The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 11

THIRD EDITION B4 THE PANTAGRAPH, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 1996 Guards pace PBL past Iroquois West Halm, High cash in on Prairie Central 'shutdown' Jones leads Central past Mahomet By Pantagraph staff Six-foot sophomore center Amanda Jones scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter as Central Catholic High Prairie Central's Jennifer Haab converted two steals into points and baskets by Addle Ahlemeyer, Denise Banwart and Sarah Weeks pulled the Hawks to within, 27-25, with 3:07 left to go. Laura Dwyer, who added 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for High, snapped the Hawks' run with a basket at the 1:25 mark. "In the fourth quarter we played much more aggressive at the per-imter," said Sondgeroth. "A key to the game was our ability to put pressure on them at the perimeter." High controlled the game In the final period, holding the Hawks scoreless until Banwart sank a Jumper with 1:47 left Christine O'Connor had seven steals and seven points for the Pioneers.

Banwart led Prairie Central with 13 points and five rebounds, while Haab contributed 10 points and three steals. because of the inside play of forward Jenelle Halm, who scored a game-high 19 points. The senior scored 13 points In the first half, including nine of the Pioneers' 11 points In the second quarter, to give High a 21-12 halftime cushion. High's lead slipped In the third period thanks to a 10-0 run by the Hawks that began with five minutes left in the quarter. "They played fantastic in the third quarter," said High coach Mike Sondgeroth, whose team improved to 16-4 and 5-1 In the Corn Belt "The biggest key is that we were able to withstand a good run by them and not give up the lead.

"We were able to do enough to keep the lead and that made it hard for them to continue to play at that level." With High leading 27-15 In the third quarter, the Hawks scored 10 unanswered points. By STEPHANIE OITKER Pantagraph staff FAIRBURY Offensive shutdown. That's how Prairie Central High School girls basketball coach Joe Oprondek de- scribed his HIGH 50 team's per- PRAIRIE CENTRAL 40 formance fol- lowing a 50-40 loss to University High Tuesday night "We have to get over the mental thing," said Oprondek, after his team dropped to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in the Corn Belt Conference. "Offensively, we went on shutdown tonight and we can't beat a good team like High the way we shot today." The Hawks' only lead came on a free throw by Jaime Mack at the 6:33 mark of the opening quarter. By the end of the first period, High had managed a 10-5 lead and gained solid control at halftime By Pantagraph staff PBL High School basketball coach Russ Zick believes he has three "very athletic guards" In Corey Fox, Craig Loschen and Mark Prina.

KT A AHA A Iroquois West "BL 1U0 would argue IROQ. WEST 76 following Tuesday night's Sangamon Valley Conference game at Paxton. Prina and Fox combined to sink 11 of 13 shots from 3-point range, and Loschen added 18 points on a series of acrobatic drives, as PBL rolled to a 106-76 victory. Fox sank four 3-pointers and Prina added two in the first quarter, staking PBL to a 30-17 lead that was never threatened. Prina finished 5 of 6 from 3-point territory while scoring 25 points, and Fox was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc for 18 points.

Along with the quick Loschen, they thrived In the fast-paced contest "When both teams press you have a very up tempo game," Zick said. "We pressed the first half and they did the whole way. They weren't bashful about shooting and neither were we. They got off a lot of shots and so did we." PBL made enough to improve to 16-5 overall and 11-1 in the Sangamon Valley. Iroquois West, which received 24 points from Aric Miller, 16 from Josh Schunke and 14 from Graham Schmld, fell to 10-9 and 4-7.

PBL forced a number of turnovers in the opening quarter, thanks in part to senior Chad Rock. Rock finished with six steals to go with six rebounds and four points. "I thought he played a great floor game," Zick said. "He and Loschen-are extremely quick, and they really key our press." Blue Ridge 78, Fisher 64 Blue Ridge had to overcome a 34-point effort by the Bunnies' Michael Hofferth in a Sangamon Val ley Conference game at Fisher. The Knights (12-9, 5-7), meanwhile, received explosive performances from Jeff Freden with 29 points and Kyle Blumer with 26.

