|
The Class A bracket for girls remains
the most competitive field in the four-field, 64-team 2005 State
Farm Holiday Classic and will feature Chicago John Hope, Kankakee
Bishop McNamara, Rock Island Alleman and Sterling Newman Central
Catholic. All four of these teams will be playing this weekend for
the state championship at Illinois State University's Redbird Arena,
which is also one of the venues used by the State Farm Holiday
Classic. Overall, the Class A
girls' field in the 2005 Holiday Classic will feature 10 teams that
won regional championships this year, with six of them advancing to
the Sweet 16. Sectional champions Bloomington Central Catholic and
St. Joe-Ogden will join other state-ranked powers Rochester, Olney
East Richland and Camp Point Central. The rest of the 2005 field
features Normal U-High, Tolono Unity, CPCI, Stanford Olympia, Taylor
Ridge Rockridge, Orion and Monmouth/Roseville.
"Over the years we have been
fortunate to field some of the best girls basketball teams in
Illinois," said Dave Oloffson, vice president of the Holiday
Classic. "But this … could truly be billed as a December state
tournament with the incredible number of elite teams playing from
across the state."
[to top of second column in
this article]
 |
 Also featured in the 2005 tournament
will be nine underclassmen just selected to one of the 2004-05
Associated Press All-State teams. Those players are Brittany
Johnson, of Olney East Richland; Precious Gaddis, Chicago John Hope;
Jocelyn Mellen, Sterling Newman; Jennifer Juergens, Kankakee Bishop
McNamara; Latear Eason, Chicago John Hope; Ashley Runck, St.
Joe-Ogden; Aubrey Parsons, Sterling Newman; Heidi McKean, CPCI; and
Taylor Bennett, Kankakee Bishop McNamara.
The entire 64-team field of the
State Farm Holiday Classic will be announced within the next month.
For more tournament information, visit
www.theclassic.org.
[State
Farm Holiday Classic news release]
 |
