Game 107
(2/27/10)
Hinckley-Big Rock vs. Jacksonville Routt (Girl's Basketball)
Class 1A State Championship
Before today's game, IHSA Media Relations Director Matt Troha stopped to talk. He asked me why the quest for 100 games? It's a pretty lame story, as I reached into the 80 games broadcast last season, I thought doing 100 would be neat. I broadcasted 87 games a year ago. That was spread out over some Monmouth College games, along with a junior high state championship game. This season, it has been strictly high school varsity boy's and girl's basketball games. I would like to give Matt a shout, as he has done a fantastic job working with the media in the IHSA office, now in his second year. Matt sends out weekly releases and keeps the media informed of everything around the state, and organizing state finals information. Illinois high school sports media is very lucky to have someone that has the passion and drive for his job that he does!
I like to make predictions on games, until deep in the postseason. That's when you never know what you're going to get. If I were to make this pick three weeks ago, first of all I would say no way Routt would be playing for a state championship. Boy, did I underestimate this experienced group of girls throughout the season.
The Lady Royals of Hinckley-Big Rock are the defending Class 1A state champions, with everyone back from that title winning squad. Neither team has the advantage with experience. Routt is making their third state finals appearance in the last four year. Depth could be a concern if foul trouble were to plague H-BR. The Royals have just eight girls on the entire roster.
Hinckley-Big Rock may have, or does have the most solid 1-2 punch on their roster. Senior Jenna Thorp (Northern Illinois University) and junior Tess Godhardt are a formiddable foe. The rest of the roster for the Royals is very solid. Routt is a bit different, there is no standout one player, just a bunch of good players, even off the bench.
Routt got off to a 7-4 lead after the first quarter, as the teams just grinded it out. Neither team was able to get the shots to fall throughout the game. Routt managed to shoot just (22%) from the floor all game, while H-BR was (38%).
The Royals outscored the Rockets in the second quarter (8-5), and we had a tie (12-12) at halftime. It is no surprise that the Royals defense would allow just 12 first half points (season average: 29 points allowed/game). Hinckley-Big Rock had been averaging 60 points/game throughout the year.
One of my fellow broadcasting compatriots was just down the row from me, Larry Bostwick of WVIL in Jacksonville. Larry does a great job covering high school sports in the Jacksonville/Beardstown/Rushville areas. Check him out at www.lbsportsproductions.com.
Kelly Lonergan gave the Rockets a spark in the third quarter with back-to-back three pointers, but H-BR All-Stater Jenna Thorp dominated the paint scoring four field goals, giving the Lady Royals a 25-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Royals did nearly all of their scoring in the paint, scoring 22 of their 38 points there. Neither team had much of an advantage throughout the game. The Royals biggest lead was six points, which was their margin of victory (38-32). Routt led by as many as four points, very early in the second quarter.
IHSA-TV man Lee Hall stopped by during a break in the fourth quarter, for a pre-interview talk. He would be talking with me at the next break. I will admit, I was a little bit nervous, but tried not to let it show. In watching the replay, I can't quite explain the look, maybe giddy...I don't know....certainly dorky! Lee opened the interview up with, "Lou Gehrig is the Iron Horse, Robert Downey Jr. was Iron Man, and Beau Spencer is the IHSA's answer to the Iron Man." He also asked me about my run-ins with the "men in blue". After seven or eight years of covering high school sports, I had never been pulled over. This season, four stops for speeding over the course of the season. Three times as the "wheel man", the other time as a passenger.
Hinckley-Big Rock went (8-13) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to seal the victory, and their second consecutive state championship. Jenna Thorp finished her high school career with a state title game stat line of; 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Tess Godhardt had 9 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks. The Rockets were led by Kelly Lonergan's 15 points, 4 steals, while Katie Lindsey added 8 points, 9 rebounds.
After the game, the celebration roared with the Lady Royals accepting their state championship medals, trophy and net from Redbird Arena. Something I have never seen before, was the scoreboard being lowered. I don't know why the overhead scoreboard was lowered, but the Hinckley-Big Rock Principal and Assistant coach used it as a photo op, standing next to it denoting the final score. One problem, though, the scoreboard had already put the Class 2A participants above the "38-32" final score. No problem, as each of them covered those schools with their arms.
I also had the pleasure of meeting one of the Lady Royals fans, Ryan Finley. We have talked throughout the season about girl's basketball, and sharing our knowledge from each part of the state throughout the postseason.
Afterwards, I headed out to get a bite to eat, before returning for the final two games of girl's basketball at the small-school level.
I punched in "food" in my Garmin to find something a little different. An A&W popped up, and it has been years since enjoying some good A&W, plus a Root Beer Float sounded delicious. Garmin directed me to the mall. Either A&W was inside the mall, or Garmin was sadly mistaken. Opting for just a quick drive-thru eat, I headed out to Popeye's. This was my first Popeyes Chicken experience, and it was amazing. I went with the three chicken tender meal with mashed potatoes and biscuit. This may have been better than an A&W Root Beer Float!
The Quest File Notes
Game 107
Date: 2/27/10
Result: Hinckley-Big Rock wins 2nd straight Class 1A State Championship, defeating Jacksonville Routt 38-32.
Miles: 10
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