This week’s Massey Quiz is a test of U.S. Presidents and the state they were born in. Some of the early Presidents were born before the U.S. was a nation so you are saying what State it later became.
The answers are at the end of the quiz. Keep track of your score and read exactly what your score indicates.
The Galesburg Girls Basketball team is coming off a great season. The Streaks were 28-5 overall and took second with an 11-3 record in the Western Big Six Conference.
The Streaks five losses were to Quincy, Rock Island, Sterling, Loyola Academy, and Washington.
GHS advanced to the Galesburg Sectional finals where they met the eventual State Champions, Washington. Washington came out on top 61-37 in Thiel Gym.
The Streaks return 4 of 5 starters, as well as 6 of their top 8 players. The team has high goals for the 2026-7 season, and just finished their summer workouts. I asked Coach Lexi Demott for an update how their summer workouts have gone.
Looking back on last season, did you go into this summer with a particular focuses on areas you wanted to improve? How did it go?
This summer was a lot of focusing offensively about taking advantage of what the defense is giving us. We have a lot of great actions, but didn’t always capitalize. We spoke a lot about who we should be reading in sets to tell us who is going to be open. It may sound like something that one would think the kids should know and they do, but things can always be cleaned up. It was very noticeable that the kids were able to apply things by the end of our summer. We also spent time this summer talking/playing with a shot clock.
In conversations with Coach Noonan, there has been a better buy in by all GHS athletes and coaches to the concepts of year ‘round strength training. How has the new weight room, Coach Noonan’s program, and your athletes work ethic impacted them as athletes? Do you see the players becoming stronger and better athletes?
Our basketball athletes have done extremely well in the weight room. They have bought into it being a part of makes them successful. We have had many girls get noticed for how strong they are. It’s also been noticeable in summer games when winning 50/50 balls or getting rebounds.
Coach Noonan pours hours into the weight program at the high school not just for our athletes, but all athletes at the high school. I hope that everyone can continue to appreciate what he does and support him in how he is developing our athletes!
It is a unique situation to have 4 players who are going into their 4th year of varsity basketball. Ella Herchenroder, Joz Kilgore, Taylor Herchenroder, and Grace Herchenroder have been starters and regulars their first three years.
Often athletes going into their senior feel have a greater sense of urgency- “This is my last shot.” How have each of them grown in the four years as players and leaders? What do you hope from them this year?
It is a very unique situation and boy am I thankful for it. They have been a tremendous group of 4 to work with. They all bring their own characteristics, challenges, and skills to our team.
From where they started to where they are it is noticeably evident they have made steps in the right direction. Whether it be basketball IQ, free throw shooting, ball handling, being strong at the rim, becoming better communicators, developing a strong work-ethic, and better teammates they’ve done it.
This summer was big for the 4 of them and they really showed to be veterans on the team. I am excited to continue to help them grow, but also to watch them lead each other and the team as the season goes.
Two other seniors we have on our team are Kalei Rice and Abby Casey. They round out our 6 senior roster this upcoming season. Both of them took advantage of opportunities they were given this summer to compete. Both of them are reasons we have a great culture in our program. As seniors they never once were late, complained, and are always have team first mindsets.
Izzie Kennedy, Zaniyah Carter, and Ellie Johnson will be juniors. They have practiced with the varsity since they were freshmen. Carter has been a regular two years and Johnson was last year. What roles do you hope they can fill?
Carter has continually grown each summer and each season with us. This past off-season she has got so much stronger. She plays much stronger and has proven to have the ability to take others off the bounce. She’s developed a pull up jumper and still continuing to work to be a knock down 3pt shooter.
Johnson brings something unique to our team as she finds the ball extremely well off the glass, but can’t leave her on the arc as she can shoot it. This summer for her was a big one. I am confident that where she ended with us she will continue to grow. We are excited about where she is headed.
Kennedy brings a spark to our team on the defensive end. She brings a quickness that many would love to have. She can get up in other guards and just cause them problems. She has also proven to be a spot up shooter for us. We are excited to watch her grow her game on both ends of the floor this season with more experience on the court as well.
Who are other players you had with the varsity this summer?
This summer we also had 2 sophomores with us, Janyah Ferguson and Tamryn Davis. They each have different skills, but brought great things to our team. As a sophomore being brought to Varsity camp and games it can be intimidating. The game is faster and kids are stronger. Neither of them batted an eye about what was being asked of them. They played hard and were never scared to ask questions if they were confused.
You have been an aggressive defense, pressing full court. Will fans see any difference in your style this coming year?
Fans can expect to see the same fast paced pressing Streaks as they have seen in the past. We really want to control the pace of the game this upcoming season especially with the shot clock in play. We have some things we have been working on to help with that.
You were very busy in June, you went to four different tourneys or camps- Morris, Batavia, the Wisconsin Dells, and Purdue. How did these go for the girls?
Our 4 summer trips were amazing. There was a lot of team bonding and competing. This group has high goals so we wanted to make sure as coaches we did what we could this summer to start working towards those. We wanted to make a summer schedule that was going to challenge them, but also allow them to be kids that love the game. I felt we did a great job of that.
It was never about winning or losing, but consistency. We were consistent this summer in our approach and where we wanted to grow, by the end of the summer us as coaches saw that pay off. Each trip we took we got better at things as a team. We saw more leadership come and better basketball played because of it.
In a “Way Too Early” look at the WB6 and the girls bb teams in the area, who will be some of the strongest teams?
I think the obvious will be Quincy. Two division 1 players on that team will be tough to stop. I got to see Moline at our Summer League this summer. Coach Morel has things moving in the right direction over there. Rocky has Combs back and Coach Hall will have them ready to play.
Washington may have a new coach, but they will still be a tough team with Kate McDougall leading the way. Metamora returns multiple of their players from last season as well.
Are there any changes in this year’s schedule?
There are some changes to the schedule. Our Thanksgiving Shootout has become a popular event this year. We have Dunlap, Metamora, Washington (State champs in 3a last season), Glenwood (runner-up in 3a last season), Morton, Springfield, Abingdon-Avon, Marmion Academy, Wethersfield, and Loyola (runner-up in 4a last season). We are looking forward to competing right out of the gate. We will be making a trip to Camp Point to open the season, but then have a double header to open up play at Thiel on the 21st. We have also added Freeport to our schedule.
