I-8 Girls and Boys Edge Out LTC
Counterparts At All-Star Shootout
Counterparts At All-Star Shootout
Interstate 8 Girls win by two, boys attain century mark ...
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
PLANO - It’s been a right of passage for almost three decades as senior girls and boys
basketball stars from both the Interstate Eight and Little Ten Conferences put their
uniforms on one last time to compete against one another.
On Saturday, Plano High School hosted the 28th annual LTC and IEC All Star Hoop
Shootout sponsored by the Leland Lions Club.
Just like in many years past, both contests went down to the wire with the I-8 getting the
best of both ball games this season.
In the girls contest, the Little Ten shockingly fell behind 20-0 early in the second quarter
and trailed by 19 going into the final period. But it stormed back to tie the score at 49 with
just under two minutes to go before ultimately falling 52-50.
On the boys side, it was a back-and-forth contest with both conferences holding big leads
at one time or another. But the Interstate Eight put together a big rally early in the fourth
quarter to break a 68-68 tie and it held from there for a high flying 100-94 victory.
Interstate Eight Girls 52, Little Ten Girls 50
The lid was tight atop the LTC senior girls hoop for the first nine plus minutes of play.
Unbelievably, a team comprised of six girls whom have competed in some way shape or
form during the last three Class 1A state title games were a collective 0-for-11 from the
field in the first quarter and fell behind 14-0 after eight minutes of play.
Coal City’s Kristen Verdun (team high 16 pts.) took over in the second period with nine
tallies all inside the paint as the I-8 actually led 20-0 before Newark’s Lauren McNanna
(12 pts.) hit a three pointer at the 6:40 mark to give the LTC its first bucket of the contest.
“Before I hit that shot, I looked at Maxzine (Rossler) and said what is going on? I was
shocked at how far we got behind,” McNanna said.
“I looked up early in that second period and thought it was very strange that they hadn’t
scored yet. They just couldn’t get a shot to fall,” said IEC and Reed-Custer head coach
Matt Peterson. “Who would have believed it? We actually needed every bit of that lead as
it turned out because after McNanna hit that first shot, they steadily got back into the
game.”
Hinckley-Big Rock's Rossler (game high 20 pts.) hit five points down the stretch in the first
half to pull the LTC to within 17 at the intermission at 28-11. But the I-8 once again
outscored the LTC 19-17 in the third period to grab a 47-28 advantage entering the final
eight minutes of play.
That’s when Rossler, McNanna and H-BR standout Jenna Thorp (13 pts.) took over and
started their amazing comeback blitz. The three would combine to tally 21 of the next 23
points in the game with McNanna hitting a pair of free throws to tie the score at 49 with 1:
55 to play.
Dwight’s Chaney Tambling (10 pts.) then dropped in a pair of charity tosses to put the I-8
back up by two at 51-49. Rossler and Tambling would each exchange free throws and the
LTC had the ball down two with 12.7 seconds to play. LTC and H-BR head coach Greg
Burks then called a timeout and designed a play for Thorp to get the last shot. The play
worked as Thorp got off a clean 10 foot jumper. But the attempt just rimmed out as the
LTC rally fell a little short.
“We had a outstanding comeback. I think everyone saw the talent we could put out on the
floor when we wanted to. You get down 20 points early, come back, lose by two, and there’
s not much more you can say,” Burks said. “We ran the set play to Jenna (Thorp) to try to
send it into overtime and I thought we ran it to perfection. It just didn’t go in. It was a fun
effort. It would’ve been nice to win the ballgame, but it was great to have my four seniors
and Larry Peppers (former H-BR head coach) on the bench with me.”
In addition to Rossler, Thorp, and McNanna’s contributions, Newark’s Tara Bernard tallied
three and H-BR’s Jessica Leifheit had two to close the book with only five scorers on the
night for the LTC.
After Verdun and Tambling, Herscher’s Lexi Stetson added seven, while Reed-Custer’s
Jacklyn Strouse put in six and Coal City’s Krista Watson tallied five.
Verdun led the I-8 in rebounding with ten boards, while Thorp paced the LTC with
seven.
“It was a great experience. We had great chemistry surprisingly playing together after all
these years playing against one another. I was glad we could hold on because I thought
they were going to kick our butts,” Verdun said.
