1973 & 1974 Streaks Girls Basketball: First Teams and First Undefeated Seasons

Galesburg’s first girls basketball team- 1972-3 season. 

Galesburg High School first played interscholastic basketball in the 1972-3 school year. Galesburg girls basketball roared out to a great start. Although they played a limited schedule, GHS was undefeated during their first two seasons. 

1972-3-  4-0

GHS 84  Monmouth 21

GHS 54  UTHS 34

GHS 57  Rock Island 34

GHS 61  Moline 48

GHS’s 2nd girls basketball team- 1973-4

1973-4-  6-0

GHS 58  UTHS 20

GHS 66  Rock Island 33

GHS 41  UTHS 35

GHS 62  Macomb 38

GHS 73  Macomb 46

GHS 32  Rock Island 28

The first basketball teams were coached by Terry Swackhamer. Coach Swackhamer coached the field hockey team in the Fall, volleyball in late Fall, and then basketball in the Winter. 

Jodi Prina- went onto CSC & U. Of Illinois

Some of the key players on those early basketball teams were Mary Padilla, Jodi Prina, Debbie Patty, and Carol Mueller. Padilla, Prina, Patty, and Mueller went onto be instrumental in leading Carl Sandburg College to the Juco State Championship in 1976. 

Jodie Prina was the leading scorer on the CSC State Championship team. After CSC, she went on to play for the University of Illinois. 

Prina, Patty, Mueller, and Padilla formed the core GHS’s and CSC’s strong early teams. Patty went onto play professional basketball and Prina went onto play for the University of lllinois. Mueller and Padilla were athletic players who knew the game. 

Carol Mueller Kirkenmeier and Mary Padilla were players on the first two teams at GHS, and they went onto be part of the CSC team that went to Nationals. I reached out to Carol and Mary to ask them to share what those early years were like. 

Massey- With little in the way of organized youth basketball and no junior high basketball for girls, what were your first experiences playing basketball?

Carol- I played with the boys in the neighborhood at a dead end road. There were not too many opportunities back then. 

Mary- Playing with my 2 brothers wherever we could find a basketball court. In 9th grade PE class, someone told me 'too bad there's not a girls basketball team, cause you should be on it.'

Carol Mueller and Debbie Patty.

Massey- Do you remember in junior high thinking or wishing there would be a girls basketball team in the schools? Do you remember your reaction when you first heard GHS would have a basketball team?

Carol- I didn’t think about it coming to the high school to be able to play ball. I was excited when I heard about it. 

Mary- I never thought I'd get a chance to play organized basketball. It was right before my sophomore year that title IX was passed so I was very excited and nervous to try out for the team. 

Massey- Today’s athletes and many people probably think that girls basketball was started and it just took off- it was just like today. What do you remember about those first years?

Carol- We had tryouts. Jodi Prina and Debbie Patty were probably our best players. We practiced after school. I felt we were always treated well. We were a winning team. 

Mary- We only had one uniform. Practices were held at Hitchcock. Our family and friends were the only ones who attended games. We were lucky to have 25 people in the stands. Couldn't believe we were getting play against other teams. 

Frustrated that we didn't get to practice at the high school gym, we had to practice at Hitchcock. Frustrated to think most people didn't even realize that we had a womens basketball team. 

Mary Padilla and Carol Mueller

Massey- What were some of the highlights and your satisfactions as a player?

Carol- I loved playing basketball and I met a lot of good friends.

Mary- Being on the first GHS  women's basketball team. 

Going to Bob Weiss basketball camp with Molly Smith and my team getting first place. Just being part of a special time. I'll never forget my teammates and the memories we made together. Putting on a GHS uniform was/is  one of my proudest accomplishments. 

Mary Padilla

Massey- You had a season but no State Tourney series in those first years. As you saw later Galesburg teams go to State, have you ever thought, “If only we had a State Tourney.”

Carol- We would have gone to State for sure. I love watching GHS girls basketball.

Mary- All the time. Definitely think we would have gone to state. We had a lot of raw talent. 

Carol Mueller

Massey- Terry Swackhamer was your coach. She did it all- field hockey, volleyball, and basketball. What are your memories of her as a coach?

Carol- Terry was a tough coach all around. She was pretty knowledgeable about all the sports. That’s where girls sports has changed to have many coaches. 

Mary- She was a great coach and role model for us. Had a lot of knowledge and gave us confidence to get better. She knew how to get the best out of each player. 

Massey- Would you have a message for today’s athletes?

Carol- I loved playing sports, but I had to remember school was more important. 

Mary- Time goes by so fast. Live in the moment. These will be some of your best memories. Enjoy the ride

It is wonderful that this group of girls in 1972 thru 1974 got to play basketball. It is sad that they only got to play 10 games in the two seasons, and that there was no State Tourney series. 

If these teams and these girls had gotten to play in a different era, I have no doubt that they would be teams that Galesburg would still be talking about.