From the start of the season, thru the regular season, thru the post season, and even today, the 2000 Streaks may have been and are still one of the most overlooked Streaks teams. After a tremendous run by the Streaks from 1995 thru 1999, many fans and many opponents felt like this might be a “down” year.
Obviously it was not a “down” year for the Streaks. In 2000, the Streaks went 34-4, won the WB6, ranked #2 in Illinois, and finished 4th in State.
To understand the 2000 team, we have to go back and look at the build up and the development of the core players.
Build Up To 2000
1997- 33-2, WB6-1st, State Rank-#2, State Finish-4th
Starters- Molly Watson (19.5ppg), Melanie Pendergrass 11.0ppg), Jessica Thompson (7.5ppg), Sarah Larson (9.4ppg), Angie Galyean (7.0ppg)
Top Subs- Meg Sherwood (3.0ppg), Megan Pacheco (Fr-6.3ppg), Danielle Murfin
Tourney Team- Leslie Gumm, Jaque Howard Fr, Michelle Flaar Fr, Whitney Snyder Fr, Jenny Zolper, Katie McCants.
Games Played- Megan Pacheco 35, Jaque Howard 25, Michelle Flaar 23, Whitney Snyder 21.
1998- 27-6, WB6-2nd, State Rank-#14, State Finish-Elite 8
Starters- Sarah Larson (19.9ppg), Megan Pacheco (So- 15.9ppg), Jaque Howard (So- 7.9ppg), Michelle Flaar (So- 5.6ppg), Jenny Zolper (6.2ppg)
Top Subs- Whitney Snyder (So- 3.8ppg), Sarah Pacheco (Fr- 3.6ppg), Rachel Bicego (Fr- 2.2ppg), Ashley Shepherd (Fr- 3.2ppg)
Tourney Team- Katie McGunnigal, Hilary Hennefent, Stacy Boettcher So, Mary Lindstrom So, Michelle Mundy So, Kimi Peck So.
Games Played- Megan Pacheco 33, Jaque Howard 33, Michelle Flaar 33, Whitney Snyder 33. Rachel Bicego 27, Stacy Boettcher 13, Mary Lindstrom 5, Sarah Pacheco 11, Kimi Peck 13, Ashley Shepherd 13, Michelle Mundy 6.
1999- 33-2, WB6-1st, State Rank-#2, State Finish-2nd
Starters- Sarah Larson (22.6ppg), Megan Pacheco (Jr- 11.9ppg), Jaque Howard (Jr- 8.3ppg), Whitney Snyder (Jr- 8.6ppg), Michelle Flaar (Jr- 3.6ppg)
Top Subs- Sarah Pacheco (So- 4.5ppg), Rachel Bicego (So- 4.4ppg), Jenny Zolper (2.4ppg)
Tourney Team- Shannon Williams Fr, Mary Lindstrom Jr, Katie McGunningal, Stacy Boettcher Jr, Shanell Jackson So, Kimi Peck Jr, Ashley Shepherd So, Michelle Mundy Jr
Games Played- Megan Pacheco 34, Jaque Howard 35, Michelle Flaar 35, Whitney Snyder 35, Rachel Bicego 35, Sarah Pacheco 34, Mary Lindstrom 25, Stacy Boettcher 24, Shannon Williams 10, Shanell Jackson 14, Kimi Peck 23, Michelle Mundy 20
The “Stars” Were Gone
So headed into the 2000 season, there was no Molly Watson or Sarah Larson to lead the Streaks. Both of them had scored around 20ppg, been first team All-Conference, and first team All-State.
It was easy to think that maybe something would be missing with the 2000 team.
Wealth of Experience
Megan Pacheco- 1 yr Regular, 2 Yr Starter, 102 varsity games
Jaque Howard- 2 yr Starter, 93 varsity games
Michelle Flaar- 2 yr Starter, 91 varsity games
Whitney Snyder- 1 yr Regular, 1 Yr Starter, 89 varsity games
Rachel Bicego- 2 yr Regular, 62 varsity games
Sarah Pacheco- 2 yr Regular, 45 varsity games
Ashley Shepherd- 27 varsity game
Kimi Peck— 36 varsity games
Stacy Boettcher- 37 varsity games
Mary Lindstrom- 30 varsity games
Shanell Jackson- 14 varsity games
Michelle Mundy- 26 varsity games
No Silver Streaks girls basketball team has entered a season with more varsity game experience than the 2000 team, and definitely no team has entered a season with more IHSA tourney experience than this group.
The core of seniors- Jaque Howard, Michelle Flaar, Megan Pacheco, and Whitney Snyder had been regulars on 2 or 3 teams who had gone to State. They had been on the varsity all three years as the Streaks went a combined 93-10. Each year, they had played 2-3 weeks longer and 5-6 more games than most players.
Jaque Howard, Michelle Flaar, Megan Pacheco, and Whitney Snyder had all started in the IHSA State Championship game the year before.
The Challenge
2000 was set up to be the toughest schedule the Streaks had ever faced. The schedule was tougher partly out of design, we wanted to play more and more Chicago schools because we felt that was who we would have to beat to succeed at State.
The schedule was tougher also because our success over the previous 5 years made it much tougher to find games. The only downstate teams who would play us were the best teams in the Peoria area. The only teams in Chicago who would play us were teams with very serious programs. The Bloomington tourney wanted to be the best in Illinois, so they brought in very good teams like Chicago Washington, Quincy Notre Dame.
We knew entering the season that we would be playing highly ranked teams like Peoria High, Maine South, Barrington, and Peoria ND.
As it turned out, the 2000 regular season would have 20 games vs State ranked or State mentioned teams.
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