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Saturday, Dec. 14

Ankle problems end Reichle's career

[DEC. 14, 2002]  NORMAL -- The basketball playing career of Illinois State senior guard Steph Reichle is over. A nagging ankle injury that has kept her sidelined for all but two games this season has not made enough progress for her to be able to play.

Reichle wishes she could have continued but understands the medical problems preventing that.

"I'm disappointed I won't be able to go into the conference season playing with this team," said Reichle. "I'm looking forward to this team showing what it can do. But you can only control what you can control. The only way I can play is the way I play, and my ankle just isn't strong enough for me to play the way I want to play."

The way Reichle played throughout an injury-riddled college career made plenty of people take notice. In her freshman season, she played just eight Missouri Valley Conference games and 16 total before undergoing major knee surgery. Still, the coaches, media and media relations personnel in the conference elected her to the Valley's all-freshman squad in 2000. She was leading the conference and among the top 10 in the nation in steals before her injury that year.

As a sophomore and junior, the former Lincoln High School star piled up enough steals (139) to rank No. 3 among active Missouri Valley Conference players and enough rebounds (389) to rank No. 5 among active Valley players when her career ended.

The loss of Reichle on the court hurts Redbird coach Jenny Yopp, who has a healthy respect for her competitiveness and leadership.

"My heart is very sad for Steph and the fate of her basketball playing career," said Yopp. "We will support Steph in gaining some peace about closing this chapter of her life by keeping her close to our team. Steph is a unique, loyal and strong leader. Her teammates will count on her to continue in an active leadership role. Our staff will cherish memories of Steph's passion and competitiveness on the court and appreciate all that she has given to our rebuilding program."

[to top of second column in this article]

Not having Reichle and sophomore guard Chris Kutschinski -- out indefinitely with a lower back injury -- available will push others to play more minutes on the perimeter for Illinois State. Yopp is glad she has several choices for the added duty.

"The loss of Steph and Chris significantly impacts our depth in the guard position," said Yopp, whose team plays its next game Dec. 20 at Portland State. "However, I am encouraged that we have several versatile players who will develop and get the job done."

Although only 5-foot-9, Reichle achieved two of the top seven single-game rebounding totals in Redbird Arena history. She had 17 in the Redbirds' overtime upset of Creighton last season and 15 in a January 2000 win over Southern Illinois. Only Caryn Brune -- a 6-foot-4 post player from the early 1990s -- exceeded Reichle's two best marks in rebounding in single games at Redbird Arena. Reichle also led the team in scoring as a freshman, a feat only former all-American and Olympian Cathy Boswell had accomplished previously in a Redbird uniform.

Reichle stars in the classroom as well. She was one of only two players in the Valley to earn honors on the league’s scholar-athlete teams in 2001 and 2002. A public relations major, she has been on the AFNI athletics honor roll at Illinois State in all six of her semesters. This year, she became the second Redbird basketball student-athlete to be recognized with the Jill Hutchison Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship -- named for the legendary Redbird coach who recruited Reichle to Illinois State -- is based on academic and athletic prowess.

[Thomas Lamonica,
Illinois State University]

High school basketball

[DEC. 14, 2002]

Boys

Olympia           13            21            31            36
University High  12            21            33           48

Olympia – Kiesler 3-0-7, Schmidgall 0-1-1, Elliott 2-2-8, Criswell 3-0-6, Olson 1-0-3, Thornton 4-0-11, Boudeman 0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0, Schultz 0-0-0, Springer 0-0-0, Totals 13-3-36

Lincoln vs. Taylorville at Lincoln      

Lincoln   71
Taylorville 23

LCHS vs. Taylorville [picture by Bob Frank]

LC college basketball

[DEC. 14, 2002]  ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Victoria Scott scored 12 points in the first half to lead the Lincoln College women's basketball team to a 36-13 halftime lead, and the Lady Lynx went on to post an impressive 73-46 win here Friday night.

Lincoln College (9-3) was led by Scott, who finished with 18 points, while Erica Ernst added 11. Once again coach Carol Wilson used her bench, as 12 players cracked the scoring column.

Neither team had a good night at the foul line. The Lynx were able to make 23 of 43 free throws, however, and Forest Park made just 10 of 31 charity tosses.

