Game 78: Quincy Notre Dame @ PORTA (Girl's Basketball)

Game 78
Quincy Notre Dame @ PORTA (Girl's Basketball)
1/3/11

On paper, this Class 2A girl's basketball matchup looked like it could be a good one. At the conclusion of the contest, it was clear to see how good Quincy Notre Dame actually is.

In fact, I knew how good they would be, sort of. This was a team that lost their starting point guard Leigh McLaughlin (really, the engine of last year's Class 2A runner-up squad), along with Claire Obert, and All-Stater Karlee Gengenbacher (24 points/game).



How could QND bounce back from missing a trio like that? Well, they return a sophomore Gengenbacher (Kassidy), along with a freshman Gengenbacher (Kristen), as well as a Genenbacher (Kate). No relation, completely different name. Strange, yes. Not only that, the Raiders get the services of (6'1" Jr.) Tori Kuhn for the first time. She was an all-conference pick in the Western Big 6 as a freshman at Quincy High School, before transferring to QND before last season. She tore her ACL and missed last year. Along with that talent, Jordan Frericks (6'0" So.) returns, and point guard Shannon Foley (Jr.) is back. Add in another freshman, Morgan Martin (6'2"), and this is a scary team!

It was going to be tricky getting down to Petersburg in the timely fashion I like to arrive....early! The fresh/soph game tipped at 5:30, taking an extra 30 minutes away for settling in. Before heading south, I stopped at Monmouth-Roseville High School to set up the broadcast equipment for the girl's basketball game between the Titans and Abingdon Commandos. Coach Chuck Grant was guiding his Titans boy's basketball team in practice.

With a quick stop at home in Macomb, I was Petersburg-bound. Thinking back, this is my first trip back to PORTA High School since I was working at K100 in Macomb. I believe the last broadcast I did in the gym was during the 2007-08 boy's basketball season, when Bloomington Central Catholic ousted Macomb in the sectional semifinals. Hayden Hoerdemann (Sr.) was a freshman for the Saints in that game.

I arrived at the school at 5:40, and when I walked into the gym, the first quarter of the fresh/soph game was nearing an end. I can honestly say, that in 77 prior broadcasts, this is the latest I have been in a gym before broadcast.

As the first quarter horn sounded, I headed over to my broadcast location in the southeast corner of the gym. My table was set up, but I couldn't find an electrical outlet. There were several phone jacks, an alarm, but no outlet. I asked gentleman in charge of the operations where it would be, and he looked around. He found it underneath a sign on the wall that read, "Do Not Touch." He made a phone call, to see if it could be touched. We were allowed to touch, and I had my electricity needed.

One problem I did run into, was no PORTA roster. Normally, I call ahead for rosters, and I had one for Quincy Notre Dame. With a busy day, I didn't get a chance to request a roster, but I didn't worry since I would be at the host school and they would surely have a program, or at the least a roster. Nope. Fortunately, I was able to track one down and was good to go.

PORTA made it a game during the first few minutes, however there were several turnovers in the first few minutes, causing the game to start slow. After keeping up with the Raiders in the first four minutes, PORTA got down and trailed 25-13 at the end of one.

The visitors outscored the hosts in the 2nd quarter by the identical score, 25-13, and led 50-26 at halftime. Jordan Frericks scored 19 points in the first half, on her way to a game-high 27 points in QND's 94-52 win.

Quincy Notre Dame went to the bench midway through the 3rd quarter, after leading by a large margin. I found it odd, that at the start of the 4th quarter, QND's starting five came back onto the floor, already leading 68-34. The Raiders would go back to the bench a few minutes into the 4th quarter.

Kassidy Gengenbacher scored 19 points for QND, while Morgan Martin added 16 points, and Tori Kuhn pitched in 13 points. Ashley Balster scored 15 points for PORTA, and Stacey Sinclair added 14 points.

The Lady Jays struggled at the free throw line, shooting just 14-26. Quincy Notre Dame went to the line just 9 times, going 5-9.

Play of the Game
Two kids were playing on one of the baselines, when one of the officials stopped the action, and talked to PORTA head coach Tracey Kelley. She briskly walked over to the baseline and yelled at the kids to get upstairs, which leads to...

Quote of the Game
After a silence came over the crowd after the scolding coach Kelley gave the kids, she blurted out to those in attendance..."It's okay, they're mine."

In driving through Havana, I noticed CVS still has a sign advertising their "One Hour Photo." I don't know, but I don't really think that's something to be advertising anymore. You're about an hour behind.

Things I Miss
Wasn't 1-hour photo great. In today's world, we get instant gratification with digital cameras and instant uploads to the Internet. No more waiting for those photos.

I miss phone booths. I don't know why, but everytime I see a rare phone booth in a small town, it takes me back.

Speaking of phones, I also miss being able to prank call. Okay, I guess I'm a little old to be making prank phone calls, but caller ID really takes the fun out of trying to trick your friends.

While we're talking about Havana, I'm proud to say that avoided those big golden arches in the Duck City. Eating just a salad and some cereal bars today, hunger set in, and it would have been easy to order those delicious double cheeseburgers they peddle on the dollar menu. Inner strength won out, and I avoided fast food! Victory is mine!

Game 78 Miles: 132