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Monday, Feb. 10

Junior high basketball - state tournament

[FEB. 10, 2003] 

At Jacksonville

Hartsburg-Emden       8   21   28     38

Monmouth                  6   16   21     43

Hartem:  Duffey 0, Poelker 1, Schleder 0, Folkman 0, Da. Bolen 23, Mason 0, Gleason 0, Du. Bolen 14.  Total 38.

High school basketball

[FEB. 10, 2003] 

Girls

At Stanford

Pontiac       14   22   45     59

Olympia     21   38   50     71

Olympia:  Floyd 9-8-28, Prager 1-5-7, Westerfield 2-2-8, Logsdon 0-1-1, Brand 3-0-6, Crabtree 1-0-3, Canopy 3-2-9, Litwiller 2-3-7, Whitfield 1-0-2.  Totals 22-21-71.  Three-pointers:  Floyd 2, Westerfield 2, Crabtree 1, Canopy 1.

Freshman-Sophomore

Sangamo Conference tournament

At Mount Pulaski

First Round

Mount Pulaski def. Illini Central 34-23

Second Round

Mount Pulaski def. Rochester 44-37

High school basketball regionals schedule

[FEB. 10, 2003] 

Girls - Class A

At Manito: 

Today:

Game 1 - 6 p.m. - Illini Central vs. Heyworth

Wednesday:

Game 3 - 6 p.m. - Olympia vs. Game 1 winner

At Rochester: 

Today:

Game 1 - 7:30 p.m. - Niantic-Harristown vs. Mount Pulaski

Wednesday:

Game 3 - 7:30 p.m. - Rochester vs. Warrensburg-Latham

High school wrestling

[FEB. 10, 2003] The top three finishers in each tournament advance to the sectionals.

Class AA regionals

At Normal

7.  Lincoln 47

Championship matches

119 lbs:  Pat Barth (Morton) dec. Josh Rogers (L), 18-11

Third-place finishers

103:  Gerardo Valdes (L).

Class A regionals

At Normal

7.  (tie) Warrensburg-Latham 42

Championship matches

125:  Shawn Jay (WL) pinned Chris Hickman (Clinton)

At Eureka

1.  Olympia 183.5

Championship matches

103:  Steve Fluty (O) dec. Shane Fischer (Peoria Heights), 6-0

112:  Jerry Fischer (Peoria Heights) dec. Caleb Dietrich (O), 6-4

119:  Phil Miller (Eureka) pinned Chris Alexander (O), 1:11

125:  Joe Petta (El Paso) dec. Mario Martinez (O), 17-5

130:  Alan Deloriea (O) pinned Matt Fogle (El Paso), 3:48

171:  Adam Marmion (Illini Bluffs) dec. Tim Morthland (O), 1-1, OT

215:  Adam Troll (O) dec. Isaac Schmidt (El Paso), 3-1

Third-place finishers

160:  Trevor Kaufman (O)

275:  Brian Siscoe (O)

125:  Shawn Jay (WL) pinned Chris Hickman (Clinton)

LCC vs. Grace Bible

[FEB. 10, 2003] 

Women

At Lincoln

Grace Bible     51   48     99

LCC               35   56     91

LCC:  Stephanie Williams 4-1-12, Christina Wright 10-3-23, Brittany Robbins 10-5-43, Stephanie Urton 2-0-4, Meghan Foster 0-0-0, Sarah Over 2-0-7, Kim Jewell 1-0-2, Casey Strange 0-0-0.  Total 29-9-91.  Three-pointers:  Robbins 6, Williams 1, Over 1.

Next game:  Thursday at Eureka College.

Alexander, Redbird defense
shine on Lincoln Day

By Jeff Mayfield

[FEB. 10, 2003]  Lincoln Day at Redbird Arena turned out to be a "good time was had by all," as the ISU Redbirds handed a 60-52 defeat to the Sycamores of Indiana State. Former Railer Gregg Alexander took off after the break and finished the contest in double figures with 10 big points, including two long 3-pointers!

