Kroner's girls' basketball insider
By: Fred Kroner
Friday, January 16, 2009 01:33:52 PM CDT
Each Friday, prep sports coordinator Fred Kroner will review the area girls' basketball scene:
Random Thoughts
RECORD BECKONING
Fisher junior Savannah Piety is closing in on the school's career scoring record for girls. Piety has 1,125 points with a minimum of eight games remaining this season. She needs 120 to pass the total of current Parkland College athlete Jessi Beachey. The Bunnies will return to action tonight in a girls-boys doubleheader at Fisher. Both teams will play Flanagan. The girls' game will begin at 6 p.m. The junior varsity contests will be rescheduled for a separate time. Piety is the area's third-leading scorer, with a 20.6 season average.
MILESTONE APPROACHING
Uni High senior Rachel Skoza could become the latest Illinek in the school's 1,000-point club. She needs 11 points tonight to reach that milestone. Uni's girls will play DeLand-Weldon at Kenney Gym prior to the boys' East Central Illinois Conference contest against D-W.
TOURNAMENT TIME
Three area conference tournaments will begin Saturday. At Danville's Palmer Arena, state-ranked Salt Fork (eighth in Class 1A) is the top seed for the eight-team event. The Storm faces eighth-seeded Georgetown-Ridge Farm in the 9 a.m. opener. Bismarck-Henning is the second seed, and Milford is the third seed. In the Little Okaw Valley Conference tournament, at Arthur, the top three seeds have byes until Monday in the 13-team event. Shiloh (21-1) is the top seed, followed by Arcola and Heritage. Arthur will use two gyms with two opening-round games taking place at 1 p.m. Saturday. In the McLean County tournament, which features every team in the Heart of Illinois Conference, top-seeded Ridgeview, second-seeded El Paso-Gridley and third-seeded Fisher have byes until Monday. Saturday's games will be played at Tri-Valley Middle School.
FRESH FACES
Three ninth-graders stand out among all other first-year high school players for having made the most three-pointers thus far in varsity games. The freshman leaders are Uni High's Jamie Blue (10), LeRoy's Molly Marcum (nine) and Armstrong-Potomac's Brooke Markwalder (nine). See chart below for the area's 15 leading freshman scorers.
OUT FOR THE YEAR
Sophomore Kelsey Sollars, one of four Hoopeston Area athletes who have scored in double figures, will be sidelined for the rest of the basketball season after sustaining a broken bone in her left hand Monday against Chrisman. The right-hander is expected to return for softball. She will be one of the team's pitchers.
GAME BALLS
CHARNICE CARAWAY, Centennial
The 5-foot-5 sophomore has hit three- pointers in eight of the last 10 games she has played. None was bigger than Thursday's buzzer beater that created overtime at Urbana.
LAUREN TAYLOR, Sullivan
The 5-9 senior hasn't been held under double figures this season and has vaulted into the lead as the area's top scorer thanks to a five-game stretch when she averaged 28.0 points per game.
FRESHMaN leaders
TOP SCORERS
(Varsity games only)
1. JAMIE BLUE, Uni High: 261 points; 16.3 avg.
2. ASHLEN PORTWOOD, Milford: 152 points, 8.9 avg.
3. MOLLY MARCUM, LeRoy: 95 points, 7.3 avg.
4. CHEYENNE HEDRINGTON, Centennial: 79 points, 7.2 avg.
5. DESTANI BURTON, Urbana: 127 points, 7.1 avg.
6. PAIGE THEVENIN, Chrisman: 139 points, 6.9 avg.
7. BROOKE MARKWALDER, Armstrong-Potomac: 103 points, 5.4 avg.
8. MEGAN JONES, Ridgeview: 62 points, 4.1 avg.
8. MELINDA WILSON, Blue Ridge: 45 points, 4.1 avg.
10. AMANDA WALLACE, Mahomet-Seymour: 66 points, 3.7 avg.
11. LORI HAAS, Bismarck-Henning: 69 points, 3.6 avg.
12. SAMANTHA SIDDENS, Bismarck-Henning: 62 points, 3.4 avg.
13. JORDAN LANDECK, Shiloh: 40 points, 2.7 avg.
14. J'LYNN AYERS, Danville: 37 points, 2.2 avg.
14. PAIGE DELONG, South Piatt: 37 points, 2.2 avg.
Who's SIZZLING
SALT FORK
Dave Ellars lost a two-point decision in his first game as the team's head coach, but nothing since. The Storm takes a 17-game winning streak into the start of Saturday's Vermilion County tournament. Seniors Mallory Weber, Mallory Meade and Hannah Wilkins are the top three Salt Fork scorers.
Who's HOT
RIDGEVIEW
In particular, Illinois State University softball recruit Lauren Kellar. The 5-foot-7 senior guard has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season. She is coming off her best stretch: 12 three-pointers in the Mustangs' last three games.
How news-gazette top 10 fared
1. Prairie Central (1) 15-2
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2. Salt Fork (2) 17-1
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3. Ridgeview (3) 14-3
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4. Shiloh (5) 21-1
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5. St. Thomas More (4) 15-4
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6. Unity (7) 14-6
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7. Bismarck-Henning (8) 17-2
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8. Fisher (10) 14-5
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9. Chrisman (9) 16-4
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10. Paxton-Buckley-Loda (–) 13-3
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