's pretty quick with those fingers.

Dani Teel

Myra-best cook Myra-best jokes Myra-worst temper Sadee-most likely to go skydiving Paige-most time texting Myra-fastest texter

Our team would not be where it is if not for-

Jessica Lieber- Myra-.our team would not be the same without her always smiling and coming to practice and games ready to play. Sadee- this team would not be the same without her giving us strength that she can do anything on the court. Paige- we would not be where we are if we didn’t have Paige who is a great leader and always works hard and is ready to play.

Allison Mangieri-

Myra- She has the ability to bring a warm and fun environment to practice, but gets down to bussiness.

Sadee- Her aggressiveness is outstanding and she inspires me to work hard when practicing my free throws.

Paige_ She shows great leadership and is confident on the court which is a good thing to be when you're shooting three's.

Marisa Miller- All of them. They are great role models and have great effort.

Hannah Smith-

Myra- and her outgoing personality And trust in the team.

Sadee- and her hard working in every practice and game.

Paige_ and her bubbly personality and great sense of humor and leadership.

Chloe Anderson-

Myra- knocking girls around boxing them out

Sadee- rebounding and looking for the drive or kick-out

Paige- hitting her threes and being strong with the ball

Casey Williams- Myra- because she does a lot of are rebounding and keeping the other team from 2 chance shots. She also is strong under the basket scoring lay ups.

Sadee-because she gets the other team to turn over the ball alot, can easily drive to the basket, and can draw fouls resulting in free throws which she makes mostly all of them.

Paige- because she is one of our best 3 point shooters and she can handle the ball well.

Dani Teel- Myra's happy face everyday, Paige's personality and Sadee's hard work

Any messages to the seniors?

Jessica Lieber- Just wanna say it is amazing playing basketball with u guys and you will truly be missed alot! goodluck in college:)

Allison Mangieri- I have really enjoyed playing with these three girls. Not only have I become close to them, I've learned to be a team player and practice hard with the help of their everyday actions on and off the court.

Hannah Smith- I would just say keep doing what theyre doing. It's got them in a pretty good place so far. And I'm gonna miss them next season. Best of luck in their future plans. (:

Chloe Anderson

Myra- I'm going to miss you so much! Who will be my DJ in the car or lead me to where ever we need to go? I will never forget all the times we've spent together throughout summer season and regular season. You're the sister I always wanted to talk to and beat up on my brothers with.

Sadee- You've been a great leader throughout your basketball career. You're a good person to room with and you lead our team with your attitude. One of my favorite memories was trying to decontaminate our hotel room with the iron in the closet and laughing about the stains on our pillows. I will miss you next year!

Paige- You can always make me laugh! You always come to the locker room with some funny story or incident to tell us about. Before games, your enthusiasm is contagious and you always help to get the team pumped up and ready to play. We can count on you to have a smile on your face and something nice to say, but we can count on you for your truthfulness too. You'll be missed!

Casey Williams- I hope they all get to a good college, but i hope one of them goes to play basketball in college because they are all very good.

Rainee Sibley- Well I must say love themmm alllll:) Things will be so different next year without the three of them. They all are great leaders, athletes and friends. I'm not so sure what I would have done without Paige this season. She’s seriously an amazing person. I'm so thankful to have gotten to spend so much time with her off the court and out of the gym. She pushes me to better myself as an athlete and as a person too. She’s done soooo much for me and I’ll be forever grateful for all her and her mom, (Aunt Suzy) have done for me. She’s someone I know I can count on and trust with anything. Like many people, she's been through so much but unlike those many, she took those hard times and chose to rise above them and push herself to be better in all that she does. love you Paige!

Dani Teel- I am very happy to have gotten closer to all three seniors this year. :) thanks for making my first year on varsity memorable!

Lombard vs. Churchill- Exciting Night

2012-02-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the Lombard vs. Churchill game.

Churchill won the 7th grade game by a wide margin. Churchill 7th graders remain undefeated on the season.

In the 8th grade game, Lombard and Churchill battled down to the wire. Churchill prevailed in the end to win by about 4-5 points, but the game was anyones with two minutes to go.

As a varsity coach, it is exciting to see the enthusiasm and intensity shown by the 7th graders on both teams. That effort will help them become successful high school players.

On the 8th grade level, it is ALWAYS exciting to see how much some of the girls have improved from 7th to 8th grade year. That was sure the case tonight. Both Churchill and Lombard 8th grade teams have some girls who have worked hard on their games and have improved dramatically. It will certainly be exciting to get them to the high school next year.

In fact, it will be exciting to get them playing summer ball with us this summer.

Go Streaks!!

Senior Week- Sadee Hamilton

2012-02-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Sadee Hamilton is a 5’9” senior post player for the Streaks. She has been a big contributor on the varsity the last three years.

Sadee has the unique ability to play inside and be physical or step outside and become a ball handler and three point threat. She is our leading rebounder this year, and is number 2 in assists on our team. Although she plays a post position, she is like having a second point guard on the floor.

I have also had the pleasure of having Sadee in the classroom. She is an excellent student who works hard to reach her goals as a student. She is dedicated academically and willing to do the extra in the classroom.

Under Sadee’s soft-spoken demeanor rests a competitive fire. When the games are the toughest, Sadee is ready to step up. Numerous times she has made the big shot, gotten the big rebound, and made the important steal. Her competitiveness has made Sadee an extremely valuable player.

When did you first playing organized basketball? Who was your coach, and who were teammates?

I started on a YMCA team in first grade on a team of mostly boys.

Before you got to the varsity level, what were some of your most exciting basketball moments?

Winning the Western Big 6 as a freshman.

Obviously you have had to work hard, invest a lot of time, and put in a lot of energy to be as successful as you have been on the varsity level. As you look back, who were people who inspired you to become a good basketball player?

Previous coaches and family.

Was there a time in your career that something happened or someone said something that got you fired up about basketball?

I've always been excited about basketball, there wasn't one specific incident that got me fired up about it.

Were there any older players who you looked up to and were an inspiration for you?

Watching all the high school girls play when I was younger really motivated me to stay focused and keep working hard.

What has surprised you the most about this year?

The fact that we got to play for a conference championship, and that we beat some very good teams that we lost to last year.

Is there a teammate this year who surprised you by being better than you expected?

Casey has surprised me by how much she has improved throughout the season.

Favorite memory from this season?

Winning the championship in Charleston.

Favorite class this year?

Anatomy & Physiology

All-time favorite teacher?

Mrs. Murdock

If you got a $5000 gift for graduation to travel wherever you wanted, where would you?

Hawaii

What are your plans for next year? Do you have career goals?

Attend college, my career goal is to become a pharmacist.

Do you want to give a thank you to any family members?

Thank you to all my family for always being supportive and cheering me on.

What do you hope teammates will say about you?

I hope they'll say I was hard-working and an all around team player.

What do you hope fans will say about our team?

That we played well together and they enjoyed watching us play.

Advice you have for jh and fs age players?

Work hard and stay focused.

Any superstitions?

Every Job Is Different

2012-02-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

We are very fortunate in Galesburg to have two radio stations and one local newspaper that covers our basketball games. The positive part is that all the publicity gives us exposure, which increases our attendance at games.

As I "scout" through the newspaper internet, I am only aware of one paper that gives as much coverage to their high school girls basketball team. That is the coverage that the Ottawa, Illinois paper gives to local sports.

Originally to get our "story" in the paper, I would write up a game summary and stats, and then take it down to the Register-Mail to leave in the mail slot. That was before internet, faxes, and the RM was an evening paper. By giving as much info as possible to the paper, they made our stories larger to fit eveything in, and eventually moved stories to page 1.

My first AD, George Lundeen made the point that I was to send in results whether we won or lost. His point was that if you wanted people to follow you, you had to get info in for all games- not just the good games. My first year after a cross country loss, he was at my door at 8:00am to tell me that I had failed to call in cc results.

The tough part of the publicity is that it is not fun after losses. When you lose a tough game, it is not fun to talk about it to 2 radio stations, 1 local paper, and then to some area papers. But you can't have it just when you win.

I was struck by the difference coaching in Galesburg vs. some other places. We scouted a game in which there were 4 technical fouls assessed to the teams. Two different newspapers covered the game (I think they probably just had the scores and info called in.), and neither paper has a mention of any of the events pertaining to the technicals. I am guessing that if it had been a Galesburg boys or girls game, somewhere in the first two paragraphs there would have been mention. I am not saying this to infer that the info should not be in an article- just saying our players and coaches are under a little more scrutiny than some other places.

Senior Week- Paige Klinck

2012-02-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

Paige Klinck has been a valuable, regular on the varsity the last three years. As a sophomore, she was minding her own business, playing on the soph team- when late in the year she was yanked to the varsity and moved into the rotation as a regular point guard. That is a pretty daunting thing for any soph to have to do- let alone doing it in the middle of the year and doing it at the point guard position. Paige not only handled it, she allowed us to be successful. Since that time Paige has played wherever we have needed her.

This past spring she had to have surgery on her wrist that prevented her from being able shoot, dribble, or play basketball. But I am convinced we are probably where we are this season because of Paige’s off-season contribution. Paige never missed any days of lifting, shooting, camps, leagues, or tourneys. She never complained, she did what she could. And the big thing she could do was provide an example to our younger players who were on the varsity. Her commitment to be at everything showed an unselfishness and dedication. Our teams approach to this season has been a reflection of what Paige showed this summer. Thanks Paige!!

When did you first playing organized basketball? Who was your coach, and who were temmates? Any specific memories?

I first started playing basketball when I was in the fourth grade for the Galesburg Junior Streaks. My coach was Billy and Kim Ryan (Baylie Boyers parents). On our team we had roughly 16 different girls, and what blows my mind the most is that Sadee and I are the only ones that are still playing our Senior year. I can’t say I remember specific memories, but one thing that sticks out the most is that every tournament we were in, we took first! J (well almost every tournament)

Before you got to the varsity level, what were some of your most exciting basketball moments?

