SportsHerald&Review

BSIDELINES

www.herald-review.com

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Millikin women

drop opener to

UW-Platteville/B7

Compiled from H&R staff and news service reports

More basketball previewComplete rosters,schedules for thegirls teams/Thursday

Questions or comments regarding this section? Contact Sports Editor Mike Albright at 421-7909

Speak up

Vote online at:

www.herald-review.com/sports

Ex-Panther’s season in perilPurdue point guard Lewis Jack-

son is out indefinitely after surgeryTuesday to repair a broken foot hesuffered in practice last week.

Coach Matt Painter said the injurywill keep the former H&R County

Player of the Yearout until at leastFebruary.

Jackson, anEisenhower graduate,started 30 games asa freshman lastseason and aver-

aged a team-best 3.3 assists pergame. He was expected to returnfrom two suspensions in time forthe No. 7 Boilermakers to playSouth Dakota State on Friday at theParadise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

Freshman Kelsey Barlow isexpected to get extra minutes in hisplace.

Right where he wanted himWho needs a deer rifle when you

have a lawn ornament?Mark Brye of Viroqua, Wis.,

boasts a freezer full of serendipitousvenison after a love-crazed 7-pointbuck dropped dead in his yard afterhe rammed Brye’s concrete elklawn statue. Talk about a mismatch:The deer weighed 180 pounds—and the lawn ornament 640 pounds.

And just to make it legal, “Bryeclaimed the buck with a tag fromthe Vernon County conservationwarden. He laughed at the war-den’s tag note: ‘lawn ornament fight— lost.’ ”

The statue isn’t doing so hot,either, lying on its side—one of itsshattered antlers in five pieces —until Brye can round up friends toget it upright.

Dark day for man in blackJerry Glanville has resigned after

three years as head coach of thePortland State Vikings.

This past season, Portland Statewent 2-9 overall and 1-7 in the Big

Sky Conference.Over Glanville’stenure the Vikingswent 9-24.

Glanville, knownfor his 3-4 defense aswell as a penchantfor wearing black,

was hired by the Vikings in 2007after two seasons as defensive coor-dinator at Hawaii under June Jones.

He was head coach of the Hous-ton Oilers from 1986-89 and theAtlanta Falcons from 1990-93.

Nine prep players suspendedNine members of two high school

girls’ soccer teams have been sus-pended for their roles in a fight thatsparked a brawl in the bleachers.

The suspensions were announcedTuesday by the Rhode

Island InterscholasticLeague. They rangefrom two games to oneyear. Coaches fromboth Woonsocket and

Tolman high schools also wereissued unspecified sanctions.

The fight broke out after two play-ers collided during a Nov. 8 game. Atelevision news camera recorded thegirls throwing punches and pullinghair, and fans fought in the bleachersduring an awards ceremony.

Let Judge Judy settle thisReality TV star Tila Tequila filed a

lawsuit against San Diego Chargerslinebacker Shawne Merriman alleg-ing domestic violence.

Attorney Cyrus Nownejad toldThe Associated Press that Tequila isseeking $1.5 million in damages.

Merriman was arrested by sheriff’sdeputies on Sept. 6 after Tequilasigned a citizen’s arrest warrantaccusing him of battery and falseimprisonment at his suburban home.District Attorney Bonnie Dumanisdeclined to charge Merriman.

How many wins

will the Illinois

basketball team

have this year?

Jackson

Glanville

Bearcats trying to stayin hunt for title game

By MARK TUPPERH&R Executive Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN — Until last week,Illinois still had a faint hope it couldplay in a bowl game.

Until last week, Illinois still had alittle Big Ten pride to fight for.

But now — heading into thisweek’s open date — the incentiveshave dwindled for a team that is 3-7and must somehow get motivated toface two final non-conference foot-ball foes.

Coach Ron Zook has had his handsfull trying to sort out Illinois’ foot-ball problems this fall. Getting histeam to maintain its enthusiasm andedge for two non-league gameswould seem to be another tall order.

“I’m not going to lie and say it’snot,” Zook said Tuesday. “The wholeidea was that this would be a great

time to stay focused on what we needto do in order to get better. We’regoing to have a chance to get insome (bowl-type) practices, some-thing you don’t get to do the weekbefore Thanksgiving. And we’ll buildfrom there.

“And I’ll tell you what. We havegood kids and they will hang inthere. Let’s go see what happens. If(Monday) was any indication, therewere all there and they hung inthere,” Zook said. “I thought we hada good practice.”

Helping Illinois maintain focus isthe fact that the next opponent is oneof the nation’s six unbeaten teams, a10-0 Cincinnati squad that is still

hoping to wiggle its way into thenational championship game.

“There’s no question our playersrealize this is one of the top teams inthe nation,” Zook said. “We still havea chance to prove ourselves.”

Illinois plays at Cincinnati the dayafter Thanksgiving, on Friday, Nov.27. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. Then the Illi-ni return to Memorial Stadium toclose the season against FresnoState at 11:30 a.m., Dec. 5.

While an upset victory overCincinnati would not undo all themissteps Illinois has had through thefirst 10 games, it would be a shot ofpositive publicity to upend a previ-ously unbeaten team in a game thatwill be televised on ABC.

Zook said he’s been looking at tapeof Cincinnati and sees a group thathas impressively weathered a poten-tially disruptive injury at quarter-back.

Tony Pike was playing like an

10 down, just two to goA look at Cincinnati’s run thus

far to a potential undefeatedregular season:

l Cincinnati 47, Rutgers 15l Cincinnati 70, Southeast

Missouri State 3l Cincinnati 28, Oregon State 18l Cincinnati 28, Fresno State 20l Cincinnati 37, Miami, Ohio 13l Cincinnati 34, South Florida 17l Cincinnati 41, Louisville 10l Cincinnati 28, Syracuse 7l Cincinnati 47, Connecticut 45l Cincinnati 24, West Virginia 21l Nov. 27 — vs. Illinois, 11 a.m.

(ABC)l Dec. 5 — at Pittsburgh

Cincinnati’s Zach Collaros

SPOILER/B6

‘We still have achance to prove

ourselves.’Ron Zook, Illinois coach Zook

All that’s left is role of BCS spoiler

NO. 23 ILLINOIS 80, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 61

Online gallery at www.herald-review.com/gallery Herald & Review photos/Stephen Haas

Illinois freshman D.J. Richardson scraps to get a ball away from Northern Illinois’ Bryan Hall during the 80-61 Illini win on Tuesday night. Richardson finished withfive points as the team overcame a mid-game lull. Below, coach Bruce Weber calls out a play during the second half.

Herald & Review/Kelly J. Huff

Shelby Jackson has back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons for Central A&M, but thisyear could see that average tick higher as she becomes the focal point of the offense.

Always a role player,Jackson takes leadfor young Raiders

By JUSTIN CONNH&R Staff Writer

MOWEAQUA — For threeyears, Shelby Jackson hasshown up to work and did whatshe was asked. In fact, she waspretty good at that.

But this year, Jackson — aCentral A&M senior — got a pro-motion whether she wanted it ornot. After three years of follow-ing leaders like GabrielleWaddington and Megan Stringer,this is Jackson’s team now.

“There’s a little bit differentfeel in our gym now,” CentralA&M coach Brianna Morrowsaid. “There’s not many leftfrom the oldregime. We’vehad somegreat leaders,so Shelby’snever reallyhad to be avocal leader.She’s beenvery comfort-able with: Come in, do my joband not really have to speak up.There’s no question Shelby isgoing to have to take moreresponsibility as far as leader-ship goes.”

It’s Shelby’s time

JACKSON/B5

n Preview

A look atsome of thebest players inthe area.

hrpreps/B4-5

Illini get passing gradePaul, Davis leadteam past NIU

By MARK TUPPERH&R Executive Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN — BruceWeber’s early season bas-ketball class was back insession Tuesday night atthe Assembly Hall, andthis time there were a fewbroken pencils and plentyof eraser smudges.

Unlike Friday night, whenthings went A-plus smoothin the season opener, therewere glitches and misstepsin Tuesday’s 80-61 victoryover Northern Illinois.

A 20-point, first-half

eruption by freshmanBrandon Paul, and 14points and 17 rebounds byMike Davis helped makesure Illinois came out ontop. But the Illini coachfound a few things to circlein red as the No. 23 Illiniimproved to 2-0.

A 14-3 Northern Illinoisrun to close out the firsthalf chewed into what hadbeen a 19-point Illini lead.And it helped keep thingsinteresting for the first 11

minutes of the second half.But a 10-0 run put Illi-

nois back in charge 67-50with 9:14 to go, and Weberseemed pleased with theway his team responded.

“I thought the first 17minutes we played prettygood basketball,” Webersaid. “It was solid. It wasbasic. We got stops andscored in transition, just alot of good things.”

PASSING/B7

n Close call

No. 2 MSUcomes back fromhalftime deficit.

College basketball/B7

Allison Allen, Pana — Allenemerged last year as asophomore and finished theseason averaging 9.7 pointsper game and earning sec-ond-team all-conferencehonors. She may not doubleher scoring averagebecause of her team’sdepth, but she’ll be capableof those kinds of numberswhen her team needs it.

Jade Becker, Mount Zion —

The long-armed Becker,below, has gotten strongerand more confident throughstarting varsity her freshmanand sophomore seasons.She’s been effective(11.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg last year),but this could be a breakoutyear.

Hillary Bragg, Sullivan —

Severely undersized, 5-6Bragg is effective using herstrength and toughness. Sheaveraged 11 ppg and 7 rpglast year and will help give ayoung team much-neededexperience.

