Game 71: Galesburg vs. Rantoul (Girl's Basketball)

Game 71
Galesburg vs. Rantoul (Girl's Basketball)
Charleston Holiday Tournament
(12/28/10)

After lunch, Jimmie and I had some time before getting over to Charleston High School. He used my laptop to catch up on emails and such, and I returned to my room, watched ESPN and read the newspaper.



When we met up to head over to the high school, Jimmie "accidentally" left up our fantasy football league page. In our league, it WAS a tight race at the top for the league championship. Coming into the week, league commissioner David Klockenga (former voice of Silver Streaks girl's basketball) had a 9-5-1 record, with former Galesburg radio man John Raymond and I tied for 2nd place at 9-6.

This week's matchup had Jimmie and I battling it out, and his 6-9 record is irrelevant for a title in the league, but he was playing spoiler...and knocked me out of contention. No thanks to my New York Giants defense...scoring 0 fantasy points. At least I started Matt Ryan over Eli Manning at Quarterback, however Ryan tallied a paltry 8 points against the Saints.

Leading up to Tuesday's Vikings/Eagles game, Jimmie had me down by 29 points. However, Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, and Eagles Tight End Brent Celek were all in my starting lineup. Needless to say, Jimmie spoiled my fantasy season, and I had to endure the pain of losing with Jimmie, Jim Wyman, and Brad Bennewitz, watching The Eagles/Vikings game at Buffalo Wild Wings later that night.

We arrived at Baker Gymnasium well ahead of schedule, beating both teams (Galesburg and Rantoul), and everyone else, outside of a few tournament workers. That's my style, no need to hang out in a hotel room and watch TV. I'd rather get comfortable and familiar with the gym, and prepare for the broadcast, than worry about rushing and getting broadcast space.

Merv Baker was an Illinois coaching legend, and racked up 557 basketball coaching wins in his career. Along with his long stint in Charleston, Baker coached at Dupo, Findlay, and Bradley. Baker was also a four-sport standout at Eastern Illinois University. He was also a football coach and was a head coach at Charleston from 1953-1970, and after his coaching career ended, he spent two decades as the school's athletic director. His son, Ken Baker, is an NFL replay official. Merv Baker passed away in 2009 at the age of 92.

Just 8 hours after tipping off their record setting performance against Paris, the Silver Streaks were back at it. Their opponent, Rantoul, has struggled this season, to say the least. The Lady Eagles are 0-13 coming in.

The Galesburg game plan is altered for this game, using a 15-girl rotation instead of the typical 12-girl rotation. It's funny how most P.A. announcers give up on naming the Silver Streak substitutions. The announcer at Charleston High School, just announced, "Galesburg line change."

Maybe it was the Wii Dance Off the girls had the night before, the shots were falling for the girls today. After hitting 21 three-pointers in the morning, it rained three's in the afternoon against Rantoul. Galesburg went 7-15 from outside the three-point line....in the FIRST QUARTER! By halftime, that number had jumped to 13-35.

Rantoul really struggled in the first quarter. Galesburg's pressing defense forced 17 turnovers in the first eight minutes, and the Silver Streaks led 31-2 after one quarter. The press was lifted after that, and Rantoul only had three turnovers in the second quarter.

At halftime, Galesburg led 51-14, and the Streaks played less girls in the second half. The sophomores saw a bulk of the playing time, with the seniors and the "first unit" not playing much, if at all, in the second half. Galesburg did not take any inside shots in the second half, only shooting three-pointers, taking time off the clock, and setting back in a 2-3 zone defense.

Galesburg hit the 21st three-pointer midway through the 4th quarter, and went on to win 75-35. There was a running clock in effect throughout the final frame. Jessica Howard scored a game-high 17 points, all in the first half. Sophomore Allison Mangieri scored 11 points. Rantoul was led by Hannah Wascher, finishing with 10 points.

By the Numbers (Galesburg)
Turnovers: 8
Turnovers Forced: 23
Fouls: 2
3-Pointers Made: 21 (ties IHSA record)
3-Point Attempts: 72 (New IHSA record)

Three-Pointers
Jessica Howard: 5
Mickey Rodriguez: 3
Allison Mangieri: 3
Paige Klinck: 2
Jessica Lieber: 2
Sharron Diggins: 2
Sadee Hamilton: 2
Tai Peachey: 1
Jamie Johnson: 1

Game 71 Miles: 2