Playing with the girls that I got to play with growing up before we got into high school, was just a blast. We all got along, spent a lot of time together, and just loved playing basketball.

Looking back on my four years in high school, I have invested A LOT of time in basketball, and yes Coach Massey some times I was not happy with waking up early to go into a hot gym during the summers, when I could be sleeping in or going to swim with friends. My grandfather inspired me the most; he was always someone who made me stick to my guns. He always had the most criticism for me and the most positive feed back. He made me really look at basketball with a new set of eyes.

Was there a time in your career that something happened or someone said something that got you fired up about basketball?

When I was a freshman, I was playing for Coach Rux on the sophomore basketball team and over Christmas break I found out my mom had been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. That same day I found out I had a basketball game, I scored the most points I ever had that game, and found the energy not to sit out for a minute. Coach Rux knew not to take me out or I would loose it. I’ve never been so fired up about playing in a basketball game, than that game that night.

Were there any older players who you looked up to and were an inspiration for you?

I have to say that Jessica Howard has been my inspiration. And not only in the basketball world. When Jess sets her mind to something she gives it 110% and you know what to expect from her every day. She goes the extra mile in everything she does, and that’s inspiration enough. Because of basketball I gained not only an inspiration but a girl I call one of my best friends, and I met her through basketball, so thanks Coach Massey! HahJ

What has surprised you the most about this year?

EVERYTHING. Losing the seniors that we did last year, it could be easy for anyone to assume that this year would be a rebuilding year for us, including myself. What surprised me the most was that the girls on this team ignored all of the talk of such occurrence, and said its time to prove these people wrong. And right now we are in the process of doing so, I wouldn’t change this group of girls for anyone for my senior year.

Is there a teammate this year who surprised you by being better than you expected?

Casey Williams, I have known this girl her whole life, but never really have gotten to see the basketball side of her. WOW! Its an honor to be able to play with her. She’s only a freshman and she takes on the role as a leader on and off the court already. I can’t thank her enough for going above and beyond what is expected of her from this program. Going into every game I know that Casey Williams will give the same effort every single time, and that effort is 110%. Watch out Galesburg, Casey Williams is just getting started!

Favorite memory from this season?

We may look like hard core, un human, defensive monster machines, but what you don’t know about our team is that we are a very very musical bunch. Before our Centinneal game we were at Knox and I started to bounce the ball on the ground and it made an echo every time I bounced it, and slowly each girl starts there own beat and shortly after we had made a very upbeat musical. We now all dance and sing together when we can, the laughs go on and on in this group, and as most of you know, I LOVE to laugh!

Favorite class this year?

So far I am in Anatomy and Physiology class with Mr. Peachy. I know that it is going to be a very demanding class, but Mr. Peachy makes it such a fun and interesting class.

All-time favorite teacher?

I feel obligated to say you, Coach Massey since I didn’t pick one of your classes as my favorite. HA!

If it was not for her sarcasm, I would be bumping her grade up.

If you got a $5000 gift for graduation to travel wherever you wanted, where would you?

I would go to Hawaii, beautiful beaches, not too crowded, relaxing atmosphere. So yes, Coach Massey that would be a great gift.

What are your plans for next year? Do you have career goals?

My plans for next year are to go to Cape Cod Massachusetts, and further my education to pursue my career as a Nurse Anesthetist.

Do you want to give a special shout out?

I want to thank my mom, she hasn’t missed a single game even through her sickness, and she has always been my number one fan! I know that I will always have my mom to go to for anything. I can’t thank her enough.

What do you hope teammates will say about you?

I hope my teammates will say that I am a good team leader, positive on and off the court, a good friend, and hold lots of energy!

What do you hope fans will say about you?

I hope the fans see that I am a positive person as well, I have good energy, I give 110% when I am on the court.

Advice you have for jh and fs age players?

Do not wish away the years, they go by way to fast, and I wish I was back in their shoes again. Give 100% in games, practice, and to your teammates and coaches. Never skip out on anything, stay positive, and take full advantage of what is given to you in this program.

Any superstitions?

Do I have any superstitions!? Yes I do! I Will just say some of them, during prayer Myra has to lick my thumb with hand sanitizer on it (I know weird) Rainee and I must do our handshake, we all have to pass on a saying (Cant say what it is). There is a few of my many superstitions.

Anything you want to say to your teammates?

THANK YOU! There is not enough words to describe how thank full I am for all of my teammates. You all have made my senior year one I will never forget, and I wouldn’t want to end my high school basketball career with anyone else for a team. These girls are like my sisters, I would do anything for them. So thank you so much for everything you have done on and off of the basketball court. I will be back next year to watch you guys tear up the basketball court once again! I love you all so much! Thanks for everything you guys are the best group of girls ever!!!:)

Myra and Sadee: We are the lone three seniors and I can’t think of anyone else I would want to walk out on senior night with, play our last couple games with, and end our season with. Thanks so much for all of the memories and keep in touch in what you do in the future! Im sure I will see you two soon, when we are all back watching the Streaks play next year! Love you guys!

UT's Old Gym

2012-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

When I first started coaching girls basketball, we played our games at UT's high school building down past Soule Bowl but up on a hill. I am not sure whether it was a building that also housed freshmen classes or frosh-soph classes. It was an old building in the 1970's.

The gym was unique. On one side of the floor were permanent bleachers. There were probably about 12-15 rows of bleachers. The teams sat in the front row. On the other side, there was about a 3-4 foot drop off and theater seats. If the ball went out of bounds on that side, it would take awhile to locate the ball and get things back in play. As I remember, the edge of the basketball court was about 15 feet from the drop off so I don't remember any players going off the edge.

The basketball court obviously in one era had served as dual purpose facility- gym and stage/auditorium. I am told in the 1940's and 1950's when it was the main facility boys basketball, they filled both the bleacher side and the auditorium side for games.

An interesting anecdote from that era that I have heard. On a particular night, there was a loud and obnoxious East Moline fan sitting behind the Galesburg bench. During one time out, Coach John Thiel remarked, "I wish someone would shut him up." One of the loyal bench players took Thiel to heart. During the next time out when the guy started to yell at Galesburg again, the young man stepped over and punched the guy. As the story goes, it indeed did shut the man up, but it also resulted in the team having to go to the police station to get their teammate. I don't know if the story is true or not- it is interesting.

While this gym in the 1970's and 1980's handled all the specator needs of girls basketball, it had to be tough on the girls of that era to know they had to play in that facility.

Senior Week- Myra Diggins

2012-02-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is “Senior Week” for us, with our last regular season home game being played on Thursday vs. Washington. We have three seniors- Myra Diggins, Sadee Hamilton, and Paige Klinck. All three have been important to our success.

Myra at 5’6” has been a force for us the last two years. She is an active, aggressive defender at the front of our defense, and she has been very active on the boards. Myra’s constant energy will be greatly missed.

Before you got to the varsity level, what were some of your most exciting basketball moments?

Fouling out like every game during my 9th grade years

Tai Peachey, and my Grandma

Was there a time in your career that something happened or someone said something that got you fired up about basketball?

Just the letters or the little notes that Tai would put in my locker before like a big game or something.

Were there any older players who you looked up to and were an inspiration for you?

I would say the seniors from last year.

What has surprised you the most about this year?

That we play as a team.

Is there a teammate this year who surprised you by being better than you expected?

Casey! not in bad way though.

Favorite memory from this season?

Any games that we win by like a couple of points!..

Favorite class this year?

Sociology when we watch Law&Order(:

All-time favorite teacher?

three-way tie Ms.Clay Mr.Houston and Massey

If you got a $5000 gift for graduation to travel wherever you wanted, where would you?

Anywhere!!....Far away from Sharron!!!

What are you plans for next year? Do you have career goals?

i want to go to Monmouth and throw. My goals will to be stay in college and major in early education, and be a kindergarten teacher!

Do you want to give a thank you to any family members?

Grandma Emma Sargent, and the rest of the family for everything.

What do you hope teammates will say about you?

That I was a great leader and they will miss me(:

What do you hope fans will say about our team?

That I improved alot

Advice you have for jh and fs age players?

Work hard, don’t goof off in school!

Any superstitions?

Yes, before every game I lick Paige and Chloe's thumb..haha

Anything you want to say to your teammates?

I will miss you guys(: But not Sharron

Secret of Preparation

2012-02-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

Ray Allen's secret for game preparation....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq8wtoiWPIc&feature=youtu.be

Streaks Prevail at Dunlap

2012-02-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

It was definitely good to get back and have a chance to play. We beat Dunlap 59-41. We had a slow start, leading only 12-10 in the first quarter. Some get very concerned with the "slow start" thing. With our style, we depend on getting stronger as each half goes on.

We missed a lot of shots early, and so did Dunlap. We got out to a 28-15 lead. Obviously it was a pretty low scoring game. As you may remember, the same was true last year when we played Dunlap. Both years they have been able to control tempo. We got a nice burst in the fourth quarter to open a 20+ lead.

It was nice to finish with a comfortable win after needing a buzzer beating three by Jessica Lieber in the opening game of the year to beat Dunlap at our Thanksgiving Tourney.

For us, Sharron Diggins had 18 points, including 3 threes. Paige Klinck continues to be on fire from the perimeter and had 4 threes and 12 points. Also in double figure was Jessica Lieber with 10 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals- nice days work. Both Myra Diggins (10) and Sadee Hamilton (11) were in double figures with rebounds. In addition, Myra had 6 steals.

We forced a total of 28 turnovers on the day.

The great news was that junior guard, Rainee Sibley was able to play after being hurt vs. East Moline. She still experienced some discomfort but I think it is another example of the girls being so loyal to each other. You knew Rainee would want to be in there with her teammates. Thanks for being tough- Rainee!!

Playing for Dunlap is former Streaks player Lynda Clevidence. Lynda was one of my favorites, she was a 5'8" post player who would have absolutely thrived in the style we play now- athletic, strong, and played hard. Lynda's daughter is soph Morgan Erickson. Morgan had 7 points, including 1 three. Dunlap is definitely going to be a team to watch for in the future. Besides soph starter Morgan Erickson, they started two other sophs and one freshmen. Impressive!