“Even though we lost, it was an excellent event and a great opportunity to play with all the
girls that I’ve played against all through high school,” Thorp said.
Interstate Eight Boys 100, Little Ten Boys 94
With the quarters expanded from eight minutes to ten for the all-star format, there wasn’t
any shortage of points as the end-to-end actions was fast and furious throughout.
The Little Ten placed five players in double figure scoring, while the Interstate Eight had
four.
Manteno’s Ryan Liss (15 pts.) and Indian Creek’s Blake Mitchell (9 pts.) each scored six
apiece in the first quarter as the I-8 jumped out to a 25-16 advantage after one quarter.
But Hinckley-Big Rock senior Brain Michaels (16 pts.) caught fire early in the second
period with nine tallies during an extended 25-7 run that put the LTC up 41-32 with 2:25
to play in the half.
“He (Michaels) was a problem for us. We didn’t guard him tough enough and he made us
pay in that second quarter,” said IEC and Wilmington head coach Matt Hines. “We had a
nice lead after one period, but it quickly disappeared. Fortunately, we closed out the first
half strong.”
After the LTC barrage, the I-8 finished the half with a 10-0 rally to go up 42-41 at the
intermission as Liss tallied four more along with four from Coal City’s Nick Green (16 pts.)
and two from Sandwich’s David Meyer (4 pts.).
“It was getting a little nerve-racking for awhile there and we let them get ahead. But we
came back when it mattered and scored the points we needed to, to take the lead at
halftime,” Meyer said.
The LTC reassured itself in the third quarter and led 63-58 after Serena senior Brady
Johnson (16 pts.) tallied on an old fashioned three-point play with 1:35 to go in the period.
“We didn’t think we’d do so well as we did tonight. They definitely had the height
advantage, but we put it together in the second quarter and then in the third and I thought
we were pulling away again,” Johnson said.
The I-8 would make the waning minutes of the third period its own just like it did in the
second outscoring the LTC 10-2 to lead 68-65 with ten minutes to play.
A 16-5 rally would spur the final quarter for the I-8 as Nick Green added six more points
and Westmont’s Erik Andrews (14 pts.) tallied five to open an 84-70 lead. But the LTC
wasn’t done yet.
Serena’s Kevin Kreinbrink (13 pts.) and Somonauk Eric Green (13 pts.) led their squad on
a 10-2 run to pull within six at 86-80 with four minutes to go.
“I couldn’t find my shot in the first half, but I got it together late. Unfortunately it wasn’t
enough. We just couldn’t get closer than about five or six points down the stretch,”
Kreinbrink said.
The last four minutes was a stalemate with each team tallying 14 points. Johnson’s three
ball with 20 second to play pulled the LTC to within five, but it was too little too late and
the I-8 captured a hotly contested a high scoring six point win.
Other contributors for the LTC were Leland-Earlville’s Danny Heath (11 pts.) and Paw Paw’
s Heath Nicholson (7 pts.)
“Playing against each other in the Little Ten all these years, we didn’t like each other at
all. But we actually came together. It kind of spooked me a out little,” Nicholson said. “This
game brought us together and I think this goes to show that you don’t really have to know
somebody all that long to get to know their style and how they do things. I was proud of
our effort.”
Manteno’s Brandon Ringler (16 pts.) along with Herscher’s Mike Krygowski (9 pts.) and
Westmont’s Jake Lechelt (8 pts.) helped bring together a victorious I-8 squad that hardly
even knew each other two weeks ago.
“One of my goals coming into my senior year was to play in this game. I watched my
brother play in it and I knew it would be a lot of fun,” Meyer said. “You play against these
guys all year in conference. But to come together and play as a team and knowing you’re
the best twelve or eleven seniors in the I-8 conference that’s something else. It’s a great
experience to get together with these guys and it’s great bragging rights against the Little
Ten.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
PLANO - It’s been a right of passage for almost three decades as senior girls and boys
basketball stars from both the Interstate Eight and Little Ten Conferences put their
uniforms on one last time to compete against one another.
On Saturday, Plano High School hosted the 28th annual LTC and IEC All Star Hoop
Shootout sponsored by the Leland Lions Club.
