Jane Miller's Take on Threes

The following was written by Jane Miller in the Journal Star after our Washington game--

GIVING TIME: How do you make a run at the state 3-point record?

Practice, practice, practice.

Galesburg senior Jessica Howard hit 11 3s Tuesday night at Washington — one short of the state record — and scored 37 points. But the preparation for all that started in June.

In the offseason, Howard practices with a piece of equipment called The Gun, which retrieves the ball and returns it so the shooter doesn’t have to chase the rebound.

Galesburg coach Evan Massey said that between June 1 and Nov. 1, Howard made 13,000 shots while using The Gun.

“She’s done that a few times, so it’s nice to see someone who works that hard be rewarded that way,” said Massey.

Howard missed her first 3-pointer Tuesday but didn’t miss many after that.

“The first shot I took was a miss but I just felt like if I kept shooting they would go in — and they kept going in,” said Howard, but she didn’t keep track of how many she had.

“I could tell that it was up there but I didn’t know how many I had until after the game,” she said.

Howard’s talents fit perfectly in Galesburg’s new offensive system, which relies on speed and outside shooting.

“This team was made for it,” she said. “We play so hard and work so hard in the offseason on our shooting.”

Howard said her individual accomplishments are nice, but she enjoys breaking records with the team even more.

“What’s nice is she’s such a humble kid that when somebody has the humility that she has and then has an individual achievement like that, the rest of the team can be excited about that because of her personality,” Massey said.

Journal Star Area Rankings

1- Richwoods  13-2

2- Morton  10-1

3- Galesburg 10-3

4- Central  7-5

5- Limestone  6-3