Rock Island Over Moline

2012-02-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

From the Argus--
By Marc Nesseler, nesseler@qconline.com

Rock Island not only emphatically drew its line in the sand against girls' basketball rival Moline, it made that line an exclamation mark.

For three quarters of Thursday's critical Western Big 6 Conference girls' basketball game, RI coach Thad Hoover planted his guards, including leading-scorer Shavonne Brewer, at midcourt on offense.

With first-place on the line, Rock Island was challenging the Maroons to a game of 3-on-3 at its end of Wharton Field House.

Or maybe, in the Rocks' 44-37 victory, they were just lulling the WB6's four-time defending champ into a fourth-quarter switchup.

RI's guard trio of Brewer, Raquel Garcia and AmUnique Washington accounted for 11 of their team's 14 fourth-quarter points as the Rocks pulled away in the game's final 2:41.

"I wanted to shoot the whole game. I knew if I was open, I was going to take it and make it," said Garcia, who took just one field-goal attempt, and it was a big one. Garcia drained a 3-pointer with 1:40 left that put RI up 37-33, a minute after Washington's rebound basket gave the Rocks their first lead of the quarter.

Rocky's win throws the WB6 race into a cluster. RI wins the Big 6 title for the first time since 1991 with a win at home next Thursday against Quincy. If Moline also defeats United Township that same night, RI would capture its first outright WB6 girls' hoops crown since 1986.

A Rock Island loss and a Moline win, though, means the Rocks could still win that title share, but the Maroons also would be in a four-team title split, and thus get to hoist a fifth-straight conference-winning flag next fall.

Strange.

As strange as the path Hoover decided to take to get there.

"We felt like we had progressed enough in the post where 3-on-3 would be our offensive game," the RI coach said. "That's the game we wanted to play. To Moline's credit, they played that game very tough."

In the midst of that strategy, the Rocks held a 31-30 lead through three quarters. RI center Sarita Goldsmith had 13 of her game-high 17 points as Rocky's front court had all but five of its points.

Moline coach Steve Ford said his Maroons took RI's guards out of the game in their last meeting, a 39-36 Maroon win in mid-December

"They tried some different things," Ford said. "They just went more with their bigger, stronger players."

Though Moline still has a mathematical shot, Ford said the Maroons' locker room, on this senior night, didn't carry that feel to it. "They're disappointed, very disappointed, to have it that much in reach," he said.

Brewer, averaging a team-best 12.6 points per game, took being a spectator on offense much of the game in stride. "As long as the team wins, if that's what it takes," she said after contributing five points to the win. "I'm never selfish. We've got three great post players to go to."

Rocky's win also had another odd twist – the team is shooting a paltry 52 percent at the free-throw line this season. Against Moline, with everything on the line, the Rocks hit 15-of-20, including 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter, with the guards going 6-for-6.

"AmUnique just brought us tons of energy," said Hoover, with a pair of free throws by Washington, who led RI in assists and steals, coming at the 1:15 mark of the fourth. "From there, everyone's energy went up."

Tough Night for Streaks

2012-02-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

While we had high hopes going into the UT game, things did not work out the way we had hoped. Credit has to go to UT, they were well prepared and played with great energy.

Not only did we get off to a bad start, we could not in the first half stem the tide. We struggled to find anything that would work offensively. "Shooting makes up for a multitude of sins," is a common basketball saying. The converse is also true- "Bad shooting exposes a multitude of sins." In the first half we were 4 of 32 from the field.

At our worst in the second half we were down 50-20. Believe it or not, we came back in the fourth quarter. With under a minute to go we had gotten the lead down to 4. It looked like it might be an unbelievable comeback. Things didn't work out- we lost.

As a coach, generally I hate after games like this when everyone says of your team- "They played to the end, they never gave up." What I don't like about that is that it seems to be focusing in on the mentality of having a "moral victory."

Usually in games like last night, the games are lost at a point when the team gets down big, and for a little bit has a sense of self-pity and feels "poor, poor me." It is during that stretch where instead of battling and staying down 12-14 points, you allow yourself to be unfocused and work a little bit less- and now you are down 25 points. That happened to us last night in the second quarter. When you are 4 for 32 from the field it is hard to not get frustrated. And we allowed ourselves to get frustrated and let the game get out of hand.

But.... the girls effort and approach in the fourth quarter was amazing. So while normally I would hate focusing on the comeback- last nights effort in the fourth quarter certainly did reveal very positive character traits our team has, and very positive leadership individuals on our team have. They are certainly a great group to work with.

The System Spreading In Iowa

2012-02-03T07:02:00.000-08:00

This is a story from the Des Moines Register....

REINBECK, Ia. -- A group of five players lines up at the girls’ basketball scorekeepers’ bench, then runs onto the court in a swarm.

For 30 or 45 seconds, the Gladbrook-Reinbeck girls give it their all in a burst of energy. Then, they return to the bench as a new wave of substitutes arrive with a fury.

Welcome to a fast-paced brand of basketball known as The Grinnell System.

The Grinnell College men drew national attention — and numerous scoring records — by installing a 3-point shooting scheme that is now being embraced by Iowa high school teams.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120202/SPORTS08/120202033/Prep-basketball-teams-try-to-capture-magic-of-The-Grinnell-System

Gyms for Girls Teams

2012-02-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

Over the last 40 years, a question that has faced schools is how to get all of their basketball teams into gyms for practice and how to get all the teams a spot to play the games.

At GHS when girls basketball was just getting started in the early 1970's, the varsity and soph boys teams practiced in Thiel Gym, and played their games there. Usually the boys varsity started practice at 1:30pm as part of "athletic PE." Then the sophs would come in for practice around 4:00 or 4:30pm. The girls teams went to Hitchcock school that had a small wooden court- today it is the Hitchcock apartments. Once a week, the girls would come in during the evening and practice in Thiel. Most of the girls games were played in Thiel but if there were conflicts, they played a few games at Churchill.

By the time I started coaching girls in the late 1970's, all of our practices were scheduled for Thiel Gym, and all of our games were played at Thiel Gym. But in the mid-1980's conflicts increased as we went from a 3 year to 4 year high school. That meant there were three girls teams and three boys teams fighting for gym time and game time in one gym. Usually practiced were planned so that we had 3 practice shifts each day- 3:00-5:15pm, 5:15-7:30pm, and 7:30-9:30pm. Usually varsity boys would take one shift, soph boys one shift, and the soph/varsity girls would share a shift. The night before teams played, they always had the earliest shift. The two freshmen teams would scramble to either fit into one of these slots if other teams were on the road, or usually frosh boys would go evenings at Lombard and frosh girls evenings at Churchill.

When freshmen played, then one team got to go after school and all other teams had to go to the junior highs. When wrestling had home games, one team practiced. When there were home jv boys games, only one team practiced.

Something that really opened things up a little was when the school district gained access to the Hawthorne Center gym. This allowed our freshmen teams a place to practice. Usually one team would be bused there right after school and the other frosh team would practice there at 5pm.

So a typical varsity girls practice schedule in the late 1980's and thru much of the 1990's, looked something like this:
Mondays- one week at Thiel after school, the other week at the Hawthorne Center with the soph girls.
Tuesdays- one week at Lombard or Churchill at 7:30-9:30pm, the other week at Thiel from 7:30-9:30pm.
Wednesdays- after school in Thiel
Thursdays- games.
Fridays- after school in Thiel.
Saturdays- games.

Something that really helped us both competitively and with gym time was when we cleaned up the girls schedule and played all conference games on Thursdays and all nonconference games on Saturdays. Before that time, we might have played any day of the week, except Wednesday. So you might have a big conference game on Tuesday and a nonconference game on Monday. We were the first conference school to go exclusively to Thursday-Saturday. And for a good number of years I felt it gave us a competitive advantage when we had Monday thru Wednesday for practice and many of our conference opponents were in a Tuesday and Thursday routine for games.

The building of Wicall eliminated the need for regular 7:30-9:30pm practice shifts. It has freed up our schedule tremendously. Now only once in awhile do we need to send a team someplace else to practice. And usually it is a matter of sending boys or girls varsity to Knox College.

When they were in the process of building Wicall Gym, I was asked if I thought it would be a good idea to build it as a "girls gym." I was told it would be a great deal, we would control the time for practices and have not conflicts. I didn't hesitate to say I thought it was a bad idea. My thought was that if we got good, if we began to draw crowds then we would be forced to go play in a different gym. And my logic was, why would we want our teams not to play in the best gym and best facility the school had to offer. I honestly did not like the possible message playing in a second gym would send to our athletes as female athletes.

Where schools choose to play their games is always an interesting issue. At Galesburg, we have always played our games in Thiel Gym. Alleman and Moline have always both played their soph and varsity games in the same gym used for soph and varsity boys games.

Quincy originally in the 1970's played their girls games in Baldwin Gym where their boys play, then went to the smaller gym in the high school, then in the early 2000's went back to Baldwin, and now is back in the smaller gym.

Rocky has always chosen to play their games. Only twice have we ever played in the "Rock Garden." In the late 1990's when Rock Island hosted a Sectional, they moved the Sectional into the boys gym.

UTHS hosted a Sectional in their bigger gym, but until this year has played all of their games in a second gym. So until this year, 50% of the WB6 teams played their girls games in a second gym.

Back in the 1970's and 1980's, when we played Morton and Richwoods, we played in a second gym that they had. In fact one year when we played Richwoods, our lockeroom was next to the main gym and we then had to go to the other gym to play. I got lost getting back at half time and missed the first three minutes of the third quarter.

Canton had a major controversy in the last five years in regards to parents of girls basketball players wanting their daughters to get to play in Ingersoll Gym. We benefited from a decision to move our game to Ingersoll as it was not a court the Canton girls had a chance to practice on.

In the 1980's, Graylin McLeod as Woodruff girls coach chose to practice and play games in a court in the balcony. He told me he chose to play and practice there because he had total control of when he practiced, and for games he thought it through off opposing coaches because they just were so angry about playing in a balcony with just chairs around the court.

