Game 82: Queen of Peace @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)

Game 82
Queen of Peace @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)
(1/8/11)

My internal alarm clock rang just before 7:00 a.m. even though I stayed up working on things until after 1:00 a.m.  Oh well, this allowed me extra preparation for the doubleheader of Galesburg games at John Thiel Gymnasium.  Honestly, I am glad this week is over, I feel like a slacker.  Only 6 broadcasts, by far a season low this year.  It ramps up next week with a couple of tripleheaders on Monday and Wednesday in Williamsfield, and going to try and squeeze 5 broadcasts in at the King Tournament next Saturday in Galesburg. 



I headed north around 10:00 a.m. and wanted to get to the gym around 11:00 a.m.  This puts me at the scene an hour before the sophomore game tips off, allowing me to settle in, fill out the scorebook and conduct interviews. 

On my way out of Macomb, I read the marquee of the Clark gas station (it's been closed for a couple years).  It read:  "K100 NEW MO OWE."  The original signage was; "K100 NEW TOWER MORE POWER."  When I was working at K100, our tower came crashing down during a Halloween wind storm.  Several months later, our tower was rebuilt and one of our campaigns was putting the above message on various businesses billboards around town.  A couple months later, that gas station closed, and the letters have slowly disappeared over the years.

When I reached Monmouth, I stopped at the gas station at the junction of Route 67 and Route 34.  Even though I drive by this gas station every day, I have no idea what its name is.  I picked up a bottle of water and a pack of gum.  Approaching the counter, one of the employees was carrying a 40 oz. beer.  He stated to his co-worker; "That guy didn't want the 40, he got a Hennessy instead."  Nothing like a Hennessy at the crack of 10:00 a.m.  Sometimes, I wish I could spend a day in a gas station with an audio recorder.  The things that are uttered sometimes are just ridiculous. 

Typically, I pick up Eclipse or Stride spearmint gum, but I noticed the Five gum, and remembered the commercials that say something like, "Chew Five Gum," or something like that.  I picked up a pack.  Credit the folks at Wrigley for putting cheap $0.25 Spearmint gum in flashy pacaging and charging $1.29.  At least it wasn't Juicy Fruit.

Coach Massey and I did our pregame interview, and found it interesting that the relationship with Queen of Peace actually began in 1987 when Galesburg started scheduling Chicago Maria.  Queen of Peace head coach Rick Federici was the coach at Maria then, and after he began coaching at Queen of Peace, the Pride and Silver Streaks started playing in the 2000's. 

Getting to Know Queen of Peace
I spoke at length with coach Federici.  Each year, when Galesburg goes to Chicago or the suburbs, they will go to a Bulls game.  Queen of Peace is a school based in the city of Chicago, on the southwest side.  He said that he usually takes his teams to a pig farm when they come to Galesburg.  One season, one of his players asked, "Coach, how come when Galesburg comes to play us, they get to go to a Bulls game, but when we go there, we go to a pig farm?"  He replied; "Well, because there are no pig farms in Chicago, and there are no professional sports teams in Galesburg." 

Federici also mentioned bringing his team back to Galesburg for one of the boy's basketball games during the Silver Streaks magical run in 1997-98.  His players couldn't believe how many people would come out to the games. 

During the first half of the sophomore game, the visiting Pride made a 6-0 run to tie or take the lead.  After one basket, a roar of applause came from the stands.  My broadcast partner, Jimmie Carr, looked at me and asked, "Is that Queen of Peace fans?!"  Indeed it was, a nice contingent of fans made the trip.  Come to find out, the team took a charter bus, and parents of the team came along for the ride, in the charter bus.  They left Chicago at 7:00 a.m. and would be leaving after a pizza party in the GHS cafeteria.  Galesburg would win a thrilling sophomore game, with Sharron Diggins scoring the game-winning basket, giving the Streaks a 46-44 win, snapping a five-game losing skid.

Game Time
It was a slow start for the hosts in the varsity contest.  Galesburg jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Queen of Peace rallied and made a 12-0 run.  The Silver Streaks got back into the game at the end of the 1st quarter, but still trailed 14-12 to start the 2nd quarter.

The Pride (3-15) never relented, and took a 31-27 lead into halftime.  The shots started to fall in the 3rd quarter, along with a ramped up defensive intensity for the Silver Streaks.  Galesburg forced 12 turnovers in the 3rd quarter and outscored the visitors 24-8.  That carried over into the 4th quarter, with the Silver Streaks outscoring the Pride 18-9 to win 68-48.  The Streaks rewarded fans who wore their McDonalds T-shirts, by making 15 three-pointers (15-61), ensuring those fans would get their triple cheeseburger coupons. 

In the end, Queen of Peace finished with 35 turnovers, and Galesburg had 18.  Jessica Howard scored 18 points, and Paige Klinck added 12 points for the Silver Streaks.  Jessy Risley led Queen of Peace with a game-high 23 points.

Pizza Party
After the game, we headed down to the cafeteria for the pizza party.  It's great to see the teams inter-mingling after the game and having a good time.  Sadee Hamilton did not play in the game today, after hurting her hand at Moline on Thursday.  She showed us her hand, and it was pretty swollen.  A great postgame spread, catered by the Pizza House.

1590 WAIK Sportsline
I spoke with GHS assistant coach Andie Allison, serving her first year on the coaching staff.  She played under coach Massey in the 2000's.  My interview with Andie will air on my brand new sports talk show Sportsline on 1590 WAIK this Tuesday.  You can hear it online at www.1590waik.  Sportsline will air daily from 12:20 to 1:00, and will feature several interviews.  Monday's first show will feature former West Central Heat basketball standout Miriam Rutzen, now a sophomore starter at Harvard.  I will also talk with Carl Sandburg College men's basketball coach Ryan Twaddle.  Other audio for Monday's show will include Evan Massey's postgame interview from today's game, along with Jimmie Carr speaking with Galesburg boy's basketball assistant coach Steve Cheesman.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, I will air a two-part segment with IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha, exploring the inner workings of the organization, and touch on topics such as 4-class basketball, the multiplier for non-boundaried schools, and postseason scheduling.

Game 82 Miles:  50