Game 109
(2/27/10)
Quincy Notre Dame vs. Bloomington Central Catholic (Girl's Basketball)
IHSA Class 2A State Championship
Here it is, the final basketball game in Class 1A/2A girl's basketball for 2009-10, hard to believe. In my next blog, I will highlight each class of girls at the state tournament, giving you my all-tournament teams by class (freshman, sophomore, etc.) for 1A & 2A.
Talking with the Quincy Herald-Whig's David Adam before the game, he mentioned the success and talent the girls in the junior high level have coming up into the program over the next few years, and says they have a legitimate shot to return to Redbird Arena and be a favorite the next few seasons.
Both squads have a glut of postseason experience in their school histories. QND is looking to win their third state title in school history, making their 7th state finals appearance. The Raiders have won a total of five trophies, winning back-to-back state championships (1982-83 & 1983-84), a 2nd place finish (1980-81), a 3rd place finish (1981-82) and a 4th place finish (2007-08). In total, QND has won 22 Regional championships, and 11 Sectional titles.
Bloomington Central Catholic is making their fourth appearance in the state finals, and their highest finish came with a 4th place trophy in (1982-83). The Saints have won 20 Regional titles, and 8 Sectional championships. Over the past two years, BCC enters this game with a (60-2) record. They were upset in last year's Sectional championship to Tolono Unity.
The Raiders have both experience and youth in their lineup with first team All-Stater Karlee Gengenbacher bringing in (23.3 ppg), with her younger sister Kassidy (Freshman) also in the starting lineup with classmate Jordan Frericks (6'0" freshman) also a starter. The rest of the rotation are two seniors (Claire Obert & Leigh McLaughlin). As a matter of fact, word from Quincy is that there are a total of 13 Gengenbacher granddaughters, and Karlee is the OLDEST! Sounds like we may be ushering in the Gengenbacher Era in high school girl's basketball. Thanks to David Adam for that nugget of information.
After scoring all eight points for the Raiders the night before, Karlee Gengenbacher looked to do the same tonight, taking over the game and scoring the team's first six points. She would finish with eight points after the first quarter, but the Raiders gave up 25 points to Central Catholic. The Saints stifling defense forced QND into 10 first quarter turnovers.
Allie Norton, the junior that won the Class 2A three-point contest, picked up where she left off, burning the nets from the perimeter. Norton knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter. Jess Reinhart was dominating down low, getting six points in the paint for BCC.
Quincy Notre Dame started to make a little run in the second quarter, holding that potent Saints offense to just seven points, while scoring 12 points and cutting the deficit down to eight points at halftime.
In the third quarter, it was a battle, with Karlee Gengenbacher exploding for nine more points in the frame, and entered the fourth quarter with 23 points, one shy of her game-high this season. Midway through the third quarter, on a fast break off of a Saints turnover, Leigh McLaughlin raced down the floor, then attempted a jump stop. With the momentum, she landed poorly on an ankle and came up in immediate pain. She tried to stay on the floor, but couldn't put much pressure on it. The Quincy Notre Dame trainer pulled her out of the game, and as she sat on the QND bench, she was grimacing in severe pain. With the look on her face, I didn't think we would see McLaughlin back in the game, which would be a serious blow to the Raiders, especially as their defense was starting to punish BCC.
As the game wore on, neither team was handling the ball well. In fact, the Raiders finished with 25 turnovers, and the Saints coughed it up 23 times. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, McLaughlin went down into the tunnel to the locker room, and appeared to try to walk off the injury. She would re-enter the game and start the fourth quarter, as QND was trailing 47-37.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Gengenbacher came crashing into press row, nearly taking out my laptop and the Statview screen in front of me. I was able to pull down the laptop, and then had to save the Statview screen from getting knocked over. A listener in our chat room commented that the play was really loud. That's because the crowd microphone was a mere four feet away from the "crash site" right on the table.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Karlee Gengenbacher picked up her fifth and final foul, wrapping up her high school career with a season-high 25 points in a state championship game. She also added 7 steals, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. With her on the bench, QND continued to mount a comeback, and closed the game as close as three points (57-54), but Ms. Clutch, Allie Norton delivered two free throws, and the Saints cruised on for a 63-58 win.
Norton would score a game-high 27 points, including hitting five three-pointers and going (4-4) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Norton added 7 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds. Jess Reinhart had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals for the state champion Bloomington Central Catholic Saints.
It's not too often you see a high school basketball broadcaster get asked for their autograph, but that's exactly what happened as the media on press row was packing up. Of course, it's also not too often that a high school basketball announcer is an Olympics Bronze Medal winning volleyball player. Caren Kemner is the color analyst for Quincy Notre Dame girl's basketball on AM 930 WTAD. Kemner won a bronze medal for Team USA in the 1992 Barcelona Games, and was also an Olympian in the 1988 Seoul Games and the 1996 Atlanta Games. She is also the volleyball coach at Quincy Notre Dame. Kemner signed a pair of shoes for two little girls at the end of the state championship game.
With the clock approaching 10:30 p.m. I decided to get a late dinner, via McDonalds. I promised myself this would be my last fast food for a long time, as I have punished my body with high fast and sodium over the past three days. On the menu was a couple double cheeseburgers and fries.
Driving back through Fulton County, it was past midnight and the deer were out! My first near run-in happened on a backroad between Farmington and Fairview (my short cut back to Macomb). There were at least 8 deer that I could see, and luckily I avoided them. I would also encounter deer in three other locations driving through the county along Route 9. Don't deer know that nothing good can happen when you're out after midnight!?!
The Quest File Notes
Game 112
Date: 2/27/10
Result: Bloomington Central Catholic wins their first-ever state championship with a 64-58 win over Quincy Notre Dame.
Miles: 105
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