Certainly every school has to do what is best for their programs and for their students. Some schools like Metamora and IVC have two pretty nice spectator gyms. But that is rare.

Playing in Big Gym at UT

2012-02-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

Streaks vs. UT will be played in their big gym- "the boys gym." UT had scheduled to play all of their conference games in the bigger gym this year. It is not the first time the Streaks have played on this court.

We actually played three games on that court in 2003. Can you guess who we played?

First game we played Moline. We were at Wharton Fieldhouse in the middle of the soph game when it became apparent the playing surface was unplayable with water leaking in from the ceiling. After several calls it was determined the sophs would play at Moline HS, and the varsity game would be played at UT. We won.

Later the Sectional was played at UT on that court. In the first round game we came from behind to beat Sycamore. And in the second round we beat Rocky for the Sectional title. That team included leading scorer Amanda Gunther, Annie Parkin, Elizabeth Hauslein, Ali Bauchman, Jenna Bicego, Casey Berry, Brittany Stephan, and present coach- Andie Allison.

So at this point, the Streaks enter the game a perfect 3-0 on the UT court!

WB6 Preview- Argus

2012-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

From the Argus...

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

The final chapter of the Western Big 6 Conference girls basketball book hasn't been written just yet.

Now is the part of the story where dreams are realized or dashed, and history is made.

Nothing will be decided for sure, but at least one team can claim part of the Big 6 championship. Galesburg and Alleman are wrapping up their league seasons, and the Streaks play at United Township. If they win, they'll clinch at least a share, their 14th, of the Big 6 crown.

Rock Island and Moline renew their rivalry, with the winner playing for at least a share of the title next week. Yes, this girls' season has come down to the wire with four teams in position to win a portion of the hardware with just two (in Galesburg's case 1) game left.

There's still a chance that four teams could share the title, but we'll worry about that later.

Four of the team in the Big 6 are ranked in their state's polls, and five teams have a chance at winning 20 or more games. It would be hard to argue that the Big 6 isn't the toughest girls conference in the state.

- Galesburg (23-4, 6-3 WB6) at United Township (18-9, 5-3):The Silver Streaks have the ball in their court. If they win, they earn at least a share of the Big 6 crown. Should Galesburg lose, it could mean they are out of title hopes all together. UT plays Moline next week, and it may not be until then that a conference champ is determined. The Panthers control their own destiny too, something that seemed impossible after starting the conference season 1-3. Since then they've run the table and are hoping they've got two more aces up their sleeves. UT will be playing without Kiana Brady, who is ineligble for academic reasons.

- Rock Island (19-6, 5-3) at Moline (17-10, 5-3): Storylines abound here, too. The Rocks were in control of the conference, but two straight losses have derailed what the Rocks hoped to be their first title in more than 20 years. Moline was pretty much written off this year after winning four straight titles, but everyone said, "Marquisha Harris graduated." Someone forgot to let the Maroons know they aren't supposed to be in the race. Now, here they are on the verge of making it five straight and creeping up on 20 wins. Shavonne Brewer will have to control the game for the Rocks and get Sarita Goldsmith into the action, while Moline will rely heavily on their do-everything senior leader Kylie Romeo.

- Alleman (16-13, 4-5) at Quincy (8-10, 0-8): The Blue Devils have to be thinking this could be a chance for them to pick up their first Big 6 win in a few years, playing the Pioneers without their leading scorer. But Alleman has other things in mind. Class 2A's No. 9 team wants to turn the ship around heading into the postseason. This will be the Pioneers last regular season game, as they'll be in the Class 2A Riverdale Regional next week, and a win would end a four-game skid. Zoe Kelso picked up the work load last week against UT, and will be counted on again to score the bulk of the points. The Pioneers will have to shut down Araiya Dade and Jordan Fletcher.

- Stat of the night: The Galesburg Silver Streaks had a perfect attendance record for practice until Tuesday night when one player was too sick to make it. With commitment like that it's no wonder they're at 20-plus wins again.

Best of the Big 6

- Scoring: 1, Jessica Leiber, Gal, 18.0; 2, MiKayla Fallon, UTHS, 15.0; 3, Kylie Romeo, Mol, 13.9; 4, Sharron Diggins, Gal, 13.2; 5, Shavonne Brewer, RI, 13.0; 6, Sarita Goldsmith, RI, 12.6.

- Rebounding: 1, Sadee Hamilton, Gal, 9.4; 2, Zoe Kelso, All, 8.1; 3, Sarita Goldsmith, RI, 7.6; 4, Tiana McCormick, Mol, 6.5; 4, Cierra Davis, All, 6.5; 6, MiKayla Fallon, UT, 6.0.

- Shooting percentage: 1, Tiana McCormick, Mol, 58.1; 2, Sarita Goldsmith, RI, 52.6; 3, Rayven Morrow, RI, 50.9; 4, Zoe Kelso, All, 49.4; 5, Cierra Davis, All, 47.6; 6, Kyle Romeo, Mol, 46.2.

Ottawa Coaching Legend Passes Away

2012-02-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

This is from the Ottawa newspaper...

Andy Tavegia, andyt@mywebtimes.com, 815-431-4043

Before each girls basketball season, John Personette would sit down his sophomore team in Kingman Gymnasium and give the same speech.

He compared those who were to take the floor each season to the bricks that made up the old homestead.

"'All of the blood, sweat and tears that went into building this gymnasium, that is what you do for the success of Lady Pirate basketball.' That's what he would say," said current Ottawa Township High School Athletics Director and varsity girls basketball coach Mike Cooper.

The same can be said for Personette himself, who passed away Saturday after an extended illness. A complete obituary can be found on page C2.

For years, he provided the foundation for success for several Ottawa programs, as well as the athletes themselves. That's something that has not, and will not, ever be forgotten, said Cooper.

"Obviously JP was a great person who absolutely loved LadyPirate basketball," Cooper said. "Rarely was there a day when he didn't want to talk about it.

"Most people coach one or maybe two sports each year. But consistently he coached three sports a year and always made a difference."

From the moment he arrived at OTHS in 1972, Personette was involved in several Pirates sports teams, including girls basketball, softball, football, track and swimming.

He was most known as the sophomore girls basketball coach, a title he held for 26 years. During that time, he worked alongside the only three head varsity coaches the school has ever had — Marv Graunke, Gary Reardon and Cooper — to develop a program that has just six losing seasons dating back to 1975.

As the coach for the Lady Corsairs, he amassed 393 wins in 567 games for a .693 winning percentage. That included the 1997-98 team that went 23-0, joining the 2010-11 Lady Corsairs as the only teams to go undefeated. A picture of that very team hung in his classroom above his desk.

But his mark goes far beyond just wins.

Tom Ziel coached beside Personette in softball and track and field for many years. In track, Ziel said the same scene showing Personette's dedication to something other than a win repeated itself regularly.

"He's there watching the races with his stop watch and he turns and says, 'knocked off a half a second.' And he says it with this bright look on his face," Ziel said. "You could see how exciting it was to him. And that's what was the most important to him. It was the kids. I'll always remember him in the middle of the field with a stop watch, walking around and following someone on the track."

Ziel said nothing was more important to Personette than seeing his kids succeed. Perhaps that's why he worked to change the fortunes of softball in Ottawa and became a founding father of the Ottawa Girls Fastpitch Association (OGFA).

Coming off his second season as coach of a struggling OTHS softball program, Personette approached Mike Cunniff, a sports reporter at the Ottawa Daily Times who was heavily involved in fastpitch softball. Personette said he wanted to be able to get his high school program to be able to compete with the likes of Streator and Morris.

After informing Personette that a youth program was needed, the two worked together over the next few months and gathered enough kids ages 9-14 to establish two teams, one coached by Cunniff and the other by Personette. The following year, the organization multiplied to four teams, and seven teams were in existence in 1991.

While Personette didn't coach after the initial season, he maintained his involvement over the next few years with the program. Since then, OGFA has flourished and has four different levels of play and hundreds of Ottawa girls playing each summer.

"Once the program was started and established he was right there helping us," said Cunniff, who still is with the organization today. "He brought the idea and it has grown ever since then."

That turned the fortunes of softball at OTHS as well. By 1992, Ottawa had gone from one win to equaling the school record of 17 wins in just three seasons.

Ziel took over the Lady Pirates program in 1997 and had one of the first teams to completely have gone through the OGFA program. The result was a new school record: 18 wins at the varsity level. The sophomore team broke its own school record, which was set the previous season.

"That's when you were starting to really see it happen," Ziel said. "The kids were so much more skilled. We had some good ballplayers.

"That's when the program really turned the corner and became really competitive. And JP was a big part of that group of kids."

And many groups of kids at OTHS through the years. And that's what many will miss most about "JP."

"JP was one of the most loyal individuals I've ever been around," Cooper said.

AP State Poll

2012-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

This weeks State Poll...

10 teams in the state polls are teams who come to our summer leagues.

4 teams from the WB6 are rated in the top ten!!

Class 4A
School W-L Pts Prv 1. Whitney Young (8) 23-0 89 1
2. Bolingbrook 17-1 70 2
3. Edwardsville (1) 24-0 68 3
4. River Forest Trinity 23-1 62 5
5. Hononegah 24-1 48 T6
6. Marist 25-2 45 T6
7. Bartlett 23-1 41 4
8. Benet 19-4 27 8
9. East Moline United 18-9 19 10
10. Waubonsie Valley 19-2 13 NR
Others receiving votes: Geneva 5. Maine South 5. Niles West 2. Fremd 1.

Class 3A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Springfield (3) 21-4 86 3 2. Hillcrest (2) 20-2 84 1
3. Morton (4) 23-2 80 2 4. Montini (1) 21-5 73 4
5. Richwoods 22-3 59 5
6. Galesburg 23-4 40 8 7. Breese Mater Dei 22-2 37 7
8. Salem 23-3 22 10
9. Rock Island 19-6 19 9
10. Champaign Centennial 22-5 18 6 Others receiving votes: Champaign Central 16. Geneseo 7. East St. Louis 5. Grayslake Central 2. Rich Central 1. Springfield Southeast 1.