Just like in many years past, both contests went down to the wire with the I-8 getting the
best of both ball games this season.
In the girls contest, the Little Ten shockingly fell behind 20-0 early in the second quarter
and trailed by 19 going into the final period. But it stormed back to tie the score at 49 with
just under two minutes to go before ultimately falling 52-50.
On the boys side, it was a back-and-forth contest with both conferences holding big leads
at one time or another. But the Interstate Eight put together a big rally early in the fourth
quarter to break a 68-68 tie and it held from there for a high flying 100-94 victory.
Interstate Eight Girls 52, Little Ten Girls 50
The lid was tight atop the LTC senior girls hoop for the first nine plus minutes of play.
Unbelievably, a team comprised of six girls whom have competed in some way shape or
form during the last three Class 1A state title games were a collective 0-for-11 from the
field in the first quarter and fell behind 14-0 after eight minutes of play.
Coal City’s Kristen Verdun (team high 16 pts.) took over in the second period with nine
tallies all inside the paint as the I-8 actually led 20-0 before Newark’s Lauren McNanna
(12 pts.) hit a three pointer at the 6:40 mark to give the LTC its first bucket of the contest.
“Before I hit that shot, I looked at Maxzine (Rossler) and said what is going on? I was
shocked at how far we got behind,” McNanna said.
“I looked up early in that second period and thought it was very strange that they hadn’t
scored yet. They just couldn’t get a shot to fall,” said IEC and Reed-Custer head coach
Matt Peterson. “Who would have believed it? We actually needed every bit of that lead as
it turned out because after McNanna hit that first shot, they steadily got back into the
game.”
Hinckley-Big Rock's Rossler (game high 20 pts.) hit five points down the stretch in the first
half to pull the LTC to within 17 at the intermission at 28-11. But the I-8 once again
outscored the LTC 19-17 in the third period to grab a 47-28 advantage entering the final
eight minutes of play.
That’s when Rossler, McNanna and H-BR standout Jenna Thorp (13 pts.) took over and
started their amazing comeback blitz. The three would combine to tally 21 of the next 23
points in the game with McNanna hitting a pair of free throws to tie the score at 49 with 1:
55 to play.
Dwight’s Chaney Tambling (10 pts.) then dropped in a pair of charity tosses to put the I-8
back up by two at 51-49. Rossler and Tambling would each exchange free throws and the
LTC had the ball down two with 12.7 seconds to play. LTC and H-BR head coach Greg
Burks then called a timeout and designed a play for Thorp to get the last shot. The play
worked as Thorp got off a clean 10 foot jumper. But the attempt just rimmed out as the
LTC rally fell a little short.
“We had a outstanding comeback. I think everyone saw the talent we could put out on the
floor when we wanted to. You get down 20 points early, come back, lose by two, and there’
s not much more you can say,” Burks said. “We ran the set play to Jenna (Thorp) to try to
send it into overtime and I thought we ran it to perfection. It just didn’t go in. It was a fun
effort. It would’ve been nice to win the ballgame, but it was great to have my four seniors
and Larry Peppers (former H-BR head coach) on the bench with me.”
In addition to Rossler, Thorp, and McNanna’s contributions, Newark’s Tara Bernard tallied
three and H-BR’s Jessica Leifheit had two to close the book with only five scorers on the
night for the LTC.
After Verdun and Tambling, Herscher’s Lexi Stetson added seven, while Reed-Custer’s
Jacklyn Strouse put in six and Coal City’s Krista Watson tallied five.
Verdun led the I-8 in rebounding with ten boards, while Thorp paced the LTC with
seven.
“It was a great experience. We had great chemistry surprisingly playing together after all
these years playing against one another. I was glad we could hold on because I thought
they were going to kick our butts,” Verdun said.
“Even though we lost, it was an excellent event and a great opportunity to play with all the
girls that I’ve played against all through high school,” Thorp said.
Interstate Eight Boys 100, Little Ten Boys 94
With the quarters expanded from eight minutes to ten for the all-star format, there wasn’t
any shortage of points as the end-to-end actions was fast and furious throughout.
The Little Ten placed five players in double figure scoring, while the Interstate Eight had
four.