Fisher (3-19, 0-12) was led by Hofferth and Max Gross, who poured in 20 points. The Knights let a 45-30 halftime lead slip to 57-53 at the end of the third quarter. But Blue Ridge put the game away with a 21-9 scoring run in the fourth quarter. Trl-Valley 61, Heyworth 60 Ryan Curtis hit a driving layup with nine seconds left to boost Tri-Valley past Heyworth In a league game at Heyworth. Curtis finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for Tri-Valley (12-9, 7-4) while Brian Stenger turned in a game-high 17 points.

Mike Pfeiffer added 10 points. Heyworth (6-12, 2-9) was led by sophomore Chad Cline with 15 points while James Bartels and Bill Stamp each finished with 14. Heyworth stayed within striking distance the entire game and took the lead 47-45 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams exchanged baskets throughout the fourth quarter before Curtis sank the game winner. Rldgevlew 80, GCMS 54 The Mustangs opened up a sizeable lead in the third quarter and never looked back In their Sangamon Valley win at Gibson City.

Ridgeview (16-3, 11-0) was led by Clint Carden with 19 points, while Tim Cavinder added 14 and Adam Zehr scored 12. Brian Nettleton led the Falcons (8-14, 5-7) with 15 points. Duane Ehmen and Ramie Lantz scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Ridgeview led 36-30 before connecting on four 3-pointers in the third quarter to spur a 23-12 scoring run that put the game out of reach. GCMS' Page enjoys 'block' party By DAVID BRUMMER Pantagraph staff Whether an opponent drives at her, pulls up in front of her or tries to back into her, one thing is bound to happen eventually when a shot gets fired at center Karen Page.

It gets blocked. In fact, the 6- foot-3 senior from Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School has blocked a staggering 85 shot attempts this season, including 12 In a single game earlier this season. It averages to a quite Impressive 4.47 blocked shots per game. But most of all, it announces the dominant arrival of a player who needed time to develop. Despite being 6-1 as a freshman, she didn't even start on the freshman team.

Instead, she was a skinny and underdeveloped backup center, whom varsity coach Os-sie Jordan and assistant coach Larry Littlefield considered "a lit (BUMS tLj AREA NOTES School cap- tured a 56-28 Corn Belt Conference CENTRAL MAHOMET 56 28 girls base- ktball win over Mahomet-Seymour Tuesday night at Bloomtngton. The Saints (10-11 overall and 3-6 in the Corn Belt) held a 6-2 first-quarter lead as both teams struggled offensively. But Central Catholic raced to a 24-11 halftime lead behind Jones and a rejuvinated offense. "We just didn't get on track until the second quarter," Central Catholic coach JoAnn Bowers said. "We weren't functioning well within the offense." The Saints' straight up man-toman defense held Mahomet (1-17, 0-8) to Just 12 points over the second and third periods en route to a 37- 14 third-quarter lead.

Jones also led the Saints with 10 rebounds while fellow sophomore Jenny Kabbes added 10 points and seven rebounds. Junior wing player Annie Green chipped in with eight points. "We playd a lot of people," Bowers said. "It was a good team effort We missed some shots early but I think the defense may have had something to do with that" Jamie Rayburn led the Bulldogs with eight points. Elsenhower 63, NCHS 44 Normal Community rallied from a 19-point deficit to pull within 52-43 with 2:12 left to play but was held scoreless In the final 1:40 of the Big 12 Conference loss at Decatur.

K.C. Hammond poured in 29 points and Danielle Hinton added 18 to pace Decatur Eisenhower. Erin Ninness led NCHS with 12 points. Eisenhower (13-5 overall and 74 in the Big 12) got 3-point field goals from Hammond and Michelle Hi-ggins to push their advantage to 58-43 and held the Ironmen (7-15, 7-6) to just a free throw In the last 2:12 to earn the win. "We are still not a very good rebounding team and they got a lot of second and third shots against us," NCHS coach Matilda Mossman said.

"We cut it to nine but I think at that point we just ran out of gas." Fuller leads NCHS past Eisenhower By Pantagraph staff The Normal Community High School basketball team opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run and pulled away to a 65-46 Big 12 Conference win over Decatur Eisenhower Tuesday night at Neuman Gym. James Fuller, a 6-foot-4 junior center, scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter for the Ironmen, who improved to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in the Big 12. Eisenhower (5-14, 3-8) opened a 38- 34 lead with 1:50 remaining in the third period after Fred Pender scored off of one of NCHS' 19 turnovers. Pender and Felipe Jar-rett both scored 11 points to lead the Panthers. The Ironmen closed the third quarter with an 8-2 spurt, keyed by two Matt Funk 3-point baskets, to go ahead 42-40.

