Meet the Lady Railers Night

The 2024 State Championship banner will be unveiled Tuesday night

 

[November 18, 2024]  The 2024-25 girls basketball season tips off this week with the Lady Railers hosting Bloomington Central Catholic on Tuesday night at Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium.

The JV team will tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and the Varsity will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

2024 State Championship Banner

Prior to the start of the Varsity game on Tuesday night, the 2024 IHSA Class 3A State Championship banner will be unveiled for the second time to the public, but this time it will be hanging from the west wall of Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium.

If you can go back to 10:13 p.m. on March 2, 2024 you may recall the banner was initially shown to a gym full of Lady Railer fans, who had just gathered to celebrate the first basketball state championship in school history.

The Lady Railers defeated Chatham Glenwood 60-44 earlier that evening at CEFCU Arena in Normal for the state championship.

What Superintendent Dwight Stricklin did next shocked everyone in the gym, except for Athletic Director Neil Alexander, who was in on the best kept secret ever!

“I know that you will be gone in November and a month and a half ago, from the beginning of the season until then, we had no doubt that you were going to be bringing back a state championship,” said Stricklin, addressing the senior girls, in particular. “So I went ahead and took the liberty….Coach Al and Mr. Helm…would you go ahead and….reveal!”

The crowd let out a gasp, the girls just dropped their jaws and some even held their hands up to their faces, just reeling from the amazing surprise that Mr. Stricklin just pulled off.

There leaning against the west wall, having been covered the entire time by a red sheet, was the new state championship banner.

“He got to do the fun part,” joked Alexander. “But I will tell you, from a coach’s standpoint, him trying to get me to do that….was not easy.”

Way to go, Mr. Stricklin, that move was the ultimate way of showing you believed in these girls from the start of the season!

That banner was put in storage once again, and now it is November and the official start to the season is here!

On Tuesday night the banner will officially hang on the wall for eternity, honoring a remarkable 38-0 team that consisted of seniors Jenna Bowman, Kloe Froebe, Tori Geriets, Becca Heitzig and Taryn Stoltzenburg. The senior managers were Ryan Fruge, Tamari Pressoir and Destinee Harper.

Let the 2024-25 season begin!

LCHS hosted “Meet the Lady Railers Night” last Thursday evening and the new teams were introduced with several familiar faces and, of course, the new freshmen.

“I really like the energy this team brings,” said Coach Taylor Rohrer at “Meet the Lady Railers Night.” “They are a lot of fun. They like to be on the floor. They love going through our offenses and figuring out different things that they can do out of the offense. I think it’s awesome that they are always trying to improve. They are always trying to make themselves better. I think that this team has the potential to be a really good rebounding team. They are scrappy and quick. You are going to see that a lot on the floor and it’s going to be really enjoyable to watch. I love how positive they are and I love that they want to be here. It’ll be an exciting year.”

It truly will be an exciting year for Lady Railer basketball.

The last two seasons, while the Varsity team only suffered one loss, so did the JV team. In 2023 the JV team had an 18-1 record, losing to Mahomet-Seymour on the road in the last game of season. Lily Holmes suffered an ankle injury late in the game and Lincoln took their first loss, with the game close until the final few minutes.

In 2024 the JV team had a terrific 22-0 record, led by Piper Whiteman, Makinley Knapp and Mia Clark.

Just like the Varsity teams from the past two seasons, the JV teams were winning a lot of their games by large margins. While the jump to the next level is a big one, several of the returning players already have Varsity experience.

Returning from the state championship team to lead this year’s Varsity team are those two seniors, Piper Whiteman and Makinley Knapp.

Fans of all ages love Piper Whiteman but due to an injury she suffered in the summer, fans will have to wait a little longer to see her on the court competing.

“I completely tore my ACL on June 7th while playing at Illinois Wesleyan Shootout,” said Whiteman. “I found out I tore it after my MRI June 11th and I started doing pre-surgery rehab until July 18th. On July 18th I got my surgery done. Then a week later I started doing physical therapy and I’ve been doing physical therapy basically everyday since then. There are three phases in rehab. I just started my last phase, which is jumping, shooting, running and a few other things. Shortly I’ll be able to start pivoting, which is the last step, and the biggest and scariest step to do after this surgery, but my physical therapist is the best so everything will be good. I am doing really well with all the exercises and I’ve been able to do physical therapy and then go to practice to shoot and help around.”

Whiteman is hopeful for a return to the court sometime in January, and she believes she will be ready by then. However, it ultimately depends on when the doctor releases her. She’s putting in the work on her end no doubt.

