High School Girls Basketball
Froebe eclipses 3,000 points as Lincoln crosses O’Fallon off the list
Team improves to 29-0

 

[February 03, 2024] 

“One thousand points is great. 2,000 is unheard of. But 3,000 is ridiculous. Good luck, Railsplitters,” said the PA announcer inside the Panther Dome at O’Fallon High School on Friday night after the game, recognizing Kloe Froebe for eclipsing 3,000 points at the 2024 Bank of O’Fallon Shootout.

Immediately after the Lady Railers dismantled the Panthers defense, winning by a final score of 62-55, O’Fallon officials called Froebe to center court and presented her with the game ball. Froebe’s teammates also presented her with a special white Spaulding basketball commemorating her elite accomplishment.

Kloe’s mom, Kari, even came down to the court to interview Kloe and her teammates and her dad, Kent, made his way from the bleachers to present his daughter with a special banner commemorating her achievement.

Kari, Kloe, and Kent Froebe

Froebe now moves to no. 10 on the list of career points scored in IHSA Girls Basketball history with 3,020.

The most important thing to Froebe however was the 62-55 win over the no. 8 ranked Class 4A team.

First Quarter

Lincoln fell behind early 4-1 to the Panthers and it wasn’t until nearly the 5:20 mark that Froebe made a three to tie the ballgame 4-4. Lincoln had to play catchup again with O’Fallon taking an 8-4 lead.

As the game approached the 2:50 mark Froebe made a layup to close the gap to 8-6. O’Fallon then answered back with a bucket before Piper Whiteman struck back with a three. Whiteman’s three was just shy of the 2:25 mark and it left O’Fallon clinging to a 10-9 lead.

After the Panthers stretched the lead to 13-9, Becca Heitzig came down the lane with a spin move and dropped in two points with 43.2 seconds on the clock.

The Lady Railers defense forced a turnover seconds later and with Froebe driving the lane a foul was called. The following inbounds play by Lincoln with 24.0 seconds on the clock called for Froebe to get the ball in the corner and took her all of two seconds to drain a three right in front of the Panthers bench.

Lincoln was finally on top 14-13. O’Fallon’s 5’9 senior Carolyn Foster would grab a rebound with seconds left on the Panthers end and she was able to put a shot back up that fell through the net as the buzzer sounded. Foster gave the Panthers a 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

O’Fallon added a basket to start the second quarter, going ahead 17-14. Froebe then took control with a basket in the lane at the 7:28 mark and Lincoln was chipping away at the lead. It’s irrelevant now, but Froebe would miss the ‘and one’ after that basket in the lane. Still Froebe would make another layup next time down the court and this time Lincoln took an 18-17 lead. The Panthers came right back to steal the lead from Lincoln as 6’3 senior D’Myjah Bolds made a bank shot over a leaping Heitzig.

Then it was Froebe’s time to turn things around for her team and make history in the process. With a little help from her friends, it was Piper Whiteman pulling down a defensive rebound and after she dribbled out of traffic she found Froebe ready to take the ball up the court.

Froebe came down the center of the court and tossed the ball to Heitzig on her left. With assistant coach Cory Farmer yelling from the bench, “Hit the gap! Hit the gap!” Froebe darted into the lane all alone and collected the pass back from Heitzig and gently kissed it off the glass from the left side. The ball dropped through the net at the 5:20 mark and the crowd erupted in applause.

There are all your answers to the trivia question, “How exactly did Kloe Froebe score her 3,000th point?!” In fact, that ball carried with it points no. 3,000 and 3,001. Froebe immediately backpedaled down the court on defense as the scoreboard showed Lincoln in the lead, 20-19 the score.

The big news here, of course, was Froebe’s feat but in her world the bigger news was her team went ahead in the ballgame. Yes, that is correct. After her 3,000th point was scored, Lincoln NEVER trailed in the ball game again.

There would be one more tie in the game, but even that stat is just a minor detail now.

In fact, seconds later the Lady Railers duo of Froebe and Heitzig stole the ball and Lincoln scored again. This time it was Heitzig sprinting down the court and again working on her spin move, really getting her timing down perfect, and tossing in the shot that hit nothing but net. So with 5:02 on the clock, it was Lincoln stretching the lead to 22-19.

Josie Christopher would be the one to tie the game with a three as the clock showed 4:40. Give Froebe fifteen seconds and she’ll put her team back in the lead. She grabbed the rebound after Stoltzenburg missed a three and while she reached for the ball with one arm, she was able to snag it and in one motion she leapt towards the basket, tossing the ball in and leaving her opponents to admire her work. Lincoln’s lead this time is 24-22. Now there will be no more relinquishing the lead or tying the game.

The rest of the night would be the encore of the Lincoln Lady Railer Show. But first a dead ball at the 4:04 mark would give the PA announcer a chance to make this announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, a couple baskets ago, no. 5 Kloe Froebe of Lincoln, scored her 3,000th point in her high school career. How about a nice round of applause for Kloe? Congratulations from the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout at O’Fallon Township High School.”

As the crowd gave Froebe a standing ovation, the referee nodded to Froebe that it was okay to take in the moment. Froebe jogged over to Coach Taylor Rohrer on the sidelines and the two hugged. Heitzig then ran from her position out of bounds to give her friend a hug and a couple pats on the back. Nice job by the tournament officials to give Froebe and the fans this special moment.

