Lady Railers finish in 2nd place at State
Team finishes magical season with a 36-1 record

 

[March 06, 2023]  Thank you, Lady Railers, for an incredible season! You inspired an entire community to come together and we are so proud of your 2nd place finish at the Class 3A IHSA State Tournament in Normal.

The Lady Railers reached their goal of playing in the championship game at Redbird Arena on Saturday night and while the outcome was not the one they wanted, these homegrown girls remained loyal to their school and brought something to the community that money cannot buy. They inspired people to reconnect with one another and they lit a spark in basketball fans of all ages.

It was as if Lincoln met a version of themselves in the championship game against Nazareth Academy of LaGrange Park, only much taller. The Roadrunners could run the court with exceptional speed, they could shoot lights out from anywhere and they played amazing defense in a 2-3 zone. With three starters coming in at 6’0, 6’0 and 5’11 respectively, they were a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the court.

The Lady Railers gave it their all and in the end fell short 63-52.

Lincoln was off to a good start in the first quarter, winning the tip and getting a bucket in the lane by Becca Heitzig just fifteen seconds into the action. The Roadrunners tied the game 2-2 on a basket by Danielle Scully. Jenna Bowman hit a record-breaking three in the first quarter with 5:52 on the clock and that gave Lincoln a 5-2 lead. The lead grew to 7-2 after Kloe Froebe scored on a fast break. The Roadrunners raced back to tie the game 7-7 at the 4:27 mark. Lincoln would take a 9-7 lead on two made free throws by Froebe, who was fouled while shooting a three with 4:02 on the clock. Heitzig would put Lincoln in front 11-10 after she made an incredible move under the basket that was easily the play of the game. After Heitzig snatched a lob pass down low from Froebe, she proceeded to toss in a beautiful reverse layup. The crowd went wild. The Roadrunners would jump ahead 15-11 but with Piper Whiteman scoring in the paint, Lincoln would trim the lead to 15-13 and that score would remain as the first quarter came to a close.

After the Roadrunners took a 17-13 lead early in the second quarter, the Lady Railers would play tough and even the score at 19-19. Tori Geriets scored in the paint and Froebe made back-to-back layups to knot things up. The Roadrunners went on an 8-0 run next, with Olivia Austin scoring in the lane and Grace Carstensen hitting back-to-back threes. At the 3:13 mark Taryn Stoltzenburg hit a three for Lincoln and the score was 27-22. Scully and Austin scored in the paint for Nazareth Academy while Froebe finished Lincoln’s scoring in the quarter from the free throw line and the halftime score was set at 31-25.

Lincoln shot a respectable 52.9% (9-17) from the field and 71.4% (5-7) from the free throw line for the first half against Nazareth Academy. The Roadrunners were consistent with a 56.5% (13-23) from the field and 66.7% (2-3) from the free throw line.

The third quarter was where the Roadrunners just came out firing. Carstensen hit a three quickly to extend the lead to 34-25. Mary Bridget Wilson and Amalia Dray each scored to stretch the lead to 39-25. The Lady Railers just had a bad run of turnovers and missed shots and the Roadrunners capitalized on that. This is definitely where the big girls took over and had the obvious advantage. By the time the 3:25 mark was reached, Nazareth Academy was on top 44-25. Lincoln would not score until the 3:15 mark on a jumper by Heitzig. Wilson retaliated with a jumper at the other end and Lincoln found themselves in unfamiliar territory, down by 20 points. To be 6’0 tall and have a wingspan like Dennis Rodman in high school must be amazing, but to the other team it’s devastating. Lincoln tried their best, with Heitzig even pulling up in the lane and daring to take another jump shot with three Rodmans coming at her. After the 5’7 junior sank a shot at the 2:03 mark, the Lady Railers trailed 47-29. The Roadrunners kept Lincoln at a pretty good distance the rest of the quarter and after Bowman hit another three just under the one minute mark, the score was 49-34. That 15-point lead would carry the Roadrunners into the fourth quarter.

Lincoln impressively managed to trim the lead to nine points in the fourth quarter. Froebe and Heitzig took turns making shots to bring Lincoln back to within 13 points and then it was Stoltzenburg to the rescue with 3s in consecutive possessions by Lincoln. Her first three in the quarter made the score 57-47 with 1:47 remaining. Stoltzenburg then made another three with 1:20 on the clock and this set the score at 59-50. It was going to take a miracle in the last minute and twenty-seconds for Lincoln to overtake this team that comes from all over Chicago and the far and wide surrounding suburbs ~ 120 different communities to be exact. While the miracle did not happen and Lincoln would fall 63-52, with the final points all being settled at the free throw line, what did happen is 12 girls with Lincoln on their jerseys, walked off the court, champions in the eyes of every single person ranging from 2 years old to 82 years old who came to cheer them on.

And talk about a crowd there to cheer on the Lady Railers! Redbird Arena was filled to the rafters with Lincoln fans, and extra sections even had to be opened up for Railer Nation. It was undoubtedly the biggest crowd all weekend and most likely the largest crowd for a single team in history. Lincoln fans even lined up outside hours before the game, all excited for the opportunity to see the Lady Railers in the state championship game.