Kelsey Dirks, Robinson —

When Morayo Akande leftRobinson to attend a schoolin Indianapolis, the Maroons’hopes fell to the 6-foot-4sophomore, who appearscapable of taking the reins.

Amanda Finley, Shelbyville —

The Rams lost their headcoach and top four play-ers from last year’s17-win team, but 5-11sophomore AmandaFinley will help softenthe blow. Even as afreshman, Finelyshowed she

could score, rebound andplay defense in the posteffectively on varsity.

Hannah Golden, Flora —

Golden flourished as a 5-10sophomore despite beingthe Wolves’ third option.She’ll be their go-to playerthisseason.

Amy Mandrell, Maroa-

Forsyth — Look for a big yearfrom Mandrell, who devel-oped offensively as the sea-son went on last year. The 6-footer is effective on theoffensive boards and wasthe team’s best free-throwshooter last year, whichshould warrant plenty oftouches in the Trojans’offense.

Hailey Oliver, Louisville North

Clay — Along with teammateAlyssa Fender, North Clay willbe a handful inside. Oliver’s7.7 points and 6 reboundsper game will go up drasti-cally in her senior season.

Lindsay Troike, Tuscola —

Troike will have to provide aninside presence if the War-riors want to continue theirrun of postseason success.She has the ability to addsignificantly to her 8.8 pointsand 7.4 rebounds per game

last year.

B4 SPORTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 DECATUR, ILLINOIS www.herald-review.com

Ebany Brumfield, Olney —There’s not much Brumfielddoesn’t do well on the court,which makes her a toughassignment for anyone. She’sat her best in the post, whereshe can score or set up team-mates to score with her abilityto pass.

Lexy Carson, MacArthur —Carson causes a dilemma formost defenders. She’s tooquick to pressure — she canblow by most defenders withher first step and hit the pull-up. But if you give her room,she can bury the 3-pointer.

Shelby Jackson, Central A&M— Jackson causes matchupproblems because she canscore in the post on smallerdefenders, but can play out onthe floor against bigger ones.She can put the ball on thefloor and has shooting rangethat extends to the 3-point line.

Jerica Hawkins, LSA — Aquick player with a knack forscoring, Hawkins worked all

offseason on driving left. Thatwill make her tough to stop,even when defenses aredesigned to do so.

Audrey Matheny, SouthCentral — Only 5-8, Mathenyhas the quickness and tough-ness to give opposing postplayers nightmares.

Meghan Moore, MountPulaski — Moore has a knackfor finding a way to get to thebasket. Once there, sheeither scores or gets to thefree-throw line.

Megan Kroeger, Teutopolis —The Wooden Shoes’ topinside player has the versatili-ty to play effectively outsidethe post. She’ll give whoeveris guarding her fits.

Tara Phelps, Cerro Gordo— A good all-aroundplayer, Phelps’ strengthis hustle. She can shoot,but if she misses, she hus-tles after every rebound. Andif she doesn’t get therebound, she’ll steal the ball.

Hillary Shelton, Cowden-

Herrick/Beecher City — Sheltonhas played a number of posi-tions in her career, but will beback at guard this season —her best spot. There’s notmuch on the floor Sheltonisn’t skilled at — includingpassing. She averaged threeassists per game last year.

Macy Shupe, Cumberland —

Shupe does pretty mucheverything well offensive-ly. She has goodenough height to shootover defenders, andquickness to goaround them.

Holly Wohltman, Charleston

— Wohltman is dangerousfrom anywhere on the court.She knocked down32 3-pointers last year, butshe’s tall enough (5-11) toscore inside and can handlethe ball well enough to playpoint guard.

— H&R Staff Writer

Justin Conn

TOUGHEST PLAYERS TO GUARD

H&R file photo

LSA’s Jerica Hawkins, who’s only a sophomore, should be the offensive centerpiece for the Lions this season.

girls basketball previewprepshrBEST SHOOTERS

Kriza Allen, Eisenhower —Allen has as pure a shootingstroke as anyone in the area.She averaged 13 points pergame last season and willneed even more to improveon last year’s six-win sea-son. Allen is at her best inbig moments.

Liz Barter, Mount Zion — Aclutch shooter who, whenon, can keep the Braves ingames with anyone on theirschedule. If she establishessome consistency, look out.

Carissa Burge, Central A&M— In limited contributionslast season, Burge, right,was impressive. She hasgreat touch when her feetare set and could have abreakout year with the bulkof the Raiders’ backcourtgone from last season.

Abbey Jones, South Central— A 46 percent shooter from3-point range last season,Jones can take over gameswith her jumper. She had a28-point output as her highgame last year.

Emily Menichetti, Taylorville

— The Tornadoes lackheight, but Menichetti andcompany will keep theirteam in games with theirshooting.

Victoria Wolke, Effingham

St. Anthony — Wolke willpass up a shot if it means abetter one for a teammate,but when she’s open, she’llbury it.

Taylor Wood, Warrensburg-

Latham — She’s given theCardinals the weapon theyneeded to help producepoints in the halfcourt.

Sam Zerrusen, Effingham —Zerrusen may have toexpand her role this yearwith so many graduationlosses, but her strength isshooting — either frombehind the arc or after acouple of dribbles on a pull-up from 14 feet.

BEST POST PLAYERS

Aly Dial, Central A&M — Dial

missed most of last season because

of a broken hand and never made

the varsity impact coach Brianna

Morrow had hoped for. This season,

she’ll make teams pay inside for

double-teaming Shelby Jackson.

Micah Jones, Cowden-Herrick/

Beecher City — Once she gets used

to playing at the high school level

and gains some confidence, Jones

will be a monster on the inside, par-

ticularly on defense.

Erica Hotze, Neoga — Hotze is the

most polished of Neoga’s three

6-footers, averaging 4.3 points and

5.5 rebounds per game last season.

Hannah Millington, Argenta-Oreana —

On a team led by a large group of

seniors, Millington — a sophomore

— may be exactly what the Bombers

need for a successful season.

Ashley Pollard, South Central — As if

South Central needed another

weapon, Pollard will step up to varsi-

ty on a full-time basis this year and

give the Cougars an outstanding out-

side shooter and solid ball-handler.

Alyssa Riley, Warrensburg-Latham —

Riley quietly emerged as the Cardi-

nals’ third-leading scorer last sea-

son. Though just 5-9, she gives the

Cardinals an inside presence.

Mackenzie Steck, Mount Zion — A

sophomore guard, Steck could pro-

vide exactly what Mount Zion needs

to become a winner this season.

Sammi Thompson, Monticello —

Thompson averaged just 4.1 points

and 2.6 rebounds per game for

the Sages’ varsity team last year,

but gained valuable varsity experi-

ence and will be the leader of what

could be one of the area’s surprise

teams.

Faith Wendte, Cowden-Herrick/

Beecher City — Wendte is a sopho-

more who is steady on both offense

and defense, and can score from

both inside and outside.

Herald & Review/Kelly J. Huff

Neoga’s Erica Hotze had 13 points in her seasondebut Monday night against Central A&M.

MacArthur’sLexy Carson

BEST PLAYERS NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT

On the WebGo to www.hrpreps.com for all the scores,

stories, statistics, photo galleries, videos andblogs you need for the prep basketball season.

www.herald-review.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 DECATUR, ILLINOIS SPORTS B5

JACKSONContinued from B1

Jackson had a pretty goodrun as a follower. Her sopho-more year, Jackson averaged11 points per game for theRaiders’ Class 1A third-placefinisher. Last year, she scored12 points and had sevenrebounds per game for A&M’sOkaw Valley regular-seasonand tournament champion.

But this season, with ateam around her with littlevarsity experience, the 6-foot-er can no longer just show upand just do her job.

“It may take a little timefor her to learn exactly whatit means to be a leader, but Ithink Shelby is ready for that,and she has big enough shoul-ders to handle that,” Morrowsaid.

Jackson admitted it’s tak-ing some getting used to.

“I’ve always been one of theyounger ones, and I’d alwaysbeen a follower,” Jacksonsaid. “This was the first timeI’d felt old in the gym. Beingone of the head dogs is defi-nitely different.”

While Morrow is confidentin Jackson’s ability to carrythe weight of being the team’sleader, it will be a heavy load.Jackson’s leadership mustalways be present for A&M —on the floor, in practice and inthe locker room.

On the floor, it means con-tinuing to expand an already-long list of talents — mainlymore shots coming offscreens, more creating herown opportunities and more3-pointers.

“We have to make sure shegets as many touches as wecan get her, so we’ll be usingher in some different capaci-ties, like bringing her outfrom the post at times,” Mor-row said. “We know she’sgoing to see a lot more dou-ble-teams down on the block,so we may have to find otherways to put her in a positionto score.”

Jackson doesn’t seemdaunted.

“I don’t look at it as a bur-den — if there’s a shot thatneeds taken, I’ll take it,”Jackson said. “And I’m alsowilling to pass if that’s whatit takes. I’ll do what it takesto help us win.”

In addition to scoring,Jackson will be in charge ofmaking sure her teammatesare playing the type of bas-ketball that’s come to beexpected at A&M.

“She’s not used to playingwith a lot of these kids, butshe’s going to have to find away to get them at the levelwe need them to be at,” Mor-row said. “It will be a casewhere sometimes she’ll haveto figure out a way to inspirethem and motivate them.”

Being a more vocal leader,sometimes it will meanyelling.