Manteno’s Ryan Liss (15 pts.) and Indian Creek’s Blake Mitchell (9 pts.) each scored six
apiece in the first quarter as the I-8 jumped out to a 25-16 advantage after one quarter.
But Hinckley-Big Rock senior Brain Michaels (16 pts.) caught fire early in the second
period with nine tallies during an extended 25-7 run that put the LTC up 41-32 with 2:25
to play in the half.
“He (Michaels) was a problem for us. We didn’t guard him tough enough and he made us
pay in that second quarter,” said IEC and Wilmington head coach Matt Hines. “We had a
nice lead after one period, but it quickly disappeared. Fortunately, we closed out the first
half strong.”
After the LTC barrage, the I-8 finished the half with a 10-0 rally to go up 42-41 at the
intermission as Liss tallied four more along with four from Coal City’s Nick Green (16 pts.)
and two from Sandwich’s David Meyer (4 pts.).
“It was getting a little nerve-racking for awhile there and we let them get ahead. But we
came back when it mattered and scored the points we needed to, to take the lead at
halftime,” Meyer said.
The LTC reassured itself in the third quarter and led 63-58 after Serena senior Brady
Johnson (16 pts.) tallied on an old fashioned three-point play with 1:35 to go in the period.
“We didn’t think we’d do so well as we did tonight. They definitely had the height
advantage, but we put it together in the second quarter and then in the third and I thought
we were pulling away again,” Johnson said.
The I-8 would make the waning minutes of the third period its own just like it did in the
second outscoring the LTC 10-2 to lead 68-65 with ten minutes to play.
A 16-5 rally would spur the final quarter for the I-8 as Nick Green added six more points
and Westmont’s Erik Andrews (14 pts.) tallied five to open an 84-70 lead. But the LTC
wasn’t done yet.
Serena’s Kevin Kreinbrink (13 pts.) and Somonauk Eric Green (13 pts.) led their squad on
a 10-2 run to pull within six at 86-80 with four minutes to go.
“I couldn’t find my shot in the first half, but I got it together late. Unfortunately it wasn’t
enough. We just couldn’t get closer than about five or six points down the stretch,”
Kreinbrink said.
The last four minutes was a stalemate with each team tallying 14 points. Johnson’s three
ball with 20 second to play pulled the LTC to within five, but it was too little too late and
the I-8 captured a hotly contested a high scoring six point win.
Other contributors for the LTC were Leland-Earlville’s Danny Heath (11 pts.) and Paw Paw’
s Heath Nicholson (7 pts.)
“Playing against each other in the Little Ten all these years, we didn’t like each other at
all. But we actually came together. It kind of spooked me a out little,” Nicholson said. “This
game brought us together and I think this goes to show that you don’t really have to know
somebody all that long to get to know their style and how they do things. I was proud of
our effort.”
Manteno’s Brandon Ringler (16 pts.) along with Herscher’s Mike Krygowski (9 pts.) and
Westmont’s Jake Lechelt (8 pts.) helped bring together a victorious I-8 squad that hardly
even knew each other two weeks ago.
“One of my goals coming into my senior year was to play in this game. I watched my
brother play in it and I knew it would be a lot of fun,” Meyer said. “You play against these
guys all year in conference. But to come together and play as a team and knowing you’re
the best twelve or eleven seniors in the I-8 conference that’s something else. It’s a great
experience to get together with these guys and it’s great bragging rights against the Little
Ten.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
At Plano
LTC-IEC All Star Hoop
Shootout
I-8 Girls 52, Little 10 Girls 50
LTC (50) – Stouffer 0 0-0 0,
Rossler 7 2-4 20, McNanna 3
5-6 12, Bernard 1 1-2 3,
Sniegowski 0 0-0 0,
Lampson 0 0-0 0, Butts 0 0-0
0, Browder 0 0-0 0, Leifheit 1
0-0 2, Thorp 4 5-12 13, Meyer
0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-24 50.
I-8 (52) – Ju. Strouse 0 0-0 0,
Venecia 0 0-0 0, Wetzel 0 0-0
0, Stetson 3 0-0 7, Todd 1 0-0
2, Ja. Strouse 3 0-2 6,
Watson 2 1-2 5, Nugent 1 0-0
2, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 2
0-2 4, Tambling 3 4-5 10,
Verdun 6 3-4 16. Totals 21 8-
15 52.