And here is more great news: there is not one single senior on the Lady Railers team this year, so each and every girl will be back next season!

As for the state championship game, Kloe Froebe led Lincoln with 19 points and 7 assists. Froebe would lead the team with 3 steals. Froebe was also the talk of the weekend, leaving those all across the state in awe.

Lincoln’s track star Becca Heitzig, who will race right into track practice, finished with 12 points and 4 assists.

Lincoln finished the season 36-1.

Olivia Austin had a double-double for the Roadrunners, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Austin is a 6’0 junior who excels at volleyball also.

Nazareth Academy finished the season 35-1.

An interesting side note is this private school will be moved up to 4A next year.

When introducing Coach Taylor Rohrer at the press conference, IHSA Assistant Executive Director Sam Knox said, “Coach, you and I have known each other for a long time and I’m really proud of you.”

Coach Rohrer smiled and said “thank you,” before rolling into her postgame comments.

“I just think they played so hard and they did everything that we could do today,” said Rohrer. “I have no shame. I feel just pride for my kids. Nazareth is a great team. We knew that coming in. We did what we could to prepare for them. I think the kids executed what we talked about in practice very well, just like they’ve done all season. I am proud that I get to coach this group of kids. I am also proud that off the floor they are really good kids. They just really represent our school and our community in the best way and that’s something that I’m also very proud of.”

As for the size of the Roadrunners, Rohrer offered, “Their size really hurt us and I think that was really the main thing. We struggled on the boards. Definitely in the first half for sure and we kind of came out a little bit slow in the third quarter. Our kids that played inside, I mean we are small, there is no debating that. But they played big today and they played as big as they could. Unfortunately, we probably won’t grow much between now and next year but when you have kids that play with as big of hearts as my kids do, I just see them getting even better at the game and being able to handle bigs even better than we already do.”

Kloe Froebe, who was surrounded by the Roadrunners defense, addressed the height issue by saying, “I think that again, they are much bigger than us so they were able to get in those passing lanes. We see a lot of man-to-man defense so with this 2-3, if we have a few more days to work on it and not just a two-hour practice this morning, I think it would be a different game if we were able to prepare a little better.”

As for this young group making history this season, Coach Rohrer said, “It means a lot that I have a group of kids that did make history and they just turned the eyes of Lincoln and hopefully girls looking to play sports and get involved in things, on us and help people to realize that dreams do come true with hard work and perseverance and it’s been a dream to be here and to get to play on this big stage. These girls just handled it with so much class and they are so humble and they really represent our community in the best way.”

As for the plan moving forward from here, Coach Rohrer responded with, “I just think that these kids are going to work hard this summer. I want them to go out and do their spring sports. We’ve got a lot of athletes who are going to play softball, soccer and track. They are going to go do those things but in the summertime I see them picking up a basketball and working hard because they want to be back here. They want to do what Nazareth did. They want to come back and win and that’s what they (Nazareth) did last year. I think that this group of kids, they are not going to stop until they reach every single goal of theirs.”

Tori Geriets, who despite being heavily outmatched in size still had three rebounds over the Roadrunners, said, “Definitely the size advantage was a downfall but this summer I’ll work on defense and even post moves and finding the open gaps and we’ll just take that into next year.”

Piper Whiteman, the 5’7 sophomore who makes some big moves in the lane, also looks forward to next season. “We faced a lot of height throughout the year but these girls were definitely bigger than us obviously,” said Whiteman. “We will use this game and capitalize on it and use what we did wrong and fix it and come back better and stronger next year.”

Coach Rohrer concluded the press conference by offering some final thoughts about her incredible team.

“I don’t think losing is ever easy, especially with a group of kids that are as competitive and as compassionate as mine,” said Rohrer. “So losing today was not easy. Losing during a regular season would not have been easy. But I think that’s one of the great things about having kids that are compassionate and competitive, they are going to strive to become better so they don’t have to lose again. And losing is part of it. They just handled it with class. Yes, they were sad. But I think twenty years from now, ten years from now, they’re going to look back and realize what they accomplished. It just takes time. It’s just like any kind of injury. At first it hurts really bad and after a while, it’ll start to heal a little bit.”

If anything started that healing process for these girls, it had to be the caravan of fans who waited at the edge of Lincoln and followed the police and fire escort of the team bus through the streets of Lincoln. Then back at the high school, fans gathered in the gymnasium for a pep assembly.

After the team, coaches and managers were introduced to much applause, administrators of LCHS spoke.

Dwight Stricklin welcomed the crowd and spoke about how wonderful this team is, mentioning that in his twenty years in education, this is one of his most favorite teams ever. He also noted that even though the team finished second, “We are still the number one public school champs.”

Stricklin really fired up the crowd when he added, “If the IHSA thought they saw a lot of red and green tonight, wait til next year. It’s gonna look like Christmas at Redbird Arena.”