But Gregg's biggest contributions were on the defensive end of the floor, as he and the 'Birds held the Sycs to just 36 percent shooting for the contest! Alexander has literally willed his team back from the dead. The Redbirds have now won three of their last four.

Saturday's thrilling win was witnessed by 8,745 fans, including dozens from Lincoln and Logan County.

You can see a closer road game by catching the 'Birds in a return game over at Bradley this week. The LDN salutes Gregg Alexander on another fine showing on LINCOLN DAY!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[Photos by Bob Frank]

Illinois State falls to Bradley

[FEB. 10, 2003]  NORMAL -- Jaci McCormack and Katie Donovan each had 10 points to lead Illinois State, but it was not enough as Bradley came into Redbird Arena and defeated the 'Birds 70-54. It was the first season sweep for the Braves over Illinois State since the 1986-87 season.

"This is the first time we have swept Illinois State in a long time," said Bradley head coach Paula Buscher. "I am really happy about this win because we went at them really hard in the first half with our defensive intensity. Hopefully, this win will be a confidence booster for our team."

Illinois State, 5-15, 3-8 in the Valley, committed 22 turnovers in the game and shot only 19 percent (3-for-16) from beyond the arc. Sharon Blade contributed eight points and led the 'Birds on the boards with six rebounds and three blocks, while Zora Skrabalova also turned in eight points.

Bradley, 9-11, 5-6 in the Valley, won the battle of the boards with a 37-30 rebounding edge and scored 23 points off Illinois State turnovers. The Braves were led by Jaime Lugge with 14 points, while Genny Mueller contributed 13 points and five rebounds. Rasheeda Love turned in 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

"Bradley did a great job of pressuring our guards today," said Donovan. "Our team needs to get a lot tougher and work on our execution, because it causes us to make too many turnovers. We just did not come out fired up today."

Coach Jenny Yopp shared in Donovan's frustration.

"This was a really frustrating loss for us because of the second-chance points and the turnovers," said Yopp. "We had much better execution in the second half. We faced the same type of pressure today that we did against Creighton, but we just didn't handle it well this time."

[to top of second column in this article]

The Braves went to Ashley Chelleen early and often inside, and she responded with four baskets in the first eight minutes as Bradley took a 17-7 lead. With Illinois State's turnovers and cold shooting contributing, Bradley stretched that lead to 31-16 on Jaime Lugge's basket with 4:48 left in the half. ISU trimmed the lead to 34-25 at halftime.

Bradley led 41-28 three minutes into the second half when Zora Skrabalova scored on a nice assist from Desiree Gutierrez with 16:32 left. After Va'Nicia Waterman hit a jumper for Bradley, Sara Stevenson scored on back-to-back layups at the end of ISU's press-breaker, and the 'Birds were within 43-34 with 13:23 left.

But ISU couldn't get closer. Sara Bailey came off a screen to hit a 3-pointer with 11:47 left, Chelleen hit a jumper 26 seconds later, Love added a free throw at 10:58, and Bradley was back up 15.

ISU plays at Southwest Missouri State Thursday.

[Thomas Lamonica, Illinois State University]

Illini, Cook overwhelm Ohio State

By Greg Taylor

[FEB. 10, 2003]  The Fighting Illini jumped out to 17-1 and 30-6 leads against the Buckeyes of Ohio State and cruised to an easy 76-57 victory in Big Ten conference action Sunday in Champaign. The victory improved Illinois' conference mark to 6-3 and helped them forge a tie with Wisconsin for second place in the conference standings. The Illini trail both Purdue and Michigan by one full game and prepare to face the Boilermakers on Saturday night in West Lafayette, Ind. Game time is set for 7 p.m., and a victory in the game could propel Illinois into first place in the conference.

Lincoln's Brian Cook scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and committed just two fouls, playing 36 minutes and looking every bit of the senior All-American he is about to become. Cook scored from the inside, the outside and from the free-throw line and helped Illinois remain undefeated at home by blowing out the Buckeyes early.