Class 2A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Quincy Notre Dame (15) 24-1 150 1
2. El Paso-Gridley 25-0 129 2
3. Havana 27-1 105 4 4. Breese Central 23-1 89 5
5. Nashville 22-3 84 3
6. Mt. Carmel 23-4 62 7
T7. Sherrard 21-4 41 9 T7. Bloomington CC 19-5 41 6
9. RI Alleman 16-13 22 8 10. Teutopolis 18-7 20 NR
Others receiving votes: Rockford Lutheran 17. Pana 11. Champaign St. Thomas More 9. Bismarck-Henning 9. Litchfield 8. Knoxville 7. Eureka 7. Stillman Valley 6. Waverly 4. Marshall 2. Riverdale 1. St. Edward 1.

Class 1A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Annawan (10) 25-1 135 1
2. Cowden-Herrick (4) 20-3 121 3
3. LeRoy 21-3 111 2 4. Aquin 21-3 76 4
5. Illini Bluffs 23-5 66 6
6. Jacksonville Routt 18-6 49 8
7. Calhoun 22-4 48 5
8. Goreville 23-2 33 9
9. Shiloh 23-4 32 NR
10. Moweaqua Central A&M 20-5 20 7
Others receiving votes: Dakota 19. Tuscola 11. Mendon Unity 9. Hinckley-Big Rock 7. Ottawa Marquette 6. Prophetstown 6. Urbana University 6. Wethersfield 5. South Fulton 5. Decatur Lutheran 4. Winchester West Central 1.

Boys Polls
Class 4A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Simeon (12) 20-1 120 1
2. Proviso East 17-0 108 2
3. Curie 20-1 95 3
4. Bogan 20-2 64 4
5. Andrew 16-0 59 5
6. Collinsville 19-3 58 6
7. Gurnee Warren 15-2 45 7
8. Rockford Auburn 19-2 41 8
9. O’Fallon 16-4 19 10
10. Plainfield East 17-1 18 9
Others receiving votes: Moline 10. New Trier 8. Edwardsville 7. Bloom Township 3. Whitney Young 2. Elgin 2. Metea Valley 1.

Class 3A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Springfield Lanphier (9) 18-2 123 1
2. Peoria Central (3) 16-2 110 2
3. St. Ignatius (1) 15-2 103 3
4. Peoria Manual 15-4 95 4
5. Washington 16-4 66 5
6. Orr 15-3 61 7
7. Chatham Glenwood 21-3 45 8
8. East St. Louis 16-6 30 6
9. North Chicago 13-3 27 10
10. Cahokia 17-7 25 9
Others receiving votes: Chicago Marshall 17. Rantoul 8. Hillcrest 3. Morton 1.

Class 2A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Seton Academy (13) 17-4 173 1
2. Breese Central (5) 22-1 164 2
3. Byron 20-0 127 3
4. Normal University 17-3 126 4
5. Teutopolis 19-2 109 5
6. Flora 21-2 68 7
7. Alton Marquette 22-2 61 6
8. Olney East Richland 21-2 48 8
9. Monmouth-Roseville 18-3 31 10
10. Bismarck-Henning 20-2 12 NR
Others receiving votes: Herscher 10. Harrisburg 9. Tolono Unity 9. Breese Mater Dei 7. Fieldcrest 7. Pleasant Plains 6. Orion 5. Pana 4. Georgetown-Ridge Farm 4. Hales Franciscan 2. Illini West (Carthage) 2. Rockridge 2. Carlyle 2. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 1. Riverdale 1.

Class 1A
School W-L Pts Prv
1. Mounds Meridian (12) 18-2 162 1
2. Brimfield (3) 23-0 143 T2
3. Madison 15-5 123 T2
4. Hope Academy (2) 19-2 121 4
5. Okawville 20-4 111 5
6. Woodlawn 19-2 88 6
7. Tamms (Egyptian) 17-4 49 8
7. Lanark Eastland 20-2 49 9
9. Carrollton 18-3 31 10
10. Franklin 18-2 16 7
Others receiving votes: Erie 14. Cissna Park 10. Crab Orchard 10. St. Elmo 7.

Coaching Network

2012-01-31T20:31:00.000-08:00

One of the enjoyable things in coaching is that it allows you to get to know coaches from all over. Today I got a text message from Coach Jermaine Johnson, asking me to call back. I had no idea who he was.

I finally made connections after practice. Jermaine started the conversation,"I am a friend of Jason Shay's." After Jason had sent me some good ball screen options on Hudl last week, I figured I definitely needed to listen.

It turns out Jermaine is doing a research project on Illinois basketball. He is coach at a Memphis, Tennessee high school where his team won the 2010 Tennessee State Championshiip.

It was interesting to talk to him. He told how he had done research on the history of the ball press in Illinois, and wanted to do something on our program using the System. It was really interesting to talk to him and to send him some of our material.

It turns out that I need to thank Jason for one more thing- good to meet a good coach from Tennessee.

Impressive

2012-01-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

Today at practice we had a player who was ill today and missed practice. This was the first time all year that we have had a player miss a practice.

Obviously you cannot help it if you are sick, but I know some of our players didn't feel good but they still showed up for practice.

During a season when some players consistently miss practices, it definitely effect team moral. Practices are never quite as good when someone who is "chronically ill" does not show up.

Our success this season has not been an accident- our players are very committed!!

Argus-Dispatch Poll

2012-01-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

1. Assumption (19.5) (16-1) 214.5 1
-- Last week: Won at Burlington, 76-43 Tuesday; Won at Davenport North, 92-39 Friday; Beat state-ranked Iowa City West, 52-48 Saturday.

-- Notable local wins: Muscatine, PV, UT. Notable local losses: None to locally-ranked teams.

-- Note: Iowa's defending Class 3A state champs exacted sweet revenge last week against top-ranked 4A Iowa City West, the only blemish on the Knights' sparkling record last season.

-- Next: Tuesday hosts Bettendorf; Friday at Clinton.

2. Annawan (4.5) (25-1) 211.5 2
-- Last week: Beat Mercer County, 84-39 Monday; Won at Sciota West Prairie, 82-54 Wednesday; Beat Henry-Senachwine, 74-36 Thursday.

-- Notable local wins: Geneseo, Wethersfield (twice), Rockridge, Orion. Notable local loss: None to locally-ranked teams.

-- Note: The top-ranked team in Illinois Class 1A claimed its first unbeaten and outright Lincoln Trail Conference title Monday. Senior Jordan Jackson also eclipsed the 1,000 mark before the start of next week's Amboy Regional.

-- Next: Beat Galva, 81-37 Monday; Thursday at Chillicothe IVC.

3. Galesburg (23-4) 174 4
-- Last week: Beat No. 3 Rock Island, 61-60 Thursday; Beat Bloomington, 80-56 Saturday.

-- Notable local wins: Rocky, Alleman, Moline, UT. Notable local losses: Rock Island, Moline, Alleman.

-- Note: The Streaks continued to pad an already great on-court resume, paying back Rock Island for an earlier loss and claiming the No. 1 regional seed over Galesburg. But preseason favorite UT still can throw a monkey-wrench into the Streaks' Western Big 6 Conference title hopes.

-- Next: Thursday at No. 6 United Township.

4. Rock Island (19-6) 150 3
-- Last week: LOST at No. 4 Galesburg, 61-60 Thursday; Beat state-rated Peoria Notre Dame, 62-40 Saturday.

-- Notable local wins: Alleman (twice), UT, Galesburg, Geneseo, Sterling, PV, Sherrard. Notable local losses: Galesburg, Moline, UT.

-- Note: The one-point loss at Galesburg has the Rocks 5-3 and a half-game back now in the Western Big 6 Conference race. Rocky should get a chance for revenge, though, in the Rock Island-hosted Class 3A regional title game rubbermatch in mid-February.

-- Next: Thursday at No. 9 Moline.

5. Sherrard (21-4) 114 5
-- Last week: Beat Orion, 61-43 Monday; Beat Carthage Illini West, 74-40 Saturday.

-- Notable local wins: Alleman, Wethersfield, Rockridge (twice), Orion. Notable local loss: Rocky.

-- Note: The Tigers were rewarded for a great season by earning the top-seed at next week's Sherrard-hosted 2A regional. But the purple-and-gold can't rest on their laurels. State-rated Knoxville and rivals like Rockridge are in the same event.

-- Next: Thursday at Monmouth-Roseville.

6. United Township (18-9) 110 6
-- Last week: Won at No. 9 Alleman, 52-42 Thursday.

-- Notable local wins: Rocky, Moline, Alleman. Notable local losses: Assumption, Rocky, Galesburg, Alleman.

-- Note: The Panthers have clawed all the way back from a 1-3 Big 6 start to sit 5-3 in the league now, and playing for a conference title shot this weekend.

-- Next: Thursday hosts No. 3 Galesburg; Saturday at Pekin.

7. Geneseo (20-4) 94 7
-- Last week: Beat Streator, 57-22 Thursday; Beat Maple Park Kaneland, 32-14 Saturday.

-- Notable local wins: Sterling, Rockridge, Orion. Notable local loss: Annawan, Rocky.

-- Note: Geneseo is tied for the Northern Illinois Big 12 West lead with Ottawa, whom the Leafs are rematched with next week. Sobering to note the "Green Machine'' is seeded third behind Rocky and Galesburg in the upcoming 3A Rock Island Regional.

-- Next: Thursday at LaSalle-Peru; Saturday at Davenport North.

8. Mediapolis (17-0) 68 8
-- Last week: Won at Winfield Mount Union, 47-23 Tuesday; Beat Pekin, 65-19 Friday.

-- Notable local wins: None to locally-ranked teams. Notable local loss: None to locally-ranked teams.

-- Note: The "other'' Bulldogs are taking a big bite out of foes, with a 28.6 point average margin of victory.