Senior Makinley Knapp stands at the free throw line to shoot during the scrimmage on November 14, 2024.

“To me, it seems so far away until I can play again, and I have a lot of work to do, but I’m on the final stretch,” said a positive Piper. “That’s what is the hardest about rehab, it is mentally tough more than physically. I know I’m capable of doing it, sometimes you second guess yourself or sometimes you’re watching your teammates without you, wishing you could join them. But I’m learning how to contribute myself to my team from the sidelines instead of on the court, which is extremely difficult, but I’ve already watched them improve and build so much without me. So I’m happy they are growing and they are going to continue to work and grow so that when I come back we are all on the same page and by the end of the season we are all playing the best basketball and doing what we are capable of doing. And I’ve heard many rehab stories, both good and bad, but you never really know until you’re the one that’s doing it. So I’m lucky enough to have such an amazing support system by my side through my rehab journey because I genuinely don’t know how I would have gotten this far without my actual family, my teammates and my coaches, who are my second family.”

Meanwhile, Makinley Knapp has been ready to hit the court for quite some time and she’s excited for her senior year.

“I am very excited for this year because we all have worked really hard so far during practice,” said Knapp. “We like to go hard during practice so that it will transition to the game. This year we are going to be really good!There will be ups and downs but we will learn from it and adjust as needed. I believe that we could make it back to state if we really want to. It just takes hard work and dedication.”

Whiteman and Knapp will be surrounded by a group of juniors who also have Varsity experience.

Those returning juniors, who will be needed on the court immediately, are Lily Holmes, Grace Schneider, Ceana Adams, Mesa McCloud and Mia Clark.

This group ranges in height from 5’4 to 5’9 and they can flat out play basketball. They have speed, athleticism and an attitude that does not allow them to give up. They bring the energy and the excitement from the perimeter with their ability to shoot the three. They have also learned enough from the older girls to not be afraid to drive the lane and score. Their defense is outstanding and they will not back down from any opponent.

Grey Gilbert and Emma Hutchison also remain from the championship squad and they are now sophomores who look to make more of an impact at the Varsity level. They have also gained experience by playing with the older girls in practice and they will surprise a lot of fans on the court.

Last but not least, one solid addition to the Varsity team is senior Rebecca Burge. Burge has not played basketball since her freshman year but she decided to go out this season. Her 6’0 frame will be a welcome addition in the lane and her ability to score in the paint and rebound at both ends will be key to the Lady Railers success.

Takeaways from the scrimmage

Both the JV and Varsity teams scrimmaged against one another on Thursday night, with Knapp scoring the first points in the paint off the pass from Clark. Knapp and Clark are both 5’9 and have worked well together in the past. The Lady Railers can count on plenty of scoring from these two.

Holmes looked confident driving the lane for a little stop n’ pop. The short jumper is so important and someone needs to fill Heitzig’s spot with that move.

McCloud still has a sweet shot from the outside. She can be a silent killer from that three-point range.

Hutchison, Schneider and Adams possess great ball handling skills and quickness that is going to come in handy. They’ve watched and learned from Froebe, one of the best, and now it’s their turn to show what they can consistently do at this level. Gilbert is another one who can join this club and with more playing time, she will gain the knowledge needed for the Varsity level. She already has the athleticism.

Burge is really going to make an impact in the lane. Her presence alone is key, and it’s great to see she still loves using that backboard. Count on her to score on the offensive rebound. She tossed in several points in the paint at the scrimmage.

Bring on Lady Railer basketball!

Please come out to Roy S. Anderson and support these girls and a host of newcomers!

Head Coach
Taylor Rohrer

Assistant Coaches
Cory Farmer
Grace Bossingham

Varsity roster
Lily Holmes
Grace Schneider
Ceana Adams
Mesa McCloud
Piper Whiteman
Mia Clark
Makinley Knapp
Grey Gilbert
Emma Hutchison
Rebecca Burge

Junior Varsity roster
Grey Gilbert
Emma Hutchison
Bralan Werner
Eliahlyn Hinton
Elizabeth Chen
Ellie Wrage
Maci Eskra

Freshman/Sophomore roster
Bralan Werner
Eliahlyn Hinton
Elizabeth Chen
Ella Schneider
Ellie Wrage
Maci Eskra
Nariah Bennett

Student Assistants
Myah Bowman
Precious Erhnreiter
Dabria Dalpoas
Abbi Harris

[Teena Lowery]