[Photos by Tom Seggelke]

Ohio State came out on defense in a variety of zone looks, and Illinois quickly showed why that was mistake. Led by Cook and freshman guard Deron Williams, Illinois seemed to make nearly every shot in the first eight minutes of the game, while Ohio State missed their first eight shots and didn't score their first field goal until the 12:00 mark of the first half. Illinois led 49-22 at the half and stretched the lead to 30, at 62-32, with about 12:00 to go in the game.

However, Ohio State went on a 14-0 run and cut a 30-point lead in half, making many Illinois fans nervous about the final five minutes of the game. However, Cook again took over late, and Illinois improved to 16-4 on the season, with seven regular- season games remaining. Illinois has three games left at home (Feb. 18 versus Michigan State, Feb. 25 versus Indiana, and March 8 or 9 versus Minnesota), three games left on the road (Feb. 15 at Purdue, March 1 at Michigan and March 5 at Wisconsin) and one neutral-site game (Feb. 22 versus Northwestern at the United Center in Chicago). Illinois will need to win the three games at home and the neutral-site game, and probably win at least one, if not two, of the road games to succeed in their quest for a third straight Big Ten championship.

[to top of second column in this article]

Below is a quick list of highs and lows from Sunday's game versus Ohio State:

--Cook continues to play like the best player in the Big Ten. Give him the player-of-the-year award right now!

--Roger Powell: The sophomore from Joliet had a second straight strong effort, scoring 14 points in 21 minutes of action and providing post depth in the absence of Nick Smith, who sat out the game with a sore foot.

--Deron Williams: The freshman from Texas connected on four long-distance bombs and is getting better each game.

--Luther Head: In spite of several turnovers, Head played strong and scored early to help Illinois jump out to the quick lead. Head also played good defense, overcoming his nagging groin injury.

--Self: The best coach in the Big Ten had the Illini double the post on defense every possession in the first half, and this strategy helped keep Cook and James Augustine out of foul trouble and on the court. He's my coach of the year in the conference without a doubt.

--The Illini committed 20 turnovers -- totally unacceptable for a top-20 team.

--Illinois appeared to become complacent after gaining the 30-point lead and allowed Ohio State to get back in the game somewhat. Concluded Self: "The last 15 minutes of the game might have been our worst 15-minute stretch of the year."

[Greg Taylor]

ISU's Bracket Buster game to be televised locally

[FEB. 10, 2003]  NORMAL -- The Illinois State men's basketball game at Marshall on Feb. 22, which is one of the nine-game series called ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday, will be aired live on Bloomington's WYZZ Fox 43 at 1 p.m.

"Obviously we're excited to have the Bracket Buster Saturday game available locally for our fans," head coach Tom Richardson said. "It is an exciting new concept in college basketball, and anytime we are on television, nationally or regionally, it is great exposure for our program."

Marshall, a member of the Mid-American Conference, currently owns a 9-10 mark on the season, while the Redbirds are 3-16 overall.

The Redbirds are 4-0 against the Thundering Herd, with the last meeting taking place in Huntington exactly 26 years to the date of this year's matchup. In 1977, the Redbirds topped Marshall 103-91 in the final game of a four-year series.

[Todd Kober, director of media relations,
Illinois State University]

Articles from the past week

[FEB. 10, 2003]  Get out the sleds, the saucers and the inner tubes… There may not be many more snowy opportunities left. My 2-year-old already thinks that sledding is a sanctioned Olympic sport and wonders why Greg and I don't devote more time to it on "FANdamonium." At any rate, it is a peaceful, serene Monday morning after yet another wacky weekend in the sports world! Where should we even start???

In 7A action involving LDN-area teams, the Hartsburg-Emden seventh-graders suffered their first loss of the year -- a heartbreaking 43-38 loss to Monmouth ICS. But hats off to Hartem for the 22-1 season that they turned in. Nice going, fellas!

In 8A play, once again it was Hartem (Can someone bottle up some of their water and send it to my son in care of this paper immediately?) with a 50-36 win over that gritty Carroll Catholic bunch. Congrats to them on their 18-4 final record.