-- Next: Tuesday at Iowa Mennonite; Thursday hosts WACO; Friday hosts Keosauqua Van Buren.

9. Moline (17-10) 50 10
-- Last week: Beat Quincy, 48-39 Thursday; Won at state-rated Peoria Central, 38-34 Saturday..

-- Notable local wins: Rocky, Galesburg, Alleman. Notable local losses: Alleman, UT, Galesburg.

-- Note: Four straight wins have the Maroons headed back in the right direction, with rematches for revenge the next two weeks with Big 6 rivals Rocky and likely 4A regional title-game foe UT.

-- Next: Thursday hosts No. 4 Rock Island.

10. Muscatine (14-3) 41 11
-- Last week: Won at Pleasant Valley, 78-53 Tuesday; Won at Bettendorf, 48-42 Friday.

-- Notable local wins: None over locally-ranked teams. Notable local loss: Assumption.

-- Note: Seven straight victories and counting have the Muskies back in our Top 10, a game back of unbeaten Assumption in the Mississippi Athletic Conference title chase. The two are rematched next week with the league title likely on the line.

Tentative 2012 Summer League Dates

2012-01-29T18:35:00.001-08:00

Tentative dates for 2012 Summer League and Summer Tourneys....

http://masseybasketball.blogspot.com/p/galesburg-summer-league-tourneys.html

Tentative 2012 Streaks Spring Academy & Summer Camps

2012-01-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

I have had many requests for info on off-season programs. We don't have things finalized yet but these are the TENTATIVE plans for spring and summer.

http://masseybasketball.blogspot.com/p/streaks-summer-camps.html

Kelly Ricketts at Knox

2012-01-29T13:14:00.001-08:00

Kelly Ricketts is playing her third year of basketball at Knox College after being on the Streaks varsity for 4 years. This is her feelings about playing the System.

You played for a very controlling, traditional high school coach- set plays, half court mm defense. What was your reaction when you saw how we were playing? Did you ever think- I wish we had done that or was it more- I am glad we didn't do that?

Initially I was glad that we didn't do it. I was very surprised to hear that you were doing it, but I knew it was obviously what you thought was best for the program.

How did Coach Cline break the news that she was thinking about going to the System?

During spring team had dinner together, and she told us there.

What was your initial reaction? I got the impression that many of you were lukewarm about things- accurate?

Initially I think some people were really excited and others were extremely disappointed. I think it was summer before some people started to think maybe that'd be cool, but by season, I think most people were generally on board.

You lost some tough early games, did make you question things?

Personally, no- mainly because you told me so many times that we can't question the system, just our execution of it. Having seen how well it worked for your team last year though, I think a part of me assumed switching to the system would make winning come easier. That assuption was reinforced when we beat Blackburn in our scrimmage by 50 points or whatever it was. When we got blown out by Cornell our first game and didn't win for a few games after that, I obviously realized I was wrong. So I think that was a realization I had... that switching to the system wasn't, in itself, going to make winning easier.

Now your team seems so into things, do you think there was a point for you or for the team when you were won over by the style?

I don't think there was an overbearing amount a doubt to begin the season. We did change some things when we came back after Christmas break which seemed to work better for us. I think that made everyone a little more comfotable with what we were doing.

What is the most frustrating thing about running the System?

Probably just not knowing exactly what to expect and not being nearly as familiar with what we are doing as we were with the style we've all played since early grade school. It still can be very frustrating at times because we all, players and coaches, have a lot of learning still to do. But that is to be expected and everyone is doing their best to get that done.

What has been the best part of running the System?

Everyone is more involved which makes the energy that much better. Plus it's just fun!

What has been the most exciting moment for you so far?

Probably our first win against Carroll. Seeing things finally come together after some very frustrating games was exciting!

How was the lockeroom after you scored 114 points.

Scoring 114 was great for us simply because we had been saying we need to score more- at least over 100- to win games. It was also very cool that we broke a school record!

Streaks Set Record vs. Bloomington

2012-01-28T14:56:00.000-08:00

Three years ago was the first time we tried to implement "Grinnell style" basketball. We got way down early in the game, at half we went to an all out press and subbed five for five the rest of the way. The players were simply told to "jack up shots" as fast as possible. We did not come back but we did make it close. It was originally done without having practiced it, and with no training.

Three years later we beat Bloomington 80-56. We had a slow start, leading by 3 at half. But we exploded in the second half. We outscored them 27-14 in the third quarter and did not look back.

We set a school record by having 9 different players hit threes. We made a total of 11 threes. We got threes from Allison Mangieri, Hannah Smith, Paige Klinck, Dani Teel, Casey Williams, Chloe Anderson, Jessica Lieber, Sharron Diggins, and Emma Junk.

Jessica Lieber led us with 17 points while Sadee Hamilton had 15 and Chloe Anderson 10. Jessica Lieber added 10 assists and 6 steals. Allison Mangieri had 5 steals and Rainee Sibley 4.

Road trip to UT on Thursday- come along and bring a couple friends!!

Baby Powder Delay at Rocky-Alleman

2012-01-27T20:52:00.000-08:00

From the Argus...

By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com

A unique incident created an unfortunate situation before Friday night's Western Big 6 Conference boys' basketball game between Rock Island and Alleman at Augustana College's Carver Center. Due to baby powder being thrown near the court during pre-game introductions, the contest was delayed for more than an hour as the mess was cleaned up and the floor made playable again.

As the final Rocky player was introduced prior to the game, the Rocks' student section threw baby powder in the air. Most throughout the crowd figured it was an imitation of what Miami Heat guard LeBron James does before every game as he throws rosin into the air with the crowd watching.

As Alleman was being introduced, the powder landed on the east end of the court, leaving a dusty residue on the court. When the game was supposed to start, game officials realized the residue left the court unplayable, delaying the start.

Once it was determined the court was unplayable, members of the Alleman administration and coaching staff used towels to clean up the court. When that did not correct the issue, the Augustana custodial staff intervened with a mop. That didn't work, either.

Finally, the custodial staff used a motorized scrubber to clean the floor. That took nearly 15 minutes to complete. Once the floor was cleaned, both teams returned from the locker room for a five-minute warm-up period. The game, scheduled for a 7:30 start, tipped off at 8:43.

"It's unfortunate," Alleman coach Pat Rangel said. "It wasn't malicious. It just wasn't thought all the way through."

Rocky coach Thom Sigel echoed those thoughts.

"It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do," Sigel said.

Alleman athletic director Steve Smithers said at halftime of the varsity game that there was talk of postponing the game because of the playing conditions.

Rocky principal Tim Wernentin said, "I apologize to all the fans here. There was no malicious intent."

All fans in attendance saw the situation as humorous, and no one in the crowd left due to the delay. No technicals were issued against the Rocky bench.

KWQC Video Features on Streaks

2012-01-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Go to this site and then look down the left side under Featured Videos for 2 stories on the Streaks.

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/category.asp?C=5151&nav=menu83_4

Streaks in First

2012-01-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

From the Register Mail

If you liked Round 2 of the Rock Island-Galesburg girls basketball season series Thursday night, you might love Round 3.

The Silver Streaks avenged an earlier Western Big 6 loss to the Rocks 61-60 on Thursday in Thiel Gym, a hard-fought nail-biter that wasn’t decided until Rock Island’s Harmonee Trice missed two straight shots from under the basket in the final seconds.

Ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, Galesburg (22-4, 6-3) took the WB6 lead from Rock Island (18-6, 5-3) with just one conference game left to play. The Rocks entered the game No. 9 in Class 3A.

If regional seeds play out, the teams could meet again next month in the Rock Island regional. Rock Island was seeded No. 1 and Galesburg No. 2 on Thursday afternoon.

“I feel really happy and really excited,” said softspoken Streaks senior Sadee Hamilton, who played a large role in the game’s final seconds. “We really wanted this game.”

With neither team gaining more than a slim lead through three quarters — Rocky led 12-10 after a quarter, Galesburg 23-20 at the half and 38-37 after three quarters — the Streaks claimed a 61-60 edge on a Jessica Lieber drive with 47.7 seconds left in the game.

Rock Island called a timeout with 35.4 seconds remaining and ran down the clock until a jump ball stopped play with :12.8 remaining.

The Rocks were awarded possession and worked for the go-ahead shot with Trice getting two close-range chances in a crowd under the left side of the Rock Island basket as the clocked ticked down. As her second miss rolled away, Galesburg’s Rainee Sibley picked up the loose ball as the buzzer sounded.

“Myra (Diggins) and I just went straight up and tried to get her off her shot,” said Hamilton, who helped defend Trice. “We just contested the shot a little bit. We didn’t foul her.”

Rock Island coach Thad Hoover obviously didn’t agree. He was still tossing equipment bags around on the team bench five minutes after the game ended.

“We did everything we could do,” he said.

“We shot two layups. We’re point blank. We can’t get better than that.

“All I know is if it’s down there,” he said nodding to Galesburg’s end of the floor, “it’s a foul.”

“What we wanted to do in that last 12 seconds was limit them to one shot,” said Galesburg coach Evan Massey. “They’re so good on the offensive boards and so physical. I’m not sure in the last four minutes how many scores they had that weren’t off offensive rounds.

He added, “We didn’t get the first rebound so it made it more dramatic than it needed to be.”

Galesburg was led by Sharron Diggins’ 20 points, 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter. She played the entire eight minutes with four fouls and hit 8 of 12 free throws in the period.

“(Assistant) coach (Mike) Rux was talking to her before she went in and he must have asked her 10 times, ‘Can you play the whole fourth quarter without fouling?’ Massey said.

“Like all kids, she lied and said, yes. But she came up big.”

Lieber scored 19 points and Hamilton had 11 for the Streaks.

Shavonne Brewer’s 19 points led Rock Island. Sarita Goldsmith had 16.

The Streaks made just 5 of 31 3-pointers in the game on 18-for-51 shooting overall but made just 10 turnovers, including only one in the fourth quarter.

Rock Island turned the ball over 25 times.