Funk had four 3-pointers on the game to account for his 12 points. Point guard Jonah Batambuze contributed 17 points to NCHS' balanced attack. 7 Roanoke-Benson can't overcome slow start Abry, Pontiac hold off Olympia in Corn Belt tle bit of a project." Three years later, however, Page has become the most dominating center in the Sangamon Valley Conference, averaging 9.9 rebounds and 10.0 points to supplement her intimidating shot-blocking skills. As a result, junior colleges and Division II and Division III schools have begun to show interest in the still spindly Page. "From an offensive standpoint she's still got a lot of room for Improvement," Littlefield said.

"But I would think that two years from now she could really become a player as she grows into her body." Hanns' homecoming of sorts Hanns Meyer, rebuilding in his first season as Iroquois West coach, will return to the school he once guided to the state tournament Saturday. Iroquois West (6-13) will travel to Crescent-Iroquols, which Meyer coached to fourth place in the 1992 Class A tournament Taylorvllle 58, Lincoln 46 Allison Curtin scored 20 points and Amy Weber added 10 as Tay-lorville handed Lincoln the Central State Conference loss at Lincoln. The Tornadoes (20-2 overall, 11-0 in the league) led 32-24 at halftime before using a 12-7 third-quarter to put the game away. Steph Reichle led Lincoln (9-10, 6-4) with 17 points while Lindsay Klockenga added 13. Morton 54, Limestone 50 Morton claimed a tie with Limestone for first place in the Mid-Illini Conference by defeating Limestone in a league game at Morton.

The Potters (19-3, 8-1) were led by Lucy Miller, who had 22 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line. "Miller had a great game for us tonight," said Potter coach Lynn' Rudin. "She really stepped it up offensively and defensively." Clutch free throw shooting also helped Morton, which was 13 of 17 from the line for 76 percent, and hit 8 of 12 in the fourth quarter. Heidi Kellerstrass contributed 14 points for Morton, while Angie Wacaser had seven rebounds and four assists. these rolls, perfect for: The Area, etc.

GCMS coach Ossle Jordan has been hospitalized since Monday night because of gall stones. However, Jordan could be released as soon as today or Thursday. Tri-Point can clinch a share of its second straight Midstate title with a victory Thursday at Lexington. Another victory Monday at Cullom against Woodland would assure sole possession of the title. Lincoln's Steph Reichle has already broken the freshman school scoring record.

Her 289 points this season erased Barb Verderber-Hinkle's 20-year record of 134. Verderber-Hinkle scored 1,350 career points. Contenders just a couple of weeks ago, Maroa-Forsyth and Clinton have been eliminated from the Okaw Conference race. Instead, Decatur St. Teresa and Monticello will decide the winner when they meet Thursday.

See Scoreboard for area leaders Millikin slips past IWU women By Pantagraph staff DECATUR A basket by Millikin senior Julie Roe with just under two minutes remaining gave the Big Blue their first lead since early in the game and MILLIKIN 79 keyed a 79-74 WESLEYAN 74 College Con- ference of Illinois and Wisconsin women's basketball win over Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday night Jenny Nichols led Millikin (16-3 overall and 6-2 in the CCIW) with 24 points while Roe added 18. Jennifer Myers chipped in 17 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Big Blue. Kristen Schroff led Wesleyan (14-5, 4-3) with 20 points and seven rebounds, but the Titans played much of the game without senior forward Becky Anderson because of foul trouble. "We had people come in and play well off the bench," IWU coach Mandy Neal said. "I wish we could have ended the game after 38 minutes.

We were executing our offense and were staying with them on the boards. I felt we deserved to win and played well enough to win, but Millikin also played well" Traci Butler added 17 points and reserve guard Maggie Lamb scored a career-high 13 off the bench for the Titans. Pantagraph A By Pantagraph staff Roanoke-Benson High School couldn't recover from an early 13-point deficit and dropped a 61-52 decision to Peoria Notre Dame in a non- conference basketball game Tuesday night at Roanoke. PEORIA ND ROANOKE 61 52 Senior Matt Sauder pumped in 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Rockets (8-10), who fell behind 21-8 in the middle of the second quarter. They closed the gap to 26-21 at halftime.