After the 62-55 win the team gathers around to celebrate Kloe Froebe's accomplishment.

Twelve seconds after the inbounds pass from Heitzig, Froebe was back to work, scoring in the lane and getting the foul. Despite really getting hacked on the play, Froebe managed to sink the shot in the lane and step to the free throw line and collect the ‘and one.’ The end result being a 27-22 Lincoln lead. Whiteman’s corner three kept the Panthers at a distance with the lead now 30-24. Lincoln would also score on a fast break, with Heitzig tossing in the shot for a 32-27 lead. Another Heitzig basket put the score at 34-25.

Now that last basket was a little interesting. Heitzig is going to bring the ball up the court and with players in white uniforms dodging all around her, the coach is yelling, “Shoot it, shoot it!” Meanwhile Heitzig is keeping an eye on Froebe at the top of the key as if to say, “Help me, help me.” Finally she is close enough to the basket to see the defender in front of her fall down and unaware of the 6’3 Bolds right behind her, she does a little double pump with the basketball and decides to take her coach’s advice and shoot it.

Bolds tried to swat the ball from behind but it was too late. The ball took flight and Heitzig was successful in putting it through the net.

The Panthers scored two times in the final minute, including a basket right at the halftime buzzer by Danielle Newman, but Lincoln remained solid with a 34-29 lead.

Third Quarter

Those Panthers trimmed Lincoln’s lead to 34-31 to start the second half but a basket by Tori Geriets would soon get the Lady Railers back on track. After a three by Jenna Bowman, the Lincoln lead was growing again, 39-31 the score. Froebe would toss in a couple free throws to pad the lead and after a three by Stoltzenburg, Lincoln was up 44-36. Soon after, Whiteman and Heitzig added buckets and the double-digit lead was accomplished, 48-38 the score.

O’Fallon tried to chip away at the lead, but things were lining up in Lincoln’s favor. After Froebe was fouled shooting a three, she got three opportunities from the free throw line and she sank each and every shot eloquently. This brought the score to 51-41. Stoltzenburg’s steal at the end of the quarter allowed Froebe to go ahead of everyone for the layup and a 53-41 third quarter lead was in the books.

To further elaborate, it was Stoltzenburg intercepting the Panthers pass with 5.4 seconds on the clock and she quickly got the ball into the hands of Froebe at mid-court. Froebe was off and running full speed ahead and with less than a second on the clock she spun around at the basket and tossed the ball off the glass. The ball literally hit the glass as it lit up with the red outline and the clock was showing 0.0. If the ball falls through the net, it’s good. And it definitely was!

Froebe was just having a good night and the crowd down south was loving it just as much as those who had traveled from the 217.

Fourth Quarter

News Flash: There will not be a running clock in the fourth quarter, but that’s okay against a team that is the defending Class 4A State Champions.

What you did see in the fourth quarter was Froebe getting an offensive rebound over Bolds and putting it back up for two points, Froebe driving the lane and earning two more points and then Froebe with another spin move in the lane for two points. Finally, she even got the last basket of the game on a free throw.

Not to be overlooked was one more basket by Heitzig earlier in the quarter. The final score over the 4A Panthers was still an impressive 62-55.

Kloe Froebe led the Lady Railers with 33 points. She pulled down 7 rebounds and had 4 assists as well on this historic night.

Froebe was also named the Player of the Game.

Becca Heitzig hit double-digits with 12 points and each and every game she just continues to get better and better in every way.

What you cannot see in a stat line, but hopefully can get a feel for through these words is that the entire Lady Railers team impressed the crowd at the shootout. That really should not be a shocking statement. These girls are fast, they move the ball just about as quick as any team you will see on the court and they communicate with each other without saying a word.

Obviously, the team had to adjust their 1-2-2 press against the Panthers, but that aside, they will still find a way to beat you. Railer Nation is accustomed to their perfection but it was a real treat to see others outside of Central Illinois be highly impressed by these girls. There were so many moments that took the crowd by surprise and truly took their breath away. Just overhearing the crowd reaction from people who were seeing the Lincoln Lady Railers for the first time in person was worth the price of admission.

The local news station, Fox 2 from St. Louis, also gave a great recap of the Lady Railers win and the major milestone that Froebe reached. The energy in the gym was really special and fans from all over really seemed to appreciate what Froebe had accomplished in their presence. The whole evening was truly magical. The sportscaster even emphasized that “the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout is a huge Midwest showcase that features some of the best teams and players around here.”

Lincoln, be proud that your team is among the best!

The Lady Railers are now 29-0 on the season and they have one more game here in the area later today.

At 2:30 p.m. the Lady Railers will play Alton (25-1) in the State Farm Shootout at East Alton-Wood River High School.

Alton is ranked no. 2 in the Associated Press Class 4A Poll.

Scoring

Lincoln 62

Froebe 33
Heitzig 12
Whiteman 8
Stoltzenburg 3
Bowman 3
Geriets 3

O’Fallon 55

Tart 15
Christopher 14
Foster 12
Bolds 7
Barringer 5
Newman 2

[Teena Lowery]