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| Galesburg crowd at Pontiac Supersectional |
Galesburg vs. Hillcrest
Class 3A Supersectional (@ Pontiac)
(2/28/11)
Never would have I guessed that I would be broadcasting a Class 3A Supersectional for the Galesburg Silver Streaks at the start of the season. That's what has made this run so magical for Galesburg girl's basketball. On a Monday night in February, the odds were stacked against the Streaks, but they persevered...
I had left my Garmin in our radio station vehicle over the weekend, which turned out to be a good thing because it usually guides me down the wrong exit in Bloomington/Normal. Using just my memory and the Interstate signs heading to Redbird Arena for the Class 1A/2A state finals on Saturday, I reached my destination without a hitch. Normally, my Garmin screws me up if the satellite is lagging on how far I am from the exit, and I take the wrong exit. Human: 1, Technology: 0.
Since getting the Garmin unit a few years ago, I have not had to rely on the Mapquest directions, which used to be horribly wrong. I remember when I made the move to Macomb several years ago, Mapquest said it was a 2:30 hour drive, when in reality it's about 1 hour, 40 minutes. Fast forward eight years, maybe Mapquest had improved it's time estimates.
Mapquest improved, but not too much. The distance between Galesburg and Pontiac was pegged about 45 minutes longer than the actual trip. Jimmie Carr and I left town a few minutes after 2:00, putting us in Pontiac shortly after 4:00, even with a stop in Morton for gas.
We drove around Pontiac and checked out the downtown, before heading out to the high school just before 5:00. Of course, the doors were locked and the gym was nearly empty. It looked like wrestling practice had just wrapped up in one of the gym's balconies.
There were two tables on the nearest balcony to the main gym doors, so I placed the equipment there. One of the Pontiac officials was in the gym, and I asked if he was Ryan Pearson, the athletic director. He was not, he introduced himself as Nate Nollen. I knew Nate, the former Seneca assistant coach under Doug Evans. He is a Macomb native, now an assistant at Pontiac. We reminisced of the 2005-06 Class A state finals, when his Irish beat IVC for a state championship. I was covering the Macomb Bombers in their run to Carver Arena, in which they fell in the Quarterfinals to the Dick Corn-led Pinckneyville Panthers.
The WAIK banner hung proudly over the balcony at Pontiac High School. I brought home banners with, the "home" and "away" banner. The away banner is a little smaller, because you never know if there will be room to hang one. The "home" banner is much larger, and brighter and newer, and has our website address and "Home of Silver Streaks Sports" printed on it.
Only about 15-20 minutes elapsed before the Galesburg Silver Streaks team arrived. The WGIL radio crew of Tom Meredith and Eric Gibson were right behind. Originally, Pontiac had both of us at our broadcast booth, but to keep the signals seperate, they set up a table in the opposite balcony for them.
The athletic director, Ryan Pearson, arrived in the gym. Pearson suffered a broken leg and is currently in a wheel chair. I talked with him and he gave us a rundown of the night and where things are located, and I submitted the $50 broadcast rights payment.
Just before the doors opened, there was a large contingent of Galesburg fans waiting to enter. By 6:15, the fan buses had started arriving. In total, Galesburg brought 3 fan buses, and they nearly filled the entire one side of Pontiac's gym. I never did find the exact gym capacity. I did find a sign that said the west balcony capacity was 834. In the lower section of the west side, the capacity was 512. I know this because there were eight rows of bleachers, holding 64 people in each row (bleachers were numbered). It appeared as though the east balcony seated more people than the west balcony, and the lower section on the east side appeared to be the same. I would guess the capacity of the Pontiac gym to be near 3,000.
I was also very impressed by the Hillcrest fan section, Hawks fans were certainly outnumbered by Silver Streaks supporters, but they did bring a nice crowd. Not long after we set up, I went down to get my pregame interview done with coach Evan Massey, to get things over with. I had talked with Hillcrest coach John Maniatis earlier in the day.
For some reason, I was very nervous. I wouldn't quite call it nerves, more like butterflies in the stomach. At first I thought it was because of the equipment and being in a gym I had never broadcasted in, but as the game neared, I felt it was more nerves for the Silver Streaks and the game itself.
IHSSN hosted a live chat, and it was launched at about 6:45. There was a total of 37 different readers in the chat room throughout the night. Hillcrest were the visitors and they took the floor first, while the "home" Silver Streaks entered after the Hawks.
Game Time
The Hilcrest Lady Hawks jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but Galesburg clawed right back, and it was a 20-16 game after the first quarter. The Silver Streaks run continued in the 2nd quarter, and the underdogs took a 34-32 lead at the break behind a boisterous Galesburg fan section.
The Streaks were 9-24 from the three-point line in the first half, and forced 13 Hillcrest turnovers. In the 3rd quarter, Galesburg took a 5-point lead early in the frame, but then turnovers and cold shooting did Galesburg in and Hillcrest took a 52-44 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
Galesburg committed 9 turnovers in the 3rd quarter, and got outscored 20-10. The fight never stopped for the Galesburg girls in the 4th quarter, when Hillcrest led by as many as 11 points.
With the Lady Hawks leading 70-66 in the final minute, Tai Peachey stole a Shannise Heady in-bounds pass and went up for a layup. It was blocked by Heady. We had a very poor angle to see if contact had been made, but it happened near the Galesburg bench, and coach Massey said in the post game show there was contact.
With just over 0:30 to play in the game, Jessica Howard knocked down her 6th three-pointer of the night, which was her 139rd of the season. That breaks the IHSA single-season record set by Kassie Drew of Anna-Jonesboro (138). Howard finished with 22 points, which tied Jahmia Phillips for game-high honors.
The deficit was just too large to overcome, and Hillcrest advanced to the state finals with a 77-70 victory. The Lady Hawks took 2nd place a year ago, falling to Montini in the state championship game. Three starters from that squad are with this team. Heady has received offers from Michigan State, South Carolina, Minnesota, and a host of other Division-One schools.
Galesburg finished just 8-20 from the free throw line, and went just 5-13 from the line in the 4th quarter. Hillcrest went 10-18 from the line in the 4th quarter. Heady finished with 16 points behind Phillips, while Samirah Ali scored 13 points, and Karlisa Harris added 10 points. Jamie Johnson was the only other Silver Streak to hit double figures, scoring 10 points. Galesburg went 14-32 from outside the three-point line.
It was a bittersweet ending for the 2010-11 Silver Streaks. It was a magical run to the Elite Eight, but the pain could probably be felt a bit more with how close they were from reaching Redbird Arena against a team that featured up to four Division-One prospects.
The 2010-11 Galesburg Silver Streaks finished with 397 three-pointers made, which sets a NATIONAL record for three's made in a season. The previous record was 394 three-pointers by the 2006-07 Stockton St. Mary's (CA) team.
Coming up: The Quest 2: 150 has a culmination date!!!
Game 144 Miles: 360
The Quest 2: 150 Total Miles breaks 10,000. After 144 broadcasts, the odometer has reached 10,210 miles traveled all over the state of Illinois.
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