“That is tough, because thefreshmen were in junior highwhen we went to state, andI’ve noticed they’re a littlescared sometimes, so youhave to be careful withthem,” Jackson said. “But forthe most part, we’ve adaptedwell together, so thereshouldn’t be many problems.I’ve only really yelled at acouple of them, and it wasn’ttoo bad.”

Jackson has a full plate,but she won’t be expected todo everything. The key forA&M this year will be provid-ing Jackson with a supportingcast. Carissa Burge showedflashes of being a scoringthreat last year, but she andseveral teammates, includingpoint guard Kerstin Kresinand forward Aly Dial, willhave to produce more thisseason.

“We need to put somepieces along with her,” Mor-row said. “We had two phe-nomenal classes of kids, andthey had to be on the floor forus. So that’s meant some ofthese kids haven’t seen asmuch time as maybe we’dliked for them to. Against thetop competition, we’re goingto have to have Carissa Burgeand some kids other thanShelby step up for us.”

jconn@herald-review.com|421-7971

Bianca Castelli, Warrens-

burg-Latham — On a team full

of quick, feisty players,

Castelli is the most effective.

She had 98 steals last sea-

son and leads what is at

times a nearly impossible

press to break.

Megan DeWerff, Pana —

DeWerff is a player opposing

guards hate to face. She

hounds ball-handlers on the

press with her quickness

and hard-nosed defense.

Kennedy Gabel, Cumberland

— Gabel is a solid scorer,

but it’s her athleticism all

over the court that sets her

apart. Gabel is a solid one-

on-one defender and also

reads the passing lanes well.

Brielle Jones, DeLand-Weldon

— After two years of watch-

ing her collect block after

block, teams are careful not

to take the ball near her in

the lane. But if they do,

Jones will be ready.

Becky Niebrugge, Teutopolis

— The key to success for the

Wooden Shoes is always

defense, and Niebrugge will

be their lockdown defender

in the backcourt this season.

Val Sobol, Maroa-Forsyth —

Sobol has quick feet from

playing soccer, and also

toughness. Her arms are

deceptively long, helping her

get to balls in passing lanes.

Tiara Thomas, Eisenhower —

Thomas, below, always guard

the other team’s best player

— a source of pride for a

player who is also the Pan-

thers’ leading scorer (14 ppg).

BEST BALL-HANDLERS

BEST DEFENDERS

RECENT AWARD WINNERS

BEST REBOUNDERS

Jessica Etter, Pana —

Etter’s quickness will make

the Pana fast break tough

to stop.

Holly Haskins, St. Teresa —

She has the height to see

over defenders, the

strength to handle pressure

and a quick pull-up 3-point

shot at the top of the key if

the defense sags.

Kerstin Kresin, Central A&M

— The Raiders have less

room for error this season,

which will put the pressure

on Kresin to play well. But

it’s an opportunity the

senior has waited for.

Kelly McHugh, Effingham

St. Anthony — Handling

pressure won’t be a prob-

lem for the Bulldogs this

season, particularly with

the ball in McHugh’s

hands.

Miranda Murray, MacArthur

— A smooth, slick ball-

handler, Murray will take

on more of that responsibili-

ty this year with Tenia

Singleton graduated.

Haley Sparks, Charleston —

Stephanie Harper received

most of the attention last

year, and it was well-

deserved. But Sparks

runs the Trojans’ offense

well, and her defense on

the perimeter (3.9 steals

per game) leads to a lot of

easy baskets.

Taylor Stevenson, Olney —

An all-around player with

the ability to score (11 ppg)

and play defense (2.0

steals per game). But

her most important contri-

bution may be her ability to

limit mistakes while running

the team at point guard

with a calm, cool

demeanor.

Jessica Zavoral, Altamont

— Zavoral gives Altamont

an unflappable leader on

the court. She runs the

offense well and has the

ability to take defenders off

the dribble.

— H&R Staff Writer Justin Conn

girls basketball previewprepshr

Herald & Review/Kelly J. Huff

Central A&M’s Shelby Jackson had 16 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks as theRaiders’ debuted with a 47-41 win over Neoga on Monday night.

Karli Harshbarger,

Monticello — A 5-10 junior,Harshbarger will step into alarger role this year andcould be one of the OkawValley Conference’s toprebounders.

Shelby Helfrich, South Piatt

— A two-time LOVC first-team selection, she aver-aged 14.9 points and 11.9rebounds per game lastyear. Few conference teamswill have any answer for heron the boards.

Haley Fitzgerald, St. Teresa

— Despite being 5-foot-8,Fitzgerald has the strength,toughness and hops to be aforce on the boards. WithAlex Reynolds gone, she’llbe counted on even more tocontrol the glass.

Leah Grunloh, Effingham

St. Anthony — A 5-10 sopho-more, Grunloh is one of St.Anthony’s only tall players.She’s athletic in addition toher height, so she’ll be theBulldogs’ main weapon onthe glass against biggerteams.

Brittany O’Dell, Charleston

— O’Dell, below, was sec-ond on the team to StephanieHarper in rebounding lastyear, and a dedicated off-season in the weight roomshould make her an evenstronger force this year.

Raechel Buckner, Tuscola

— A solid all-around playerwho should increase herscoring average (6.7 ppglast year). But her greateststrength is getting team-mates involved.

Molly Tarter, Neoga —

Tarter averaged 3.5 assistsper game in 24 games as asophomore. She has hasthree 6-footers she candeliver the ball to.

Whitney Thompson, LSA —

Thompson is a solid deci-sion-maker with the ballwho will have to shoot itmore this season with theloss of the Lions’ insidegame.

St. Teresa’sHolly Haskins,right, will runthe point this

year for theBulldogs.

Area Player of the Year

1989 Connie Ruholl, Teutopolis1990 Courtney Porter, Hume Shiloh1991 Becky Clayton, Sullivan1992 Carinna Elder, Sullivan1993 Jody Sanders, Mattoon1994 Carrie Weber, Teutopolis1995 Gina Bloemer, Teutopolis1996 Allison Curtin, Taylorville1997 Allison Curtin, Taylorville1998 Allison Curtin, Taylorville1999 Molly McDowell, Nokomis2000 Jodi Heiden, Altamont2001 Va’Nicia Waterman, Nokomis2002 Sara Stevenson, Olney2003 Julianne McMillen, Pana2004 Brittany Johnson, Olney2005 Brittany Johnson, Olney2006 Brittany Johnson, Olney2007 Olivia Lett, Pana2008 Megan Stringer, Central A&M

Macon County Player of the Year

1989 Tina Ames, Mount Zion1990 Tina Ames, Mount Zion1991 Jana Albrecht, Mount Zion1992 Amy Lowe, Niantic-Harristown1993 La Toya Johnson, Eisenhower1994 Sherry Austin, Warrensburg-Latham1995 Amanda Garretson, Argenta-Oreana1996 K.C. Hammond, Eisenhower1997 Kristy Duncan, Warrensburg-Latham1998 Carlin Long, Mount Zion1999 Carlin Long, Mount Zion2000 Jennifer Carroll, Warrensburg-Latham2001 Lindsey McCool, Maroa-Forsyth2002 Meagan Scaggs, Mount Zion2003 Monica Rogers, St. Teresa2004 Monica Rogers, St. Teresa2005 Raisa Taylor, Eisenhower2006 Raisa Taylor, Eisenhower2007 Raisa Taylor, Eisenhower2008 Hillary King, LSA2009 Lexy Carson, MacArthur

BEST PASSERS

1 SPORTS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 DECATUR, ILLINOIS www.herald-review.com

By LEROY BRIDGESH&R Staff Writer

PANA — A penny for a hard dayof practice is all Pana’s girls bas-ketball team wants.

Monetarily it’s nothing, but men-tally it’s everything.

When the Panthers take the floorfor their first game againstBelleville East on Friday, theywant to know they did everythingpossible in practice. That’s whycoach J.R. Boudouris gives histeam a penny with the hope thatthe Panthers are doing at leastwhat Belleville has done in prepa-ration for the season opener.

“It’s hard to quantify whetherthings are going well or not inpractice,” Boudouris said. “It’s asource of pride.”

Boudouris knows earning 17 pen-nies — the number of practicesfrom the beginning until Friday —doesn’t guarantee a win. But heknows it means his team did whatit could to be ready for a gamethat the Panthers will be theunderdog in as the smaller school.

“It’s with that underdog mentali-ty,” Boudouris said about histeam’s preseason preparation. “Wehave to make sure we’re doingeverything work ethic wise.”

Hard work is somethingBoudouris is starting to expectfrom the group he has. After fin-ishing 27-4 and making the Sweet

16 in 2008, last season was onegiant learning experience. Theteam had only two seniors andhard work was one of the thingsBoudouris could count on fromgame to game.

“I could count on one hand thenumber of times where I felt likewe weren’t in a game last year,”Boudouris said. “We were just verycompetitive.”

After going 7-8 before January,the Panthers finished the season 7-6, including a two-point winagainst Nokomis in regionals. Dur-ing that time, then-sophomore Alli-son Allen established herself as alegitimate post player and earnedsecond team all-South Central Con-ference honors.

“She has really come a longway,” senior guard Megan DeWerffsaid about Allen. “She started outtimid, but she has gotten so muchstronger and this season we’recounting on her.”

Allen, DeWerff and junior point

guard Jessica Etter are threestarters who anchor Boudouris’lineup and were direct recipients ofavailable playing time last season.Now, the trio leads a team hopingto make a postseason run similarto 2008’s team.