Sue Foster led Forest Park in scoring with 21 points, 19 coming in the second half.

The Lynx will play again Saturday in the tourney.

Lincoln College (73) -- Ariel Lamb 3-0-7, Lakeisha Graham 0-1-1, Victoria Scott 6-5-18, Amber Bell 1-0-2, Becky Spears 1-1-3, Kim Calhoun 2-5-9, Nicole Dearing 4-0-9, Ashley Sims 0-2-2, Maria Coronel 0-1-1, Mary Rossio 0-1-1, Zabrina Harper 3-0-7, Erica Ernst 3-7-11. Totals: 23-23-73. Three-point goals: Lamb, Scott, Dearing, Harper.

Forest Park (46) -- Lumpkin 1-1-3, Connelly 3-2-8, Johnson 1-2-4, Foster 8-5-21, West 2-0-4, Mays 2-0-4, Vidal 1-0-2. Totals: 18-10-46.
 

Lynx men

ULLIN -- In the opening round of the Shawnee Classic here Friday night, Lincoln College lost to Rend Lake for the second time this season. The score was 72-69 at the end of overtime. Rend Lake defeated Lincoln College 66-64 at the Spoon River Classic earlier in the season.

Lincoln College, 5-6, will play in the Shawnee Classic at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The Lynx held a 36-30 lead at the half but were able to shoot just 33 percent the second half (14-43), and Rend Lake sent the game to overtime with a 31-25 advantage. Rend Lake then outscored the Lynx 11-8 in OT to gain the victory.

Lincoln finished the game shooting 42 percent, while Rend Lake finished at 45 percent. The big difference in the contest was in points off turnovers, as Rend Lake scored 21 points to 11 for the Lynx.

Michael Fowler pulled down nine rebounds and Rueben Trotter added eight as the Lynx gained a 46-32 edge off the boards, but it wasn't enough.

Trotter tossed in 16 points to lead the Lynx, with Fowler adding 12 and Derik Hollyfield 10. Lawrence Barnes led the Rend Lake attack with 21 points.

Lincoln College (69) -- Josh Clark 4-6-0-0-9, Jeff Carlson 0-0-2-2-2, Michael Fowler 5-10-0-0-12, Rueben Trotter 7-13-2-2-16, Loyd Bowen 1-2-0-0-2, Amir Major 3-8-0-0-6, Jamaal Thompson 3-11-0-0-6, James Roberson 3-11-0-0-6, Derik Hollyfield 4-10-0-0-10. Totals: 30-71-4-4-69. Three-point goals: Clark, Fowler 2, Trotter 2, Hollyfield 2.

Rend Lake (72) -- Matt Miller 2-7-0-0-7, Lawrence Barnes 9-19-1-2-21, Shane Garner 2-4-0-0-4, Richard Mullins 1-3-0-0-2, Drew Porter 3-9-0-0-7, Joel Jaye 6-11-0-0-15, David Inabnit 3-6-0-06, Matt Jarrett 4-8-2-3-11. Totals: 30-67-3-5-72. Three-point goals: Miller 2, Barnes 2, Porter, Jaye 3, Jarrett.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Men's basketball pre-game notes

Illinois State vs. Western Kentucky

[DEC. 14, 2002]   The Illinois State Redbirds, including Gregg Alexander of Lincoln, play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers  in Bowling Green, Ky., on Sunday afternoon. Follow the links below for complete pre-game notes.

Notes from Western Kentucky

Click here to view background information (in Adobe Acrobat).

From Illinois State

Click here to view background information (in Adobe Acrobat) provided earlier this week for LDN readers.

[Click here to download the Adobe Acrobat reader.]

[Provided by Todd Kober,
Illinois State University]

Articles from the past week

By Jeff Mayfield

[DEC. 9, 2002]  As I've said on more than one occasion, this is a fun time of the year. Almost every sport is in action and making a move. Even the ones that aren't are doing something at their winter meetings. Let's examine a few with local implications:

We saw how the young Illini responded to the bright lights of Assembly Hall. But many wondered how the "kiddie korps" would do outside of the friendly confines of Cham-bana. How 'bout a "W" on the wild and wacky road of Arkansas? Illinois prevailed in a squeaker, 62-58, and yes, they didn't finish it or seal it the way we'd all like to see it. However, I've preached through the years this one important point: You get NO extra brownies for ANY style points. Translation: Even the ugliest of wins is better than a pretty loss! Period!

