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| Dunlap High School |
Galesburg @ Dunlap (Girl's Basketball)
(2/5/11)
Another short night of sleep, before turning around and heading back to work. Upon returning home from Rock Island late Friday night, I had to spend about an hour cleaning the house and preparing it for the showing on Saturday afternoon. By Saturday morning, about 3.5 hours of sleep ended, and another day began.
I worked the early morning shift at the radio station, and in between recording and picking up Jimmie Carr for our trip to Dunlap, I squeaked in my game prep for both games today. It took a little extra time, so I texted Jimmie saying it would be running about 20 minutes behind. We decided to leave extra early, in case some of the two-lane roads from the interstate to Dunlap were still snow covered, which they were not.
Garmin directed me to take I-74 to the Brimfield exit, and take Route 150 into Peoria, then head north to Dunlap. Initially, it told me to get off on the Route 78 exit, but I drove on by. That direction takes you into Dunlap from the north, through mainly two-lane highways and country roads. I'll stick the main route, thank you.
We made a stop at the gas station in Dunlap, and it was much needed. Three cups of coffee, a large orange juice, and a large bottle of water in the morning led to a swifter than usual walk into the gas station.
Heading over to the high school across the street from the gas station, the Galesburg team bus was pulling into town, arriving just ahead of us. The last time I broadcasted a game at Dunlap, was the Galesburg girl's basketball game there two seasons ago. It was played in the auxilary gym, and as we drove onto the Dunlap campus, I forgot how to get to the gym...much like the previous trip two years ago.
I followed the bus to the main entrance, then headed around the school to the back entrance near the auxilary gym. I could have sworn there was a road at the main entrance to the campus that took you around the school, but there was a large snow pile, that appeared to be blocking the road. Following the game, I discovered a new addition was added to the school, closing off that road.
The doors were locked, but after about 30 seconds, someone came and let us in. Jimmie kept walking past the auxilary gym and we went to the main gym, where the Dunlap and Metamora freshman girl's basketball teams were playing. Today's game will be in the main gym, which has a much better spot for our broadcast.
Our broadcast location is on the balcony, with a large table and plenty of room. Athletic Director Duane Peterson came up and asked if we needed anything. He also spoke about some big renovations coming to the high school. There is an approximately $5 million renovation project in the works that will include putting artificial turf on the football field, new tennis courts (9 total courts), a new soccer field next to the middle school.
Today's pregame interview was done with assistant coach Andie Allison, while WGIL talked with assistant coach Jacque Gohlinghorst. In talking with Dunlap coach Patrick Garst, he mentioned the team had not had a practice since last Friday, as in 8 days ago Friday. The school has a no school/no practice rule, and the snow storm took a toll. The Eagles did win their Friday night game against Washington, and Garst said that Dunlap started slowly, as expected after the long layoff.
Eric Lieber, the father of Silver Streaks' Jessica Lieber was talking with Jimmie when I returned. Jessica is starting to get college interest in golf. She helped the Streaks golf team to a 7th place finish this past fall. Southern Illinois University is showing plenty of interest, and she is just a sophomore this year. Her brother, Jordan, is golfing at Carl Sandburg College, and may continue at Knox College. Eric said he's not even a golfer, himself!
While we conversed, I had loaded the ESPN Gamecast of the Illinois/Northwestern game. Something that not pretty to follow, though it looked like it was a good game, minus the outcome.
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| Dunlap Gymnasium |
The Streaks started cold in the varsity game, shooting just 3-24 from the three-point line in the first half, and trailed 24-23 at the break. Galesburg did force 15 turnovers, and only committed 12. At halftime, it felt like the Streaks could win this game by double digits, as they were on the cusp of a big run.
Galesburg was doing everything right, the shots just weren't falling. They were getting good shots, and playing great defense. Sadee Hamilton had a big game, finishing with 13 points and 5 or 6 blocks, along with several rebounds. She was our First Glass Breakout Player of the Game.
After the 3rd quarter, Galesburg led 40-39. The Streaks hit four big three-pointers in the 4th quarter to hang on for a 53-50 win. Galesburg led by as many as 7 points in the final minute, but some missed free throws and Eagles baskets made it a game. A missed free throw in the final seconds of a three-point game game Dunlap the basketball. A last second three-point attempt from the top of the key just rimmed out, saving any overtime, and the Silver Streaks emerged with their 24th win of the season (24-5).
Hamilton and Jamie Johnson scored 13 points each, while Jessica Lieber added 10 points. Galesburg shot 9-41 from the three-point line and only 6-15 from the free throw line. The Silver Streaks committed 21 turnovers, and forced 24. Lexi Hobbs scored a game-high 20 points for Dunlap, and Alissa Recker added 18 points.
We left Dunlap High School, and drove straight to Galesburg to prepare for the boy's game against Blue Island Eisenhower...
Game 121 Miles: 145
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