Greg Peterson also chipped in 14 points for Roanoke-Benson. "We dug ourselves in a big hole in the second quarter," said Rockets coach Brad Stuart "We got shots and just didn't make them, and we could never quite get over the hump." Illini Central Despite a 20-point fourth quarter from Delavan, Illini Central held on to win 54-50 in Tomahawk Conference basketball action Tuesday night at Mason City. Illini Central sophomore Brad ILLINI CENTRAL 54 DELAVAN 50 Bergman led all scorers with 22 points He also grabbed seven re bounds for the Cougars, while jun- ior Rob Bruce added 16 points and eight rebounds. Delavan got out to an early 13-6 advantage, but the Cougars outs-cored the Panthers 22-9 in the second quarter for a 28-22 halftime By Pantagraph staff Senior forward Lori Abry scored 20 points and Pontiac High School held off an Olympia fourth-quarter rally to capture a 47-40 Corn Belt Conference girls basketball victory Tuesday night at Stanford. Sophomore Natalie Chambers scored eight of her team-high 12 point and Jody Hillman had seven of her eight in the fourth quarter as the Spartans (11-7 overall, 3-4 Corn Belt) rallied from a 40-23 third-quarter deficit But Pontiac (16-6, 6-2) held on as Abry sank 10 of her 15 free throws and the Indians made five of eight from the line in the final period.

Lindsay Dodson and Michelle Pfaff each added 10 points for Pontiac. Canton 47, East Peoria 36 Canton took a six-point halftime lead on the way to handing East Peoria its 10th Mid-Illini Conference loss at East Peoria. The Raiders (1-18, 0-10) didn't have any players in double figures. Niki Campen led East Peoria with nine points. Rachel Tonsor added eight points, with two 3-pointers.

good, recycled paper on Lir-rrtTi1 (EMEUS ROUNDUP DePue 63, Washburn 51 Lowpoint-Washburn was unble to stop DePue's Luke Dobrich, who scored 24 points in a non-conference win for the host Little Giants. The Wildcats (9-11) were led by Vince and Nate Swanson, who tossed in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Lowpoint-Washburn trailed 20-15 at the end of the first quarter before falling behind 37-24 at half-time. Midland 83, Neponset 42 Midland received 14 points apiece from Josh Gauwitz and Brian Miller as it rolled over Neponset in a nonconference game at Varna. The Timberwolves (10-9) jumped out to a 20-10 first-quarter lead before taking a 42-15 advantage at halftime.

tops Delavan lead. Senior Josh Hibberd led Delavan with 16 points. Trl-City 67, Mount Pulaski 45 Shane Watkins' 22 points proved to be too much for Mount Pulaski in a Sangamo Conference game at Mount Pulaski. Mount Pulaski (7-12, 1-5) trailed by only one point at the end of the first quarter, but Buffalo Tri-City sprinted to a 30-17 halftime lead. "We didn't shoot very well at all," Mount Pulaski coach Ed But-kovich said.

"They pushed us outside and forced some turnovers." Monmouth sank 21 of, 34 free throws, while Eureka College hit 11 of 16. Center Dawn Bradbury led Eureka College with 21 points and 17 rebounds. 9am to 4pm Dick Butkus GaleSayers will be signing 11 am to 2 pm Eureka College women suffer loss MONMOUTH Monmouth outscored Eureka College 21-11 at the free throw line in handing the Red Devils an 88-80 defeat in a women's basketball game Tuesday night You can't eat 'em, but you can do almost everything else with them. End rolls are just that, the end of a roll of newsprint. There is approximately 200 feet of Paying CASH for your vintage sports cards sports memorabilia Shoeless Joe Who's Up next will be paying CASH for cards at the NORMAL Baseball Card Show on Sunday, Feb.

4th If you have large collections to sell, or cannot attend the show, please call Joe Yanello End rolls come in three sizes: 54" tall, 40 and 27" tall To pick up your end rolls, just come in to The Pantagraph reception desk, 301 W. Washington, Bloomington, anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Holiday Inn 8 Traders Circle (Near 1-55 Ex 165) I JOS' 1.