“Megan’s a hard-nosed kid who’sworked extremely hard the lastthree years at making herself bet-ter offensively,” Boudouris said.“And Jessica leads the break aswell as anybody I’ve ever had.

“They know we have the poten-tial to be even more successfulthan last year,” Boudouris said.

The list of contributors doesn’tstop there. In six years of coach-ing, this is Boudouris’ deepestteam. He believes he can count on10 girls to play consistent minutes,which will allow him to push theball offensively and pressure theball defensively.

“There have been times where,due to foul trouble, we have had toback off the pressure, but it’s goingto be a situation where we can gofull throttle,” Boudouris said. “Weconstantly preach to our kids, goas hard as you can as long as youcan and we will get someone elsein to do the same thing.”

The Panthers will put their 17-pennies worth of hard work to thetest in their opener Friday atBelleville East.

lbridges@herald-review.com|421-6970

Herald & Review/Kelly J. Huff

Megan DeWerff is back for another season at Pana and will be one of the veterans trying to keep the momentum thePanthers gained during the second half of last season.

Pana making centsExperienced Panthers will rely on hard work to again be competitive

‘We constantly preachto our kids, go as hardas you can as long as

you can ...’J.R. Boudouris, Pana coach

www.hrpreps.comprepsprepshr

www.herald-review.com TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 DECATUR, ILLINOIS SPORTS 2

www.hrpreps.comprepshr

Apollo

1. Salem2. Charleston3. Robinson4. Paris5. Olney6. Mount Zion7. Effingham8. Newton

Little Okaw

1. Hume Shiloh2. Cerro Gordo3. Arcola4. Heritage5. Tri-County6. South Piatt7. Villa Grove8. Okaw Valley9. Martinsville10. Arthur-Lovington

Okaw Valley

1. Tolono Unity2. Warrensburg-Latham3. Central A&M4. Monticello5. St. Teresa6. Tuscola7. Maroa-Forsyth8. Sullivan9. Shelbyville10. Meridian11. Argenta-Oreana12. Clinton

Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City —Though young, the Hornets havethe talent to surpass last year’s 18-win season with a group of offen-sive-minded sophomores. The keywill be how the Hornets take tocoach Carolyn Wendte’s pressuredefensive system. Senior HillaryShelton’s leadership will be key foran otherwise youthful group thatincludes potentially dominatingfreshman center Micah Jones.

Cumberland — Only two playersare gone from last year’s 20-gamewinner, which was the best team inCumberland history. The Pirateswill have height and the area’s top-scoring guard combination in MacyShupe and Kennedy Gabel.

Olney — A program that hasbeen one of the strongest in thearea for 20 years made just its sec-ond state tournament appearancelast year behind some good seniorleaders and a pair of talentedsophomores in Ebany Brumfieldand Taylor Stevenson. They’ll haveto provide the leadership this yearif the Tigers want to make a repeattrip.

Pana — The Panthers returnthree starters and five other playerswho saw playing time last seasonin what was a rebuilding year — a15-14 record with no regional titlefor the first time since 2000-01.This year, behind junior AllisonAllen and a deep group of guards,Pana will compete for a conferencetitle in the tough South Central

East, and one area coach predict-ed a long postsesaon run for thePanthers.

South Central — A talented groupof juniors broke out last seasonand led South Central to a 19-winseason and a regional title. Thisyear, they’re seniors and lookingfor an even bigger season. For-ward Audrey Matheney and guardAbbey Jones lead a team that willbe even more dangerous this yearwith the emergence of junior guardAshley Pollard.

Teutopolis — No T-Town teamhas failed to win 20 games since1990-91, and though its streak of17 straight years with a regionaltitle ended last season, this year’steam has the talent and versatilityto start a new streak. Five WoodenShoes return with varsity experi-

ence, including leading scorer

Megan Kroeger. Expect the Shoes

to have a deep bench and several

players with the ability to play both

down low and out on the floor,

which should cause mismatches

against most teams.

Warrensburg-Latham — No area

team has deployed a better full-

court pressure defense than the

Cardinals the past two seasons,

and last year it began to pay off.

Warrensburg won its first 12

games before struggling at times

late in the season and falling in a

regional title game matchup

against Virginia/A-C Central. What

the Cardinals lack in height, they

make up with quickness and expe-

rience. The key will be how well

they can score in the halfcourt

offense.

Altamont — Former Teutopolisplayer Nikki Bloemer inherits anundersized but experienced teamthat will push the ball when possi-ble. Defense could be an issue, butthe talent is there for at least 15wins.

Central A&M — The Raiders lostfive seniors who all contributed tothe team’s success the last twoyears, but coach Brianna Morrowstill has some pieces to work with.Though this year’s team may lackthe depth of the last two, ShelbyJackson is a prolific scorer with theability to take her game up to aneven higher level. She’ll have helpon the perimeter in Carissa Burgeand a freshman class that shouldyield some varsity players.

Cerro Gordo — If a large group ofunderclassmen can mature quicklyand mix with a group of three sen-iors led by Tara Phelps, the Bron-cos could surpass their 10-win sea-son from last year.

Charleston — Stephanie Harper— the school’s all-time leadingscorer and rebounder — is defi-nitely a major loss. But players likeHolly Wohltman and BrittanyO’Dell have the talent to keepCharleston winning games. TheTrojans will need someone to stepinto Harper’s role as leader torepeat last year’s success.

Effingham — The Hearts have noreplacements for last year’s toppost players Kelsey Mosher andBrittany Shadowens. But Effing-ham will still be a tough out withsharpshooter Sam Zerrusen lead-ing the way.

Effingham St. Anthony — TheBulldogs lost four starters from lastyear’s 20-game winner, but should-n’t suffer a major falloff with thereturn of Victoria Wolke, KellyMcHugh and Lena Grunloh. Lackof height will be St. Anthony’sbiggest concern, but the Bulldogscounter with good shooters and atough defense.

Flora — The Wolves had an out-standing 21-win campaign lastyear, but lost three all-conferenceplayers to graduation. Someyounger players will have to stepup, but they should still post theirseventh straight winning season

with junior Hannah Golden leadingthe way.

LSA — The Lions are looking fortheir fourth 20-win season in fiveyears, and have a good nucleuswith Whitney Thompson and Jeri-ca Hawkins. But the losses ofRachel McBride and Christi Reveron the inside will hurt unless LSAcan find replacements.

MacArthur — The Generals haveoffense from their backcourt inLexy Carson and Miranda Murry,but will have to find a couple offrontcourt presences or reboundingcould be a problem. If those con-cerns are addressed, MacArthurcould record its fourth straight win-ning season.

Maroa-Forsyth — If the Trojanscan find some players to buildaround the inside-outside combina-tion of guard Val Sobol and forwardAmy Mandrell, they can competein the upper portions of the OkawValley. Hannah Ford, who hasbeen injured the past two seasons,could be a pleasant surprise forthe Trojans.

Mattoon — Kayla Patrem andPaige Roytek lead a Green Waveteam capable of eclipsing its 16-win total from last season.

Mount Zion — The Braves have alegitimate post threat in Jade Beck-er and some players who flashed

some shooting touch last year inLiz Barter and Madison Huskey.They’ll have to show consistencyand the ability to handle pressuredefense in order to take the nextstep up from last year’s nine-winseason.

St. Teresa — The Bulldogs havelimited experience outside of HaleyFitzgerald, Holly Haskins and MaryWalker, but they’ll make up for itwith a deep and talented group ofnewcomers ready to step in.Expect a breakout year from Hask-ins, and even bigger reboundingnumbers from the undersizedFitzgerald.

Taylorville — The Tornadoes willbe small, but they have the shoot-ers to be dangerous — particularlywith a defense that will be applyingconstant pressure. If Taylorville canmake the game a scramble, play-ers like Emily Menichetti will bedangerous pulling up from the out-side in the open court.

Tuscola — Lindsay Troike in thepost and Raechel Buckner in thebackcourt provide the Warriors withsome experience, but both willhave to step up their scoring forTuscola to go on another postsea-son run. Defense will definitely bea strength, but the Warriors willneed to find at least one otherscorer to compete at the top of theOkaw Valley.

Argenta-Oreana — After going

winless in the Okaw Valley Confer-

ence last year, the Bombers could

string together a good season with

five seniors with a good mix of

height and shooting ability.

Brownstown — Though just a

seven-win team last year, Brown-

stown has quickness and athletic

ability up and down its roster.

Using an up-tempo style, Brown-

stown may have the ability to wear

down its opponents and increase

its win total this season.

Casey-Westfield — The Warriors

have all the pieces for a breakout

year, and should easily top last

year’s nine-win mark. Kara Repp is

a force in the post and Amanda Tif-

fin was an all-conference first-team

selection last year.

Eisenhower — Guard play hasn’t

been a problem for the Panthers in

recent years, and that will continue

this year. Senior Tiara Thomas and

junior Kriza Allen are solid perform-

ers, and the roster is loaded with

capable backcourt players. Eisen-

hower’s weakness has been lack

of height, and though that could

still be an issue this season, 5-foot-

11 sophomore Marshaya Sangster

is a solid start. But she’ll need

help.

Louisville North Clay — After tak-ing North Clay to its first regionaltitle two years ago, coach CurtisThompson will field a team thathas the potential to do the same.The key will be how much seniorsAlyssa Fender and Hailey Olivercan step up their games.

Monticello — The Sages lost fiveof their top six players from lastseason, and their leading returningscorer averaged 4.1 points pergame. But Monticello has goodheight in 5-10 Karli Harshbargerand 5-11 Ashley Whitney, and a

potential scoring threat in SammiThompson. Plus, Monticello’s JVteams recorded 14-0 and 13-1records, respectively, the last twoseasons.