Stricklin did not hold back from telling the crowd how proud he is of these girls. “As hard as they work on the court, they work even harder in the classroom. That deserves a round of applause.”

Stricklin also commented, “Not to put pressure on you, but I expect a state run in volleyball in the fall.”

The superintendent is also confident on a repeat trip to State in basketball.

Principal David Helm also offered congratulations and said, “You are number one in our hearts and number one on our courts.”

Railer basketball coach Neil Alexander offered his respect for this hard-working group of Lady Railers and Coach Taylor Rohrer, who obviously adore him.

Alexander also mentioned the support of Railer Nation, “Saying Railer Nation was unbelievable. I’ve said it a lot of times that this is the greatest place to play. This is the greatest place to coach. I don’t think any of you will argue, this is a special place. You’re always going to remember that.”

Alexander looked ahead to next year saying, “We couldn’t be more excited for what holds for next year. So keep on working. It takes a lot of hard work. I’ve got two of these.” Alexander held up the second place medal on his neck. “I want a different color next year.” The crowd applauded.

Jennifer Keith also presented Coach Rohrer with a basket full of Pop Tarts before she told the crowd how proud she was for them showing up this weekend.

Coach Rohrer also spoke from the heart telling her kids, “First, to my kids. I am so proud of you. I am proud of everything you accomplished this year. I’m so proud of the work you put in and I love each and every one of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Hold your heads high and be proud. The whole community is proud of you. They are behind you.”

To Railer Nation, Coach Rohrer said, “I grew up in a basketball town and you know that Northern attitude, nothing is better than your hometown but let me tell you nothing is better than Lincoln and Railer Nation and the outpouring of love and support. I feel very lucky to be a community member here and I’m very proud to be here and feel the love of my team and there are no fans like this, so thank you for your support all season. And especially during this great run the team went on. We just are so appreciative of all of you and everything that you’ve done for us and the support you’ve shown us, so thank you.”

Coach Rohrer also told the crowd how much she has appreciated Coach Al’s support and she thanked her assistant coach, Cory Farmer as well, saying, “We wouldn’t be here without you.”

Kloe Froebe took the microphone next and with a smile she began, “On behalf of all my teammates and I, I just want to give a huge thank you to all of you guys for supporting us this whole year. It’s been really insane and super fun to have you all support us and be behind us. From the very beginning you guys have been there for us and I just want to thank you all.”

Froebe then drew laughs when she started to mix up her words a bit and her teammates were quick to start giggling, but that would quickly turn to tears when the applause died down.

“I just want to say one more thing, that I know I would never want to play for any other school but Lincoln. And I know that I have the best teammates in the world,” Froebe said, as her voice started to crack.

“And this wouldn’t be possible without my family,” Froebe continued, on the edge of tears.

People started clapping and Froebe got very emotional when she said, “My mom, she started us in kindergarten. All those years growing up together, this is what we dreamed about and I know it’s not what we planned but we still have one more year and I know we shouldn’t hold our heads down. We should keep our heads high and be proud of everything that we’ve done.”

A few sentences of Froebe’s speech were hard to understand as they were filled with emotion, but this kid has every right to have an emotional moment. She’s been the rock of the Lady Railers all season and she truly spoke from the heart in front of a lot of people.

As she headed towards her seat, she passed off the microphone to Becca Heitzig, who nervously took it and well, she ran with it enthusiastically.

“I’m not a very good public speaker, as you probably saw the other day on those interviews but I just want to thank everyone because this is just unimaginable and I wanted to take a minute out there and just like, look around,” said Heitzig, spinning in a half-circle to see the crowd. “But I knew if I did I would get real nervous. I look around now and I am just amazed. Thank you.”

That was followed by another huge applause and it’s really time to let these Lady Railers know they could sing the “ABC’s” and get a big applause and draw laughs. They just have dynamite personalities and they are easy to cheer for.

Tables and chairs were then arranged for an autograph session, along with a pile of Sharpies being distributed, and the girls signed lots of t-shirts, towels, posters and whatever people wanted. Someone even got autographs on their arm. It was a blast seeing all the smiles from the little kids to the big kids.

The event lasted just beyond 11:00 p.m. with the Lady Railers and their moms posing with the trophy as the night drew to a close.

The Lady Railer moms even imitated their daughter’s traditional “jump in the air” picture that Lynn Paulus has been snapping since the girls were little. No one got hurt and the girls really got a kick out of the hops their moms really do have. Cool moms. The girls even captured some videos of their own for future use no doubt.

Although Lynn Paulus did have to raise her "mom voice" and say to the moms, “Look at me. I’m counting.”

It's one-two-three! Jump, ladies!

It was truly a great weekend in Lady Railer history and there were so many highlights.

The laughter in the gym late Saturday night was just a great way to end it all.

Thank you, Lady Railers! We are so very proud of you!

Scoring

Lincoln 52
Froebe 19
Heitzig 12
Stoltzenburg 9
Bowman 6
Whiteman 4
Geriets 2

Nazareth Academy 63
Austin 23
Wilson 11
Carstensen 11
Dray 10
Scully 8

[Teena Lowery]