Also congrats to both the WL-B squads who turned in solid seasons. I believe that Mount Pulaski also had a pretty good year.

Good luck to Hartem in the Holy Trinity sectional!

According to our report and notes, the Lincoln Lady Railers split this week. They are right in the middle of a tough stretch that finds the ladies meeting all four of the CS8's top four teams in succession! That never seems to faze Coach Moore or his players, as evidenced by their win over Taylorville! They did lose to Chatham but didn't feel like they played their best game against them. Good luck this week, girls!

I'm sure the judging panel gave the Railers no marks for style points and nothing for the degree of difficulty, but Lincoln got the most important stat in the world -- the W. Chatham is very well coached, and they do what you have to do against the Railers -- they hit shots. But once again it wasn't enough, as Lincoln moved to 24-2 and 11-1. The No. 9 team in the state now has won 13 games in a row and 19 of their last 20!

This week finds the Railers hosting SH-G and then taking to the road at Moline.

With one victory, Neil Alexander will tie for the most wins ever for a Railer coach. With a sweep this weekend, he would obviously be crowned with the top spot. Catch "FANdamonium" on Lincoln Daily News or CITV Channel 5 or FIX 96.3 FM radio tonight at 6 to hear what Greg Taylor, I and others have to say about this remarkable feat!

We also know that our area volleyball teams are in action but have no reports from any teams as of now. Please get your stuff to us so we can let the community know how you're doing!

[to top of second column in this article]

Lincoln College Lynx back in the rankings

Behind another stellar 31-point performance by Terrance Chapman, the Lincoln College Lynx dismissed Lewis & Clark 75-55 in Godfrey on Saturday. The Lynx are now 17-6 and 10-0 in league play. They also find themselves back in the rankings where they belong as the nation's No. 14 team. Actually, as well as they're playing, they should be in the top 10! No info on the Lady Lynx was available at posting time.

The LCC Angels fell 99-91 to Grace out of Michigan Saturday. But how ‘bout the play of former Lady Railer, Brittany Robbins? Robbins exploded for 43 points behind six made 3's and then played big by crashing the boards for 13 rebounds! She has to be (along with LC's Terrance Chapman) our player(s) of the week!

Warrensburg-Latham lost for the first time all year, 50-40, this weekend. They now are 19-1 on the season. The Monticello team that beat them is now 19-2.

Illini Central moved to 15-7 this past weekend.

The West beat the East 155-145 in double OT last night. Michael Jordan scored 20, but Kevin Garnett walked away with the MVP.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the Bud Shootout as NASCAR prepares for the upcoming Daytona 500.

Davis Love III wins the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. It was also good to see Tom Lehman's name back at the top of the leader board!

Lincoln's Gregg Alexander shined for the ISU Redbirds on Lincoln Day! [Click here for details.]

Lincoln's Brian Cook should be able to pass Andy Kauffman for seventh place on the Illini's all-time scoring list with any kind of a game at Purdue on Saturday. Cook was really sore after Illinois' win over Ohio State. He had two ice bags and was looking for a whirlpool when we saw him.

It's hard to believe, but it's baseball time. Pitchers and catchers report for duty later this week. If anyone wants to send us down there for a LIVE report, just let us know… I'll even offer to go one way!!!

Have a GREAT week, sports fans!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• Last week: "Redbirds finally back on track"
• More columns...

Announcements

Softball pitching clinic in Bloomington

[JAN. 31, 2003]  The Bloomington Hearts' annual softball pitching clinic will be Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University. Former Illinois State all-American and current Hearts pitcher Nicole Kurth will lead the clinic. Other instructors will include pitchers from the Hearts, IWU and Illinois State University who are very experienced in both playing the game and teaching.

There will be two sessions, so attendees can sign up for 9:30 a.m. until noon or for 1:30 to 4 p.m. The cost is $30 per session, and that includes a heavy-duty T-shirt. For groups of three or more, the cost is $25 per student. The sessions will be limited in number to allow maximum individual instruction.

To register by telephone or for information, call (309) 828-2686 or (309) 662-5861.

[News release]

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