Game 50: Moline @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)

Game 50
(1/7/10)
Moline @ Galesburg (Girl's Basketball)

What a long day! The alarm screamed at me at 4:20 a.m. on this snowy Thursday morning. Four hours of sleep after a two-hour sleep night had me dragging. The adrenaline of the winter weather updates kept me awake for a few hours in the morning....that and the four cups of coffee!

The plan was to leave work whenever the game was to be called off with the impending whiteout conditions that were expected. At 9:00 a.m. Mike Weaver, Greg Ford, and I returned to the hotel to take advantage of the continental breakfast. Let me tell you, the AmericInn in Monmouth has one "deluxe" (a Greg Ford-ism) breakfast spread. I enjoyed two spicy omelettes, a few sausage links, some type of biscuit, milk, and a glass of orange juice. In fact, this was the first time I drank milk out of a paper carton since my early days in high school. I always strugged getting the milk open, and my lack of fingernails made it even harder.

A nap was in store, however, the four cups of coffee prevented any sort of sleep from happening. About a 20-minute nap was all I got, and returned to work at 11. By mid-afternoon I was working on weekend stuff, and the game had yet to be called off. At 3:00, I gathered all of my notes for the game, and packed up the equipment. Left the station around 4:30 to get there before the sophomore contest. The roads were pretty clear from Monmouth to Galesburg on Route 34, and was able to drive the speed limit the entire way.

Spoke with Evan Massey at halftime of the sophomore game, and talked about the situation of Moline traveling to Galesburg in the winter weather, with potential blizzard conditions taking place on this night. Apparently, Galesburg was ready to postpone the game in the morning, but Moline insisted on playing and did not even want to wait until the afternoon to make a decision. Coach Massey had said he remembered a few years ago when the two other Western Big 6 games were cancelled, Moline drove all the way to Quincy.

As Jimmie Carr and I went to play back the pregame interview, Emily Kauzlarich's dad came to the broadcast booth. His sister lives in Tennessee and was going to listen in to the broadcast, but was having trouble getting the 1590 WAIK online stream to work. A quick phone back to the station, and the online broadcast was fixed and on the air...err net. Kauzlarich came into the game needing just eight points to reach 1,000 points in her career.

The Silver Streaks hung tough with the #3 ranked (4A) Maroons in the first quarter, knocking down three of five three-pointers, but struggled from then on out. A Tai Peachey slashing layup as time expired tied the game at 18-18 after one quarter.

Kauzlarich hit a field goal early in the second quarter to give her seven points (999 career points), with the next basket giving her at least 1,000. That came via a three-pointer in the right side corner of John Thiel Gymnasium, nearest our WAIK broadcast booth. That historic basket for Kauzlarich is caught on video and can be viewed on the homepage of the Illinois High School Sports Network (www.ihssn.net).

The Moline senior would well surpass the 1,000 point plateau, finishing with a game-high 26 points. Alyssa Decker would add some more offense in the second quarter, scoring 10 points in that eight minutes. Moline outscored Galesburg 22-6 in the second quarter. The Silver Streaks, according to my very unofficial stats, went (3-13) from the three-point line in the first half.

It was much of the same to start the half, as Moline jumped out and extended on their lead, outscoring the Streaks 26-16. Galesburg did win the fourth quarter scoring battle, but Moline held on for the lopsided victory (83-61). In addition to Kauzlarich, Decker finished with 19 points, and Marquisha Harris added 14 points, as the Maroons improved to (18-1). Galesburg was paced by Shelby Pacheco's 16 points and drop to (11-8) on the year, and are still seeking that first Western Big 6 win (0-5).

The after-game plans were to settle in to the AmericInn. I enjoy staying at the hotel, but I didn't like the thought of re-wearing clothes all day and night Friday, with another game looming at Alexis. Route 34 was pretty clear from Galesburg to Monmouth, but mostly east-west. It is the north-south routes that are treacherous in these types of conditions, so I took a gamble and wanted to check it out. If it was too bad, I would turn around and be snowbound, if not, a bed and I wouldn't have to stoop for a fast food late night dinner.

Route 67 out of Monmouth was in pretty good shape until Larchland. In case your wondering, Larchland is host to a couple houses and a grain elevator right along the highway between Monmouth and Roseville. I've had debates on the pronunciation, whether it is LARCH-LAND, or LARK-LUND. I still don't know, but I will be posing that question to my Warren County friends.

The drifts began causing a raucous the further south I drove. My speeds continued to decrease, and I am sure the Friday morning commute for those traveling this stretch of highway will be pretty treacherous. I safely made it home, about 20-25 minutes longer than the normal trip.

The Quest File Notes
Game 50
Date: 1/7/10
Result: Moline cruises past Galesburg (83-61)
Miles: 90