Mount Pulaski — After winning10 games a season ago, the Hill-toppers are ready to burst onto thescene as one of the area teams tobeat with the duo of MeghanMoore and Ashley Southerlan.

Neoga — The Indians have beensolid in recent years, but even withthe graduation of 3-point bomberJaimee Roy, this could be a break-out year. They’ll have to grow intotheir varsity roles fast, and couldstruggle at times early because ofthat. But with a front line that goes5-11, 6-0 and 6-1, a solid pointguard in Molly Tarter and the restof the spots filled up from a groupthat went 15-1 at JV last year,Neoga could restart a 20-win sea-son streak that ended at nine in arow in 2007-08.

Robinson — The Maroons willmiss Morayo Akande on their mis-sion to post a winning record forthe first time since 2003-04. Butwith the inside-outside combinationof 6-4 sophomore Kelsey Dirks andsenior Jordan Connelly returning,Robinson could be the Apollo’sdark horse.

Arcola — The Purple Riders willhave one of their youngest teamsin recent memory, with just tworeturning letter winners. Arcolacoach Nancy Stiff will dig deep inthe roster early in the season tohopefully find the right combinationcome postseason.

Arthur-Lovington — The Knightsboast some experience and quick-ness, but will have eight freshmenon varsity and not much height.

Clinton — Josh Williams takesover for a team that won threegames last season, but returnsfour experienced players includingMeghan Matthews. Williams’ firstgoal is to improve the Maroons’defense.

Lincoln — Since posting back-to-back regional titles in 2005 and’06, the Railers have just 16 totalwins, and only one of those camelast season.

Meridian — The good news forMeridian is that it loses just twoseniors from last year's team. Thebad news is that one of them wasthe Hawks' best player, LaurenDoyle. Meridian has no one playerto replace her, but has severalcapable of more production, includ-ing Kristen Doyle and Erica Funk.

Newton — The Eagles couldhave a tough time topping 10 winsagain this season with a roster thatfeatures as many freshmen asupperclassmen.

Nokomis — Rachelle McDowelltakes over a young team that doesboast some quickness, including

leading returning scorer MandySmith.

Okaw Valley — With 75 percent ofits scoring from last year gone,Okaw Valley will have to dig in ondefense and control tempo until itfinds out where its points will comefrom.

Sangamon Valley — The Stormwent winless last season and couldstruggle again this season with ayoung team and low numbers. ButSangamon Valley will use it as abuilding year, getting valuable var-sity experience for its younger play-ers.

Shelbyville — The Rams lost 90percent of their scoring from lastyear. Five-foot-10 sophomoreAmanda Finley will provide somescoring punch, but the team ismostly freshmen and sophomoresand will have to do the little things— minimizing turnovers and keep-ing teams off the offensive boards— to compete.

Sullivan — The Redskins gradu-ated most of their experiencedplayers, including leading scorerLauren Taylor, from last year’s 14-win team. Seven of the team’s 14members are freshmen, sopho-mores or juniors playing their firstyear on varsity.

Vandalia — Following an out-standing 28-2 season, the Vandalsgraduated eight seniors and willfield a team with little to no varsityexperience. There is some youngtalent that will benefit from someearly playing time.

TEAMS MOST LIKELY TO REACH 20 WINS

BIGGEST SLEEPER TEAMS

TEAMS ONE PIECE AWAY

TEAMS STILL A YEAR AWAY

They are expected a good year in Cerro Gordo where Tara Phelps isone of three experienced seniors.

Tiara Thomas is back to providesome punch for Eisenhower.

Alyssa Riley, above, is one of the players expected to lead another run by the Warrensburg-Lathamclub. Olney coach Brent McKinney, below, again has enough impact players to win at least 20 games.

From the coaches

Here’s a look at conferencepredictions as voted on by arealeague coaches.

Rosters and schedules forall of our teams can be foundat: www2.herald-review.com/scoreboard

SportsHerald&Review

BSIDELINES

www.herald-review.com

Monday, November 16, 2009

Blackhawks end

tough homestand

with OT win/B3

Compiled from H&R staff and news service reports

Closing the gapRams improving,but still fall shortagainst Saints/B6

Questions or comments regarding this section? Contact Sports Editor Mike Albright at 421-7909

Speak up

Vote online at:

www.herald-review.com/sports

Gamble keeps Colts unbeatenBill Belichick’s stunning gamble

failed, and Peyton Manning tookadvantage by throwing a 1-yardtouchdown pass with 13 secondsleft that rallied the unbeaten Indi-anapolis Colts over the New Eng-land Patriots 35-34 Sunday night.

Manning’s toss to Reggie Waynecompleted the Colts’ comebackfrom a 17-point deficit. A decisionby Belichick put them in position.

The Patriots coach decided to gofor it on fourth-and-2 from their own28 with 2:08 to go. The pass toKevin Faulk came up short.

It was the most improbable victo-ry for the Colts (9-0) in their 18-game regular-season winningstreak, tied for the second-longestin NFL history with New England. Itwas the first time Belichick’s Patri-ots had lost when leading by atleast 13 in the fourth quarter.

TCU stuck in BCS standingsTCU’s big victory wasn’t enough

for the Horned Frogs to make amove up the BCS standings.

TCU (10-0) remained behind Flori-da, Alabama andTexas in the race tothe national titlegame.

The HornedFrogs defeated Utah 55-28 on Sat-urday night in what figured to be themost difficult game left on theirschedule. But they remained stuckin fourth place in Bowl Champi-onship Series standings.

TCU, from the Mountain WestConference, last week became thefirst team from a league without anautomatic BCS bid to break into thetop five of the standings this late ina season. BCS standings B2

Kareem appreciates sympathyKareem Abdul-Jabbar is glad he

went public about being treated fora rare form ofleukemia because ithas given him achance to reconnectwith people.

The NBA’s careerscoring leader saidSunday that since hisrecent announcement he has beenstopped by people in public whowish him well and encourage himabout his condition.

“The response has been reallyintense,” he said. “I didn’t expect itto play out this way, but it’s beenwonderful. I’ve got people’s prayersand their support and they ask whatthey can do. People just want toconnect and it’s been beautiful.”

Their reaction has taken the 62-year-old six-time NBA MVP by sur-prise. Abdul-Jabbar was known forbeing introverted and sullen duringhis 20-year playing career, oftenrefusing to talk to the media. As aresult, he has been a low-profilepresence since retiring in 1989despite his stellar basketball accom-plishments at UCLA and in the NBA.

No ordinary kill shotWho needs a deer rifle when you

have a lawn ornament? Mark Brye of Viroqua, Wis.,

boasts a freezer full of serendipitousvenison after a love-crazed 7-pointbuck dropped dead in his yard afterhe rammed Brye’s concrete elklawn statue. Talk about a mismatch:The deer weighed 180 pounds—and the lawn ornament 640 pounds.

And just to make it legal, wrote BobLamb of the La Crosse Tribune, “Bryeclaimed the buck with a tag from theVernon County conservation warden.He laughed at the warden’s tag note:‘lawn ornament fight — lost.’ ”

How many games

will the Illinois

men’s basketball

team win?

Herald & Review/Stephen Haas

LSA’s Jerica Hawkins helped the Lions to a 22-6 record as a freshman, and this season she should be counted on for more. Hawkins is one of just two LSA playerswith significant varsity experience.

With poise comes noiseBy JUSTIN CONNH&R Staff Writer

DECATUR — JericaHawkins didn’t say muchlast season, but she stillmanaged to make a lot ofnoise.

Joining a team with sev-eral established seniors —including H&R All-MaconCounty First-TeamerRachel McBride —Hawkins was careful not

to ruffle feathers as afreshman starting varsity.But once on the court,Hawkins’ game spoke foritself. She scored 17 pointsin her first varsity gameand went on to lead theLions in scoring as theyrecorded a 22-6 season,nearly knocking off Cen-tral A&M in the regionaltitle game.

“I think one of the rea-

sons she did so well lastyear was because she wasa quiet leader,” LSA coachMark Burgener said.“Once our seniors lastyear saw what she coulddo, they had no problemwith her being part of themix.

“I thought that wasimportant,” Burgenersaid. “If you have someonewho comes in and acts

like they know they’regood, there can be a rubthere. But the team chem-istry we had last year witha freshman, a sophomorepoint guard and three sen-iors — it was incrediblethe way they jelled.”

Hawkins was surprisedat how easy the transitionwas.

n More girls coverage inside

See what’s in store for DecaturChristian, LSA, MacArthur,Mount Zion, Eisenhower and St. Teresa with city team previews.

hrpreps/B3

HAWKINS/B3

n Hoops preview schedule

The H&R will kick off thehigh school basketballseason witheight straightdays of previews. SeeTuesday’s edition for a look at some of theother girls teams from aroundthe area.

hrpreps GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Herald & Review/Stephen Haas

Quarterback Juice Williams didn’t play in the Illini’s 21-16 loss against Northwestern on Saturday, but is expected to play Nov. 27 against Cincinnati.

Juice back in fold next game

By MARK TUPPER H&R Executive Sports Editor

CHAMPAIGN — Illi-nois’ revolving door atquarterback is spinningback to Juice Williams.

Coach Ron Zook saidSunday that Williamswill be the starter whenIllinois (3-7) returns toaction on Friday, Nov. 27 at unbeatenCincinnati. Kickofftime for the game maybe announced today byESPN.