Brian Cook led the way with 18 points and could have had a lot more. He also had four rebounds, four assists and two steals to offset five turnovers.

Illinois was mauled on the boards 36-21 by Arkansas, including a 15-4 shelling on the offensive glass. The Illinois were able to recover some of those lost possessions by forcing the Hogs into 22 turnovers while committing only 15 themselves.

James Augustine had a huge game for the Illini with 10 points and six rebounds. The Illini got to the FT line only nine times but converted seven of them. That, coupled with 50 percent shooting from the field on the day, all contributed to a big Illini road victory. The statement was that the "W" is more important than any other stat!

Folks wondered what complexion this year's Sacred Heart-Griffin team would bear with a new coach with Quincy roots. And said coach didn't act like he was too worried about our vaunted one-two-two ball press and host of prolific perimeter shooters. By his own admission he may have underestimated us just a bit. According to him, it was 10 times better than he thought it would be, as the final outcome attested to a Railer 65-46 win. In fact, a case could be made that this game was over at halftime, with the Railers exploding to a 30-13 lead at the intermission.

Brock Werner continued his outstanding play by firing in 23 points, mostly bombs from way downtown. It's nice to see him have success after he suffered a knee injury that limited him so much last season. He also has shot hundreds of shots in his driveway over the years, and it's nice to see him hit them in prime time for the Railers.

Erik Young continues to be a force in the middle, as he went for 12 and six, and Cory Farmer added 10.

This is a pretty balanced Railer contingent. If they can continue to work hard and not be satisfied by what they've accomplished, it could be very interesting how good this team could be.

Next up for Lincoln will be a true test is they travel to take on the highly ranked and regarded Spartans of Springfield Southeast in a rare Tuesday night affair.

[to top of second column in this article]

LCC showing its muscle

Lincoln Christian College traveled north to participate in the annual Midwest Regional Tipoff. And LCC came away with two wins, while one team wouldn't even show up to play them. Lincoln clipped Moody 65-58 and then drubbed Emmaus 85-42. That takes the record to 6-5 and precedes a tough matchup at MacMurray Tuesday night before a very difficult tourney at Taylor University this weekend.

However, this team has played a brutal schedule and has acquitted themselves well. After the first of the year they will be playing teams on their level, and it could really be "Katie, bar the door!!!"

New coach Jim Jumper told a "FANdamonium" audience a week ago that his kids were ready for all challenges. He was right again! Just look at how his Hilltoppers handled the defending Class A state champions from Pleasant Plains this past weekend, 52-39. How's that for a home opener? The Toppers received nine points from Craig Erlenbush; Brian Clements had 12 points and seven rebounds; and Justin Anderson had 18 points and five rebounds. Friday's game helped take some of the sting off Tuesday's loss at Niantic.

This is a darn good Mount Pulaski team that figures to make a lot of noise in our area this year.

That's right. YOUR Chicago Bears could REALLY help out my Oakland Raiders with a huge win on Monday night! So, I will once again be rooting like crazy for the Bears tonight with no ill will towards coach Wannstedt or the fish. IF you're looking for a GREAT Christmas gift, how 'bout some Bears tickets? Call Tom at 737-7344 for availability.

Get your dialing fingers ready. TONIGHT, we want to hear from you. Call us at 735-3306 with your question or comment. IF by ANY chance you read this column, could you please e-mail me this afternoon at jmayfiel@lccs.edu. I want to get a feel for talk on the Illini, the NFL, the Railers and Toppers, and others… or just "E" to say you read it, and at least it gives you something to laugh at!

See you at 6 tonight on the Lincoln Daily News LIVE link, FIX-FM 96.3 radio or on CITV-5 Lincoln.

Have a great week, everybody!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• "Quick Monday morning mutterings," posted Dec. 2
• "Semple shines but Bears win in OT," posted Nov. 25
• "Illini make it a Champaign double," posted Nov. 25
• More columns...

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