LTC 0 11 17 22 – 50
I-8 14 14 19 5 – 52
3-point goals – LTC 6
(Rossler 4); IEC 2 (Stetson,
Verdun). Rebounds – LTC 25
(Thorp 7); IEC 40 (Verdun
10). Turnovers – LTC 14; IEC
20. Total fouls (none fouled
out) – LTC 12; IEC 17.
I-8 Boys 100, Little 10 Boys
94
LTC (94) – Milan 0 0-0 0,
Schwingle 1 0-0 2, Baker 1 2-
2 4, Michaels 7 1-1 16,
Mitchell 3 0-0 9, Kreinbrink 5
2-2 13, Kartheiser 1 0-0 3,
Johnson 6 2-4 16, Heath 5 0-
0 11, E. Green 6 1-2 13, Bend
0 0-0 0, Nicholson 3 0-0 7.
Totals 38 8-11 94.
I-8 (100) – Petkunas 2 0-0 6,
VanDuyne 3 1-2 7, Meyer 2 0-
0 4, Krygowski 4 1-1 9, Liss 6
2-2 15, Lechelt 3 0-0 8,
Andrews 6 0-0 14, N. Green 7
2-3 16, Ringler 6 2-2 16,
Crutchfield 1 2-4 5. Totals 40
10-14 100.
LTC 16 24 25 29 – 94
I-8 25 16 27 32 – 100
3-point goals – LTC 10
(Mitchell 3); IEC 10 (Petkunas
2, Lechelt 2, Andrews 2,
Ringler 2). Total fouls (none
fouled out) – LTC 12; IEC 15.
LTC-IEC All Star Hoop
Shootout
I-8 Girls 52, Little 10 Girls 50
LTC (50) – Stouffer 0 0-0 0,
Rossler 7 2-4 20, McNanna 3
5-6 12, Bernard 1 1-2 3,
Sniegowski 0 0-0 0,
Lampson 0 0-0 0, Butts 0 0-0
0, Browder 0 0-0 0, Leifheit 1
0-0 2, Thorp 4 5-12 13, Meyer
0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-24 50.
I-8 (52) – Ju. Strouse 0 0-0 0,
Venecia 0 0-0 0, Wetzel 0 0-0
0, Stetson 3 0-0 7, Todd 1 0-0
2, Ja. Strouse 3 0-2 6,
Watson 2 1-2 5, Nugent 1 0-0
2, Murphy 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 2
0-2 4, Tambling 3 4-5 10,
Verdun 6 3-4 16. Totals 21 8-
15 52.
LTC 0 11 17 22 – 50
I-8 14 14 19 5 – 52
3-point goals – LTC 6
(Rossler 4); IEC 2 (Stetson,
Verdun). Rebounds – LTC 25
(Thorp 7); IEC 40 (Verdun
10). Turnovers – LTC 14; IEC
20. Total fouls (none fouled
out) – LTC 12; IEC 17.
I-8 Boys 100, Little 10 Boys
94
LTC (94) – Milan 0 0-0 0,
Schwingle 1 0-0 2, Baker 1 2-
2 4, Michaels 7 1-1 16,
Mitchell 3 0-0 9, Kreinbrink 5
2-2 13, Kartheiser 1 0-0 3,
Johnson 6 2-4 16, Heath 5 0-
0 11, E. Green 6 1-2 13, Bend
0 0-0 0, Nicholson 3 0-0 7.
Totals 38 8-11 94.
I-8 (100) – Petkunas 2 0-0 6,
VanDuyne 3 1-2 7, Meyer 2 0-
0 4, Krygowski 4 1-1 9, Liss 6
2-2 15, Lechelt 3 0-0 8,
Andrews 6 0-0 14, N. Green 7
2-3 16, Ringler 6 2-2 16,
Crutchfield 1 2-4 5. Totals 40
10-14 100.
LTC 16 24 25 29 – 94
I-8 25 16 27 32 – 100
3-point goals – LTC 10
(Mitchell 3); IEC 10 (Petkunas
2, Lechelt 2, Andrews 2,
Ringler 2). Total fouls (none
fouled out) – LTC 12; IEC 15.
C o d y' s
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