Williams, who hasbeen nursing asprained left ankle, didnot play in Saturday’s21-16 loss to North-western. Redshirtfreshman JacobCharest started butstruggled in the firsthalf. Eddie McGeeplayed quarterback fortwo series in the thirdquarter, but Charestreturned and led Illi-nois to a pair of latetouchdowns.

But Zook said heexpects Williams to behealthy and wants hissenior to have achance to beat aCincinnati team that is10-0 and ranked fifth in

the country. “We’ll go into this

game with Juice as thequarterback,” Zooksaid. “We owe Juicemore than that. Juiceis a warrior, a fighterand he’ll be ready togo.

“He probably couldhave played (againstNorthwestern) if wehad forced the issue.The doctors didn’t feelthat was in the bestinterest of Juice andthat’s what you try tolook at.”

Zook said despite thefact that Illinois has nochance to go to a bowlgame, he won’t switch

ILLINI/B4

Zook expectssenior to playagainst Cincy

LSA’s Hawkins steps into leadership role as a sophomore

The champarrives

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — When afluke accident cost Jimmie Johnson ahuge chunk of his points lead, he knewthere was no more room for error inhis bid to win a NASCAR record fourthconsecutive championship.

But when it came time to plot astrategy for Phoenix InternationalRaceway, playing it safe was neveran option.

Johnson cruised to a dominatingvictory Sunday that moved him to theedge of history, winning the fourthrace of this Chase for the Sprint Cupchampionship in what his rivals con-sidered a “statement” showing.

Associated Press

Jimmie Johnson’s win at Phoenix on Sundayleaves him needing a 25th-place finish or better toclinch the Sprint Cup title next week.

Millikin passes first

test in season opener

By MIKE ALBRIGHTH&R Sports Editor

DECATUR — A month ofpractice is great to get inshape and find out what thecoaches expect. But there isnothing like that first gameto really learn what needswork.

Millikin had its share oflessons on Sunday while stillmanaging to do plenty ofthings well in a season-opening 68-58 victory overRose Hulman at the Griswold Center.

“It feels good to get out

and compete,” Millikinsenior guard Charles Warren said. “But itshowed us what we needto work on.”

With a Millikin squadthat could be trying to fig-ure out a starting lineup forawhile, center JoscarDemby called the game atime of “trial and error,seeing what we were goingto do.”

What they did was getthree freshmen involved,get senior leadership andfound a hot-shooting touchin time to win its openerfor the seventh straightseason.

MILLIKIN/B4

Seniors lead wayvs. Rose Hulman

Win at Phoenix putsJohnson on verge of title

JOHNSON/B4

Abdul-Jabbar

www.herald-review.com MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009 DECATUR, ILLINOIS SPORTS B3

HAWKINSContinued from B1

“As a freshman coming in, Ithought the varsity playersmight give me a hard time,”she said. “There was Rachel— she was so tall and one ofthe best post players in thecounty, so that was kind ofintimidating. And I thoughtthe high school game, in gen-eral, was going to be moredifficult. But it all seemed tocome natural. The seniorswere nice and they acceptedme, and we had a lot of fun.”

This season, Hawkins willbe forced to take a largerleadership role — along withjunior teammate WhitneyThompson — as well as devel-op the skills she’ll need tomaximize her considerablepotential.

Normally, sophomoresaren’t counted on for muchleadership. But Hawkins isone of only two LSA playerswith significant varsity expe-rience.

“That’s a lot of responsibili-ty for young players, but Ithink Jerica welcomes that,”Burgener said. “I think itcomes natural to her. She’s acompetitor. Neither Jericanor Whitney like to lose. Idon’t have any reservations

about either of their abilitiesto step into that role.”

While off the court Hawkinsadmitted she doesn’t alwayshave a lot to say, that changeswhen she’s competing in thegame she first started playingat 3 years old.

“I’m shy in the classroom,but on the basketball court,I’m a whole different person,”Hawkins said. “I love basket-ball. It means a lot to me andI think that shows when I’mon the floor.”

Hawkins averaged 15.5points per game last year, butBurgener said there’s roomfor improvement.

“She’s got great naturalathleticism,” Burgener said.“There’s so much potentialthere, and I don’t think we’vecome anywhere near seeingthe best that Jerica can deliv-er out on the court. And that’sexciting.”

Burgener said the twoaspects Hawkins needs themost work on are using herleft hand to drive anddefense.

“To be successful at thehighest level in high school,you have to be able to useboth hands. You don’t want tobe predictable,” Burgenersaid. “But I’d say her biggestweakness is defense. You’dnever know it by looking ather stats, because she hadtons of steals last year. And Idon’t think she’d admit tothat. But she gets by a lotwith her athletic ability.

“We’ve been working a loton proper defensive spacingand positioning,” Burgenersaid. “I think if she comesalong and takes that instruc-tion, people are going to see areally complete, dominant all-around player.”

jconn@herald-review.com|421-7971

DECATUR — The successof the St. Teresa girls fall pro-grams was a delight for BruceMoore to watch.

At the same time, it was abit troubling as last postsea-son runs by the volleyball andcross country teams meant apretty thin roster at times forthe Bulldogs basketball coach.

“It was tough to evaluateplayers,” he said.

But now that they are all inhouse, Moore is starting tolike what he sees despite theloss of a couple of key players.

“I think we’re going to befine this year,” he said. “Wedon’t have a lot of height andyou have to have height to besuccessful in the long run.

“But we do have a lot ofathletic girls. The girls thatwe have are a good group.”

He believes he has just the per-son to take over the spot of AlexReynolds, who was first-team all-Macon County a year ago.

Haley Fitzgerald averagedeight points and eight reboundsas a junior and has been play-ing at the varsity level sinceshe was a freshman.

“If she wants to, she is avery unselfish player. Some-times she passes up too manyshots,” Moore said. “This yearwe’ll ask more of her and askher to be an offensive threat.”

The Bulldogs will surroundher with some role playersand some youngsters.

He said Lizzy York andHannah Richards are danger-ous from the 3-point arc.Mary Walker is a sneakyquick defender and HollyHaskins is capable at thepoint guard spot.

“She is a mismatch for a lotof point guards because herheighth, strength and athleti-cism,” Moore said.

Quick peek

COACH: Bruce MooreLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 13-14TOP RETURNERS: Mary Walker

(Sr.); Holly Haskins (Jr.); HaleyFitzgerald (Sr.)

TOP NEWCOMERS: Katie Landry (Jr.);Claire Raycraft (So.); Erin Hettinger(So.); Marie Hogan (Sr.); JamieBrown (Jr.); Raeshel Braden (Jr.)

Roster

Fitzgerald, Haley 5-9 Sr.Hogan, Marie 5-7 Sr.Richards, Hannah 5-4 Sr.Walker, Mary 5-6 Sr.York, Lizzy 5-6 Sr.Braden, Raeshel 5-8 Jr.Brown, Jamie 5-4 Jr.Haskins, Holly 5-8 Jr.Landry, Katie 5-10 Jr.Hettinger, Erin 5-4 So.Raycaft, Claire 5-10 So.Rogers, Jordan 5-9 So.Duncan, Ann 5-4 Fr.

Schedule

Nov. 18 vs. St. Joseph-Ogden inRiverton, 5 p.m.Nov. 19 vs. Clinton in Riverton, 8 p.m.Nov. 20 vs. Riverton in Riverton, 6:30 p.m.Nov. 23 Sangamon Valley, 7 p.m.Nov. 24 at Cerro Gordo, 7 p.m.Nov. 30 Warrensburg-Latham, 7 p.m.Dec. 3 Sullivan, 7 p.m.Dec. 5 at LSA, 7:15 p.m.Dec. 7 Central A&M, 7 p.m.Dec. 10 at Argenta-Oreana, 7 p.m.Dec. 14 Tolono Unity, 7 p.m.Dec. 17 at Maroa-Forsyth, 7 p.m.Dec. 19 at Springfield SH-Griffin, 7 p.m.Jan. 4-9 at Macon County TournamentJan. 11 Tuscola, 7 p.m.Jan. 14 Monticello, 7 p.m.Jan. 18 at Clinton, 7 p.m.Jan. 20 at Mount Zion, 7 p.m.Jan. 21-28 OKAW TournamentFeb. 1 at Shelbyville, 7 p.m.Feb. 4 at Meridian, 7 p.m.

DECATUR — MacArthur isthe only area team that canboast three players of the yearin its program, and that shouldhelp the Generals to anothersuccessful season — even iftwo of those three are coaches.

After going 20-10 last seasonwith the program’s first section-al title appearance, the Gener-als graduated four of their sixtop players and also lost theircoach when H&R Macon Coun-ty Coach of the Year Eric New-bon left to become Eisenhow-er’s boys coach.

But last year’s county playerof the year Lexy Carson givesnew coach Gwen Muex — the1983 county player of the year—a major building block. AndMuex will have plenty of helpcoaching an otherwise mostlyyoung team with two-timecounty player of the year Mon-ica Rogers (at St. Teresa in2003 and ’04) coming back toDecatur after a successfulfour-year career at Bradley tobe one of Muex’s assistants.

Muex, a 1983 StephenDecatur grad, previouslycoached the varsity girls atStephen Decatur in theschool’s final season, thencoached several years at thejunior high level.

“I took last year off fromcoaching, but when I heardthey had an opening atMacArthur and people weren’tapplying, I felt bad for thosegirls,” Muex said. “I didn’tfeel like I was done coaching,so I decided to get back in andhelp these young ladies.”