Galesburg will host Bloomington in a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday before closing out its WB6 schedule at United Township next Thursday. Rock Island finishes its conference schedule at Moline and with Quincy.

Streaks Beat Rocky in Thriller

2012-01-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

From the Argus....

By Marc Nesseler, nesseler@qconline.com

GALESBURG – The last 12.8 seconds that decided the Western Big 6 Conference first-place girls' basketball battle between state-ranked Rock Island and Galesburg was must-see thrilling.

If only Galesburg guards Sharron Diggins and Rainey Sibley could remember seeing the action that gave the Class 3A 8th-ranked Silver Streaks the 61-60 win over the 9th-ranked Rocks.

"I don't even remember what happened. All I remember is coming down with the ball" right before the final buzzer sounded, said Sibley.

"I was all messed up," said Diggins, who, with four fouls, scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. "I was trying not to foul at the end and, honestly, I thought they were calling it Rocky's ball at the end."

The way it ended didn't sit well with Rocky coach Thad Hoover, whose Rocks fall a half-game behind the Streaks in the WB6, RI with three games left and the Streaks with two.

The Rocks had leading scorer Shavonne Brewer (19 points) with the ball in the right corner, but she was heavily guarded. Brewer cross-courted it to Harmonee Trice, who missed a close-ranger, got the rebound and couldn't get the putback. That rebound fell into Sibley's hands.

"We had two layups, you saw it. You can't get better than that, you can't get any closer," Hoover said. "All I know is, if it's down there (at the Streaks' end), it's a foul."

Neither Sibley nor Diggins could recall the defensive strategy to allow the Streaks (22-5, 6-3 in the WB6) to protect their precarious one-point lead. Galesburg coach Evan Massey, though, knows that it didn't quite work out the way they had hoped.

"We wanted to limit them to one shot," Massey said. "They are just so good on the offensive boards. Unfortunately, we didn't get the first rebound, so it got more dramatic there at the end."

The finish means the final weeks are going to be more of the same fasten-your-seatbelts drama.

"We did everything we could do," said Hoover, whose Rocks are now 18-6, 5-3.

The leaders for both teams did everything they could. For the Rocks, Sarita Goldsmith backed Brewer with a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds. Shamell Mangrum and Rayven Morrow had eight boards apiece, and Trice had seven in a reserve role.

For the Streaks, Jessica Lieber and Sadee Hamilton joined Diggins in double figures with 16 and 11 respectively. Hamilton had nine boards.

"We knew this was for first," said Diggins. "We talked about it before the game, how hard we had to play."

With the Streaks trailing 49-48, Diggins scored six straight points to give Galesburg a big five-point lead. The Rocks, though, battled back and took the lead on an unusual four-play play -- a 3-pointer by Raquel Garcia and a split of two free throws by Trice, who was fouled away from the ball on the shot.

Lieber made a basket, but missed the and-one, with 44 seconds left, setting the stage for the Rocks' last-gasp try.

UT over Alleman

2012-01-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

From Argus....

Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

United Township's seniors crashed the party Thursday night at Don Morris Gym on Alleman's senior night, leading the Panthers to a critical 52-42 victory.

An hour away, Galesburg was helping the Panthers as now there's a virtual 4-way tie for the lead in the Western Big 6 Conference girls basketball race with just two weeks left.

The Streaks' win over Rock Island combined with UT and Moline (over Quincy) winning, all four teams are currently with three losses. Galesburg has a half-game lead and just one game to play.

UT continues to stay in the hunt for the conference championship with just two weeks left.

Alleman fought valiantly, especially considering star forward Cierra Davis will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Pioneers tied the game at 26 midway through the third quarter, but the Panther leaders took it upon themselves to buckle down and put away the game. UT went on a 13-2 run and from there, Alleman never got closer than 6 points in the waning seconds.

"I was getting nervous when they tied it up, because we all knew that we have to win every game if we want a chance at the Western Big 6," UT senior guard Abby VanDeventer said. "We buckled down and got some easy baskets and that calmed us down."

MiKayla Fallon, a UT senior, led all scorers with 17, as her 10-point third led the Panthers to the crucial win. The other Panther seniors did their part, too. VanDeventer scored 11 points and was tenacious on the defensive end, forcing her share of Alleman's 24 turnovers. Halle Lewis led UT with 6 rebounds and also scored 8 points. Kiana Brady and Autumn Vergeyle each had moments of stellar play.

"The difference in the game was really the way they got offense from their defense," Alleman coach Jay Hatch said. "They are really good in those 2-on-1s and 3-on-2s."

The Pioneers got another big night from Zoe Kelso, 24 points, and will be leaning heavily toward her scoring with Davis out. The seven Alleman seniors who took the court played strong with Paige Taghon leading the way with five first-half rebounds. Taylor Johnson filled up the stat sheet with a pair of steals, an assist and three points.

Alleman has now lost seven of its last eight and will likely drop out of the state's 2A poll for the first time this season.

With just two conference games remaining for the Pioneers, time is short on finding enough victories. Still, the Pioneers should feel confident the way the bench responded in Davis' absence.

"We got better tonight," Hatch said. "I would have liked a win, too, but UT is trying to win, too."

The Panthers, though, continue to play themselves into conference contention.

"Nothing's a guarantee, and when you're down 1-3 in the conference you can't afford to look ahead because a loss means you're done," UT coach Justin Shiltz said. "We are just trying to take care of what we can control, and we did that tonight."

For this Panther senior class, the timing couldn't be better. As several of them are 3-year starters, they've seen Moline win every WB6 crown, waiting for their chance to take the top honors. They have two tests left, and after next week's game against Quincy, the finale versus those Maroons could be for the Big 6 crown.

Moline Beat Quincy

2012-01-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

From the Argus....

By Terry Duckett, tduckett@qconline.com

Moline coach Steve Ford maintains that the Western Big 6 Conference girls' basketball title race isn't a subject of conversation in his team's locker room.

But after the Maroons weathered a sluggish start Thursday evening to score a 48-39 victory over Quincy at Wharton Field House, the buzz about a potential conference championship could be increasing in the days to come.

The win by Moline (16-10), coupled with league leader Rock Island's loss at Galesburg and United Township's win at Alleman, means the Maroons are in a three-way tie for second place with the Rocks and Panthers at 5-3, a half-game behind the first-place Silver Streaks.

Even with a huge WB6 showdown looming Thursday night at Wharton against Rock Island, Ford insists that improvement is the main focus for his club.

"We just feel that we've got to worry about ourselves,'' he said. "We're not even talking about a Big 6 title. We've just got to take care of ourselves and make sure we're playing our best basketball as the final stretch of the season approaches.''

When Thursday's game commenced, the Maroons were stretched to the limit by an improving Quincy team that has now lost 24 straight in the league. At first, it seemed the Blue Devils were primed to break that skid, leaping to a 12-4 lead after the first quarter.

"I don't think Quincy gets the credit they deserve,'' Ford stated. "They're a very good team, and I'm glad we're by them now. They're a team that's going to make some noise.''

With junior guard Araiya Dade scoring seven of her team-best 12 points in the first half, Quincy continued to bedevil the Maroons, eventually stretching its lead to 21-12 on a Taylor Eisenberg 3-pointer with 43 seconds left before halftime. However, a trey by Moline's Sanela Causevic with 16 seconds on the clock and an Emily Knight free throw closed the gap to 21-16 by the half.

Causevic's late trey triggered a big third quarter for the 5-foot-6 senior, who hit two more 3-balls and scored eight points in the third quarter to spark a 12-2 run that helped Moline take a 34-30 lead into the final period. She led all scorers with 15 points.

"Before we began the game, Kylie (Romeo) told us that if the shots didn't go in, to just keep our heads up,'' she said. "We kind of had a letdown at the beginning, but we had to pick it up as a team. Myself, after I missed my first few shots, I went to the sidelines, and the coaches told me to not over think it, to just go with the flow.''

A three-point play by the Blue Devils' Jordan Fletcher (nine points, nine rebounds) cut Moline's lead to 36-35 early in the fourth. The hosts then reeled off eight straight points, then secured the win by hitting 12 of 13 free throws down the stretch. Romeo (13 points, seven rebounds) hit six straight, and teammate Tiana McCormick (seven points, seven boards) hit four in a row.

"Next, we're going to focus on Saturday at Peoria, then focus on Senior Night with Rock Island, our biggest rival,'' said Causevic. "Right now, we're just trying to win, game by game.''

IHSA Instructions

2012-01-26T06:25:00.000-08:00

Two interesting things in how the IHSA has us seed for basketball.
1- Downstate teams play in a Regional format, while Chicago area schools play in a Sectional format. So we seed only the Regional teams, while Chicago seeds the entire Sectional. Coaches claim that girls and boys basketball are the only tourneys in America in which the tourney format is different for different competitors.

2- Seeding is done over the internet. Here are the instructions coaches are asked to follow:

"You should determine your seeds based on these factors: Head-to-head victories, record against common opponents, and the total won-lost record. These factors have not been prioritized. You should not consider strength of schedule or conference affiliation when seeding. The IHSA reserves the right to throw out ballots that deviate significantly from the consensus.

I highlighted the one part. Are you aware of any tourney or bowl system that says to ignore strength of schedule? The NCAA has made a big deal about punishing teams who do not play competitive schedules. Interesting.

Argus WB6 Preview- Jan 26

2012-01-25T20:28:00.000-08:00

"Streaks bid for their

conference-record

14th league crown"

By Dan Tomlin, dtomlin@qconline.com

Every season has its ups and downs, and this year is no different in the race for the Western Big 6 girls' basketball crown. While some teams are peaking and experiencing heights, others aren't feeling so lucky.

Trending up is United Township, as they jumped to No. 10 in the state's latest poll, and haven't lost a conference game since the calendar turned over. Wins over Moline, Quincy and Rock Island have jumped the Panthers back into conference contention.

Alleman is heading the other direction, especially after the loss to Peoria Notre Dame. Losing to their diocesan foe wasn't the worst part of Saturday. The Pioneers lost star forward Cierra Davis to a knee injury that will sideline her the rest of the season.