Carson emerged as a legiti-mate scoring threat last yearwith 17.4 points per game, andmay have to score even morethis year to lead a Generalsteam with just one other play-er with significant varsityexperience. That player,Miranda Murry, givesMacArthur an outside scoringthreat. And Muex expectssophomore Sydney Sturdivantto have a breakout season.

Quick peek

COACH: Gwen MuexLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 20-10TOP RETURNERS: Lexy Carson

(Sr., G); Miranda Murry (Sr., G)TOP NEWCOMERS: Sydney Sturdi-

vant (So., F)

Roster

Brown, Shay F Sr.Carson, Lexy G Sr.Murray, Miranda G Sr.Parsons, TaCharra C Sr.Tarvin, Kaylyn F Sr.Allyn, Maegan F Jr.Bond, Ashley F So.Cooper, T’Nasha G So.Roberts, Natalee G So.Stanley, Taylor G So.Sturdivant, Sydney F So.Prim, Aarhianna C Fr.

Schedule

Nov. 24-28 at Mount Zion Tournament Dec. 3 Champaign Central, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Jacksonville, 4 p.m. Dec. 10 at Normal West, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11 Eisenhower, 6 p.m. Dec. 19 at Mattoon, 4 p.m. Dec. 28-30 at Mattoon Holiday Tourn.Jan. 7 at Urbana, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 Springfield SH-Griffin, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at Bloomington, 7:45 p.m. Jan. 16 Champaign Cent., 2:30 p.m. Jan. 21 Normal, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 Normal West, 7:30 p.m.Feb. 2 at Eisenhower, 6 p.m.Feb. 4 Danville, 7:30 p.m.Feb. 6 at Normal, 2:30 p.m.Feb. 9 at Mount Zion, 7 p.m.Feb. 11 Bloomington, 7:45 p.m.

DECATUR — LSA coachMark Burgener’s message tohis team this season is: Ifyou’re not moving at break-neck speed, you’re doing itwrong.

With no height to speak ofafter the graduation of 5-11post players Rachel McBrideand Christi Rever, the Lionswill have to rely on theirquickness to get their third 20-win season in the past fouryear and fifth straight confer-ence title.

“We’re not going to havesize, so for us it’s going to beall about transition offenseand pressure defense,” Bur-gener said. “We have toemphasize our quickness —that’s our asset. And to makethat work, we’re going to haveto be in good condition andout-hustle our opponents.”

The key will be JericaHawkins — both her ability toscore and the team’s ability totake advantage of defensesdesigned to stop her fromscoring.

“Jerica’s scoring will beimportant to us, but her will-ingness to pass will be just asimportant,” Burgener said.“This group is young, but thenice thing is they’ve playedtogether since junior high andknow how to use theirstrengths.”

While LSA won’t have theheight and experience ofrecent teams, Burgener saidshooting will be a strengthwith sophomore Jamie Schol-lenbruch, sophomore ArianaShelton and junior WhitneyThompson.

Quick peek

COACH: Mark BurgenerLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 22-5, 12-0

East Central IllinoisTOP RETURNERS: Whitney Thomp-

son (Jr., G); Jerica Hawkins (So., G)TOP NEWCOMERS: Ariana Shelton

(So., G); Jamie Schollenbruch (So.,G); Kylie Laskowski (So., F); RachelMcCormick (Sr., G)

Roster

McCormick, Rachel Sr.Buhr, Jennifer Jr.Thompson, Whitney Jr.Hawkins, Jerica So.Laskowski, Kylie So.Sack, Rebekah So.Schollenbruch, Jamie So.Shelton, Ari So.

Schedule

Nov. 17 vs. Williamsville in Riverton, 8 p.m. Nov. 19 vs. Mount Zion in Riverton,6:30 p.m. Nov. 20 vs. Virginia in Riverton, 5 p.m. Nov. 24 at Sangamon Valley, 7:30 p.m.Nov. 27-28 Sangamon Valley Tourn. Nov. 30 Champaign Judah Christ-ian, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 3 at Normal Calvary Baptist,7:15 p.m. Dec. 5 St. Teresa, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 8 DeLand-Weldon, 7:15 p.m.Dec. 11 University Laboratory HighSchool, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 14 at Christ Lutheran, 6 p.m. Dec. 19 Warrensburg-Latham, 7:15 p.m. Dec. 21 at Okaw Valley, 7:30 p.m.Dec. 26-30 at Okaw Valley ChristmasTournament Jan. 12 at Decatur Christian, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 15 Calvary Baptist Academy,6:30 p.m.Jan. 16 at Maroa-Forsyth, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at DeLand-Weldon, 7:15 p.m. Jan. 22 at University LaboratoryHigh School, 7:15 p.m. Jan. 25 Christ Lutheran School, 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at Champaign JudahChristian, 7:15 p.m. Feb. 2 at Springfield Lutheran, 7:15 p.m.Feb. 5 Decatur Christian, 6:15 p.m.

MOUNT ZION — Hopefully agood summer means a betterwinter for the Mount Zion Braves.

“We had a really good sum-mer,” Braves coach Jeff Shu-mate said. “We played verywell and some girls steppedup to fill some of the rolesfrom our seniors who gradu-ated last year. I think we havea lot of options this year.”

The biggest option willagain be 6-foot junior JadeBecker (11.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg), whohas gotten bigger, strongerand maybe gained some moreconfidence through her sum-mer play and her success dur-ing volleyball season.

Becker already holds theschool’s single-season recordsfor offensive rebounds, defensiverebounds and total rebounds.

“She’s going to hopefullyhave a good game everynight,” Shumate said. “Weneed to get some early lowpost scores to help openthings up for us.”

Mount Zion got off to a nicestart before hitting ApolloConference play. The Braveslost 10 of its last 11.

Part of the reason wasturnovers.

But Shumate feels that hasimproved as Madison Huskeywill be joined by NicoleWeaver and Haley Mathes.

“I feel comfortable with allthree of them handling theball,” he said.

Expected to provide somehelp on the offensive end aresenior guard Liz Barter (6.0ppg) and Huskey, who seemedto come through more in thebigger games. Huskey aver-aged 4.4 points last season buthad 16 against MacArthur and13 against Olney.

Quick peek

COACH: Jeff ShumateLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 9-19, 2-12TOP RETURNERS: Jade Becker (Jr.,

C); Liz Barter (Sr., G); MadisonHuskey (Sr., G); Kendra Schaub (Sr.,G); Megan Perry (Sr., F); NicoleWeaver (So., G); Haley Mathes (Jr., G)

TOP NEWCOMERS: Bailey Atkins(Jr., G); Mackenzie Steck (So., G);Rachel Huggins (So., F)

Roster

Barter, Liz G Sr.Huskey, Madison G Sr.Schaub, Kendra G Sr.Atkins, Bailey G Jr.Becker, Jade C Jr.Mathes, Haley G Jr.Perry, Megan F Jr.Frey, Jordan G So.Huggins, Rachel F So.MacIntosh, Olivia F So.Steck, Mackenzie G So.Weaver, Nicole G So.

Schedule

Nov. 17 vs. Virginia in Riverton, 5 p.m.Nov. 19 vs. LSA in Riverton, 6:30 p.m.Nov. 20 vs. Williamsville in Riverton,8 p.m.Nov. 24-28 at Mount Zion Thanks-giving Tournament Nov. 30 at Charleston, 7 p.m.Dec. 3 Olney East Richland, 7 p.m.Dec. 7 Paris, 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at Newton, 7 p.m.Dec. 14 at Robinson, 7 p.m.Dec. 18 at Effingham, 7 p.m.Dec. 26-30 at Okaw Valley ChristmasTournament Jan. 4 at Salem, 7 p.m.Jan. 7 Charleston, 7 p.m.Jan. 11 at Paris, 7 p.m.Jan. 14 at Olney, 7 p.m. Jan. 20 St. Teresa, 7 p.m. Jan. 25 Newton, 7 p.m.Jan. 28 Robinson, 7 p.m. Feb. 1 Effingham, 7 p.m. Feb. 4 Salem, 7 p.m.Feb. 9 MacArthur, 7 p.m.

DECATUR — If the sum-mer is any indication of howmuch success Eisenhower willhave this year, then the Pan-thers are set for a good sea-son.

Eisenhower coach ChrisSeider was ecstatic with thecommitment he got from histeam and that translated intoresults. The group workednearly every day during thesummer and competed in 27games finishing with a recordof 24-3.

“That was a huge step forus because last year we reallyunder achieved,” Seider saidabout the summer successcompared to last season’s 6-21record. “The talent’s alwaysbeen there, it was just a mat-ter of mixing the right peopletogether.”

Seider has a veteran groupthat’s led by 10 seniors andtwo juniors of the 13-personroster. The experience com-bined with each player know-ing and understanding herrole sets up for what Seiderexpects to be a quality year.

“I am sure at 6-21 with 12returners not many peopleexpect a lot from this group,”Seider said. “But I do.”

The group is plenty readyfor tonight’s intrasquadscrimmage and then it opensthe season with Sacred HeartGriffin.

“It’s going to be a toughgame for us,” Seider said.“But the girls had a taste ofsuccess this summer and theywant that to continue.”

Quick peek

COACH: Chris SeiderLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 6-21, 2-11

Big 12TOP RETURNERS: Tiara Thomas

(Sr.), Kriza Allen (Jr.), TynieshaCardwell (Sr.), Kari Fabley (Sr.)

TOP NEWCOMERS: MarshayaSangster (So.), Maya Houston(Jr.), Zemeka Fuller (Sr.)

Schedule

Nov. 18 at Springfield SacredHeart-Griffin, 6 p.m. Nov. 24-28 at Mount Zion TournamentDec. 3 at Normal, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at Urbana, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at MacArthur, 6 p.m. Dec. 12 vs. Quincy Notre Dame,2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 vs. Bloomington, 1 p.m. Dec. 28-30 at Charleston TournamentJan. 7 vs. Mattoon, 6 p.m. Jan. 14 at Normal West, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 vs. Normal, 2:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at Bloomington, 6 p.m. Jan. 23, 25, 27, 28 at LincolnRound Robin Feb. 2 vs. MacArthur, 6 p.m. Feb. 4 at Champaign Central,7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 vs. Normal West, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 8 vs. Charleston, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 11 at Champaign Centennial,6 p.m.

Roster

Allen, Kriza G Jr. Cardwell, Tymiesha G Sr. Cardwell, Tyniesha F Sr. Dunning, Shana C Sr. Evans, Lena G Sr. Fabley, Kari G Sr. Fuller, Zemeka F Sr. Houston, Maya F Jr. Jackson, Dynia G Sr. Owens, Samantha F Sr. Patterson, Kacy G Sr. Sangster, Marshaya C So. Thomas, Tiara G Sr.

DECATUR — With thedeparture of three startersand no seniors on this year’steam, Decatur Christian isgoing to need some time todevelop.

DCS has only one junior,Keirstyn Spangler, on theteam and its also breaking infirst-year coach Tom Grady.The team’s other starter froma year ago is sophomore Han-nah Guske.

“Guske didn’t score a lotlast year, but in practice sheseems to be able to shoot theball pretty well,” Grady said.

Grady is also hoping theaddition of freshman CarlyRobinson helps the teamprogress throughout the year.Robinson will be the team’spost player.

“She looks like she can getthe job done down low,”Grady said about Robinson.

Grady knows the seasonwill be one of learning andprogression. The team has sixsophomores, including Guske,and four freshmen, includingRobinson.

“There’s no substitute tohaving seniors and experi-ence,” Grady said. “I am sureby the end of the year, weshould be coming into ourown.”

Quick peek

COACH: Chris SeiderLAST YEAR’S RECORD: 7-20, 0-10TOP RETURNERS: Keirstyn Span-

gler (Jr.), Hannah Guske (So.)TOP NEWCOMERS: Carly Robin-

son (Fr.)

Schedule

Nov. 30 vs. DeLand-Weldon, 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at Christ Lutheran, 6 p.m. Dec. 5 vs. Cornerstone ChristianAcademy, 1 p.m. Dec. 8 vs. Judah Christian, 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at Okaw Valley, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 12 at Heritage, 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at Heritage, 2 p.m. Dec. 14 vs. Calvery Baptist Academy,6:15 p.m. Dec. 17 vs. South Fork, 6:15 p.m. Dec. 19 at Atwood-Hammond, 1 p.m. Dec. 29 vs. First Christian Baptist,5 p.m. Jan. 7 at University High, 6 p.m. Jan. 8 at Decatur Home School,6:30 p.m. Jan. 12 vs. LSA, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 15 vs. Christ Lutheran, 6 p.m. Jan. 16 vs. Cornerstone ChristianSchool-Sycamore, 1 p.m. Jan. 19 at Judah Christian, 6 p.m. Jan. 22 at Cornerstone ChristianAcademy, 6:45 p.m. Jan. 23 at Northwest ChristianCampus, 4 p.m. Jan. 23 at Northwest Christian, 4 p.m. Jan. 26 at Calvary Baptist Acade-my, 6:15 p.m. Jan. 29 at DeLand-Weldon, 6:15 p.m. Feb. 1 vs. University High, 6 p.m. Feb. 5 at LSA, 6:15 p.m.

Roster

DeBrun, Michelle So. Edgecombe, Morgan So. Fronk, Heather So. Guske, Hannah So. Hanks, Jessica Fr. Klemm, Sara Fr. Lehman, Mikayla So. Robinson, Carly Fr. Simms, Sarah So. Spangler, Karrissa Fr. Spangler, Keirstyn Jr.

girls basketball preview — city teamsprepshr

NHL

ST. TERESA MACARTHUR LSA MOUNT ZION EISENHOWER DCS

T IPOFF T IME

Today’s girls basketball gamesMount Pulaski at Heyworth, 7 p.m.Oblong at Martinsville, 7:30 p.m.Lawrenceville at Robinson, 7 p.m.Bloomington at Normal UniversityHigh, 6 p.m.Cowden-Herrick at South Central,7 p.m.Cumberland at Louisville NorthClay, 7 p.m.Argenta-Oreana at Arcola, 7:15 p.m.Arthur at Meridian, 7 p.m.Chrisman at Villa Grove, 7:30 p.m.Heritage at Sangamon Valley,7:30 p.m.Shelbyville at Okaw Valley, 7 p.m.South Piatt at Cerro Gordo, 7:30 p.m.Neoga at Central A&M, 7 p.m.LeRoy at Warrensburg-Latham,6 p.m.

EASTERN CONFERENCEAtlantic DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

New Jersey 18 14 4 0 28 51 37

Pittsburgh 20 13 7 0 26 61 56

N.Y. Rangers 20 11 8 1 23 61 54

Philadelphia 16 10 5 1 21 59 41

N.Y. Islanders 20 7 6 7 21 56 63

Northeast DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

Buffalo 17 12 4 1 25 48 37

Boston 19 8 7 4 20 46 48

Ottawa 17 8 6 3 19 48 52

Montreal 20 9 11 0 18 49 59

Toronto 18 3 10 5 11 45 68

Southeast DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

Washington 20 12 4 4 28 75 62

Atlanta 17 10 6 1 21 63 50

Tampa Bay 17 7 4 6 20 44 52

Florida 17 7 9 1 15 46 59

Carolina 19 3 12 4 10 42 72

WESTERN CONFERENCECentral DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

Chicago 19 12 5 2 26 57 46

Detroit 18 10 5 3 23 62 54

Columbus 18 10 6 2 22 55 65

Nashville 18 9 8 1 19 39 48

St. Louis 18 6 8 4 16 41 47

Northwest DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

Colorado 20 12 5 3 27 60 54

Calgary 18 12 4 2 26 59 47

Vancouver 21 11 10 0 22 62 57

Edmonton 20 8 10 2 18 58 63

Minnesota 20 7 11 2 16 49 63

Pacific DivisionGP W L OT P GF GA

San Jose 22 14 4 4 32 73 53

Los Angeles 21 12 7 2 26 65 64

Phoenix 19 11 8 0 22 50 45

Dallas 19 8 5 6 22 59 57

Anaheim 18 6 9 3 15 52 62

NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for

overtime loss.

Saturday’s gamesN.Y. Rangers 2, Ottawa 1, SO

Florida 5, N.Y. Islanders 4, SO

New Jersey 5, Washington 2

Detroit 7, Anaheim 4

Calgary 5, Toronto 2

Buffalo 3, Philadelphia 2

Los Angeles 2, Tampa Bay 1, SO

Pittsburgh 6, Boston 5, OT

Nashville 2, Montreal 0

San Jose 3, St. Louis 1

Phoenix 3, Dallas 2

Vancouver 8, Colorado 2

Sunday’s gamesCarolina 5, Minnesota 4, SO

Atlanta 3, Edmonton 2

Chicago 4, San Jose 3, OT

Today’s gamesNew Jersey at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

N.Y. Islanders at Boston, 6 p.m.

Edmonton at Columbus, 6 p.m.

Anaheim at Pittsburgh, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles at Florida, 6:30 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Tuesday’s gamesWashington at N.Y. Rangers, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m.

Carolina at Montreal, 6:30 p.m.

San Jose at Nashville, 7 p.m.

Colorado at Calgary, 8:30 p.m.

BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 3, OTSan Jose 1 2 0 0 — 3

Chicago 1 2 0 1 — 4

First period-1, Chicago, Sopel 1 (Hendry),

4:08. 2, San Jose, Heatley 14 (Thornton,

Demers), 15:01.

Second period-3, San Jose, Demers 1, 1:14

(pp). 4, San Jose, Marleau 12 (Pavelski, Joslin),

1:59. 5, Chicago, Kane 7 (Toews, Keith), 7:54. 6,

Chicago, Madden 3 (Ladd, Keith), 18:41.

Third period-None.

Overtime-7, Chicago, Seabrook 2 (Toews,

Brouwer), :41.

Shots on Goal-San Jose 7-8-8-0-23. Chicago 9-

13-6-2-30. Goalies-San Jose, Nabokov. Chicago,

Huet. A-21,130 (19,717). T-2:25.

SCORING LEADERSThrough Saturday

GP G A PTSAnze Kopitar, LA 21 14 17 31

Marian Gaborik, NYR 18 13 12 25

Rick Nash, Cls 18 13 11 24

Alex Ovechkin, Was 14 14 9 23

Corey Perry, Anh 18 13 10 23

Henrik Sedin, Van 21 12 11 23

Patrick Marleau, SJ 21 11 12 23

Scoreboard ’Hawks get

OT victoryCHICAGO (AP) — A per-

fect homestand against theWestern Conference elitereminded the Chicago Black-hawks just how good they are.

“We feel we can win anynight, against any team,” saidBrent Seabrook, whose goal 41seconds into overtime Sundaynight lifted the Blackhawks toa 4-3 victory over the San JoseSharks. “We have a great group... and we want to prove that.”

By rallying from a two-goaldeficit to defeat the team withthe NHL’s best record, Chicagocompleted a 4-0 