"Someone will have to fill her spot and fortunately, because of the way we play, it will be someone who has played a lot," Alleman coach Jay Hatch said. "Everyone is disappointed for Cierra, but we have to go on and the kids understand that as well. It's next person up."

The Pioneers have lost six of their last seven games after having won 10-of-12 before that.

The conference continues to be strong state-wide as two-thirds of the conference was ranked in the top 10 of their respective class in the Associated Press' poll. Galesburg (3A) and Alleman (2A) are the highest ranked of the teams at 8th in both polls. The Rocks stayed in the 3A rankings thanks to the win over Geneseo, sitting at No. 9, with United Township cracking the top 10 in 4A at No. 10.

- Rock Island (18-5, 5-2 WB6) at Galesburg (21-4, 5-3 WB6): Game of the year? Maybe. The Silver Streaks have the ball in their court if they want to play for a share of the conference title next Thursday. Then again, if the Rocks win, they can ensure that the Streaks bid for their conference-record 14th league crown doesn't happen.

United Township (17-9, 4-3 WB6) at Alleman (16-12, 4-4 WB6): It's senior night for the Pioneers, and for the eight Alleman seniors, it's a chance to play spoiler for United Township. Jenna Zmuda, Josie Beckwith, Taylor Johnson, Paige Taghon and Ellen Kaschke will get the starting nod in their final WB6 home game, while Margaret Wendell and MaryAnne McLaughlin will be the first ones off the bench.

"We may not win the conference, but we still have a say in who does," Hatch said. "United Township is playing a lot better. There was a reason they were the preseason conference favorites and they're playing like it now."

The Panthers are playing with a lot of well-deserved confidence. They cracked the top 10 in 4A for the first time since the preseason poll, and there's no room for error with three games left and trailing the Rocks by a game. No road games are easy in the Western Big 6; tonight is no difference.

Quincy (8-9, 0-7 WB6) at Moline (15-10, 4-3 WB6): The Maroons are hosting the Blue Devils, who are still trying to spoil anyone's fun that they can. Last week, Galesburg went down to Quincy and was trailing in the fourth quarter before pulling out the road win. The Blue Devils have a signature win against the formerly top-10 ranked East St. Louis. Moline needs this win to keep pace with United Township and set up their own showdown next week with the WB6-leading Rocks.

Western Big 6 scoring leaders (top 10): 1, Jessica Leiber, GHS, 18.3; 2, MiKayla Fallon, UT, 14.1; 3, Kylie Romeo, Mol, 14.0; 4, Sharon Diggins, GHS, 12.4; T-5, Shavonne Brewer, RI, 12.1; T-5, Aray'ia Dade, QHS, 12.1; 7, Sarita Goldsmith, RI, 11.8; 8, Cierra Davis, All, 11.6; 9, Tiana McCormick, Mol, 10.7; 10, Zoe Kelso, All, 10.6.

Peoria Area Results

2012-01-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

From Wednesday in the Journal Star....

Richwoods completed its Mid-State 6 Conference season without a loss Tuesday after a 63-51 win over at Notre Dame. Brenna Detra scored 23 points to lead the Knights (21-3, 6-0) and Maggie Cunningham (14 points) was 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. Hannah Wallace led ND (9-14, 1-3) with 11.

CENTRAL 35 MANUAL 32 (OT): The Lions won their second in a row. Deionna Williams tied it for the Rams with 10.4 seconds left. Jemia Carpenter led Central (15-8, 3-2) with 14 points and Williams led the Rams with 11.

DUNLAP 41, METAMORA 34: The Eagles hit 16 free throws in the second half for the Mid-Illini win. Lexi Hobbs scored 15 points to lead Dunlap and Kylie Samp had 10 for the Redbirds.

CANTON 48, EAST PEORIA 42: Kelsie Fletcher scored 23 points to lead Canton, which had an 18-9 edge in the fourth quarter and has won two in a row. Kylie Giebelhausen had 11 for EP.

PEKIN 49, WASHINGTON 38: Kelsi Rogers (15 points), Maddi Carr (13) and Katie Powell (10) paced the Dragons. Emily Heuermann had 11 for the Panthers.

Lynn Mueller- Knox Senior Adjusting to System

2012-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Four years ago Bill Allison told me the women’s basketball team was going to be really good. His reasoning was that Knox had successfully recruited a player from Downers Grove South. And as Bill explained to me, all the great athletes in Knox history came from Downers Grove. (He happens to be from Downers Grove, not sure if at his age if he can remember if it was North or South)

Lynn Mueller is a senior from Downers Grove South on the Knox women’s basketball team. She is a 5’6” guard. She is a great athlete, excelling in both basketball and track.

I wondered how seniors would react going to the System. It would be a pretty dramatic change to go through your last year. In my opinion, the System is great for Lynn- it allows her to do what she does best- scramble and play hard.

Alan Stein, the basketball training guru, talks about players being either energy givers or energy takers. A player is never neutral, they either thru their actions, behavior, verbals, and play energize their team or they are a drag on their team.

When you are not at practices and when you are not in the locker room it is risky to make judgments about team chemistry and player roles. But from my observation of the Knox team, Lynn is a player that all of us would want for a teammate. It is a given she will play hard. But she is never neutral when on the bench, she seems to be the first up when a teammate does something positive. She is positive and supportive.

So I think it is interesting to find out how a senior reacts to such a dramatic change.

How did Coach Cline break the news that she was thinking about going to the System?

When we first talked about the system, Coach had kind of mentioned it to a few people on the team in individual meetings. However, she kind of broke the news to the group at a team dinner/meeting at the end of the school year last year.

What was your initial reaction? I got the impression that many of you were lukewarm about things- accurate?

At first, I think the team was pretty in the middle with it. To begin, I think everyone thought we were just going to do the Grinnell system. Mind you, this came out right after we had heard talk about the three point line for girls being moved back to the guys line. I personally felt like it was going to be great because my style of basketball is very similar to that of the system in terms of the run and gun type of ideal as well as tough, trapping defense. The team overall seemed to be interested in the idea completely but I am sure there were doubts.

You lost some tough early games, did make you question things?

I don't think that it questioned things as much as it was just frustrating that we weren't getting the results that we wanted. I think we all had a crazy faith and belief in the system after our scrimmage where we won 104 to 60 something but then got completely discouraged when the score was reversed for our first game. So, it was a matter of figuring out what we had to do each game in order to win the game. Yet, until recently, we didn't really know what that felt like on a consistent basis.

Now your team seems so into things, do you think there was a point for you or for the team when you were won over by the style?

As I kind of mentioned, before winter break it was just disappointment after disappointment and I think everyone was frustrated. Yet, we came back after winter break and were more ready than ever to push and work hard to get the results that we have been waiting for. I think once we started playing as a team in order to reach the team goals, we all completely know its doing its job right now.

What is the most frustrating thing about running the System?

I think the most frustrating thing is just the fact that its so anti-traditional basketball in some areas. I mean, we are taught in our system to force them to shoot quickly when in traditional games, it may not have been the same. However, in order to create the tempo, we have to give up some of those easy baskets. Plus, I think another frustrating thing for us right now is when we are not making our threes, we have to find other ways to score and when that isn't going right, it seems like we are just running up and down having them shoot lay ups and us try to get a shot off quickly. However, I think we are working through that better now.

What has been the best part of running the System?

I think the best part is the feeling we get when everything goes right. I mean, who doesn't love to score 100 points in a game?? When we all play together and then get steals and great traps on defense and then go and score a three or a lay up, the gym goes crazy and so do we. It’s an unbelievable feeling when it all comes together. Typically, girls basketball is slow and can be boring, I'll be the first to say.. but playing this system is definitely the most fun I have ever had playing basketball.

What has been the most exciting moment for you so far?

I think the Beloit game just this past weekend was one of the most exciting moments. We were down by eleven at half time and then came back and played the game of our lives in the second half. We still made mistakes but I have never had more fun with my entire team like I did during that game and the game that we beat Carroll at home. It is just a blast.

I am sure you have been part of many winning lockerooms. How was the lockeroom after you scored 114 points and won back to back conference games?

We were thrilled. We have not really ever done that where we won two conference games in a weekend. It was such a great feeling and really made us realize that we are capable of being competitors in this conference. We have always said that we are almost there or we are right there but now we can say that we are finally here. And we are only going up from here.

If Coach Cline told you that she was going back to traditional basketball- how would the players react?

I think some players might be okay with it considering it is what they have always known but I definitely think that most of our team would fight to keep the system alive and working. I think that since we have so many underclassmen, they have an opportunity to really be great no matter what type of basketball they play. It would definitely change the amount of playing time people would get so I doubt that too many people would be strongly for switching back to traditional.

Do you think this will help with recruiting?

Absolutely. I think giving incoming freshmen the opportunity to play right away is something that definitely helps with recruiting. What freshman wants to come to a school where they won't get to play very much that first year, especially in d3? I also think that this system is so different and fun and I think that most people would definitely like to give it a shot.

So far how does this season rank with your other sports experiences?

At first, I have to say that I was not happy with the season. However, now, I am just playing basketball for the love of the game and for my teammates. I am definitely thankful that I have had the opportunity to play the system at least once in my basketball career. I wish that I would have had more preparation for it, though, so that my teammates and I could have gotten the results we wanted much earlier. But, I don't think that I would trade having the ability to play basketball for anything. After being injured last season four games in with my ACL and then spraining my MCL and tearing almost all the cartilage behind my knee cap in pre season this year, I am just very thankful and blessed to be able to play basketball again, even if its for only another month.

Thursday- Streaks vs. #1 Rocky

2012-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we host Rock Island for a big conference matchup. Rock Island started the season as preseason favorite with UT. Rocky enters in first place at 5-2, and Galesburg enters in second at 5-3. It looks to be a GREAT high school atmosphere!! Come on out.

Sophs at 5:30, Varsity at 7:00pm.

We always have nice crowds but a conference Thursday with a chance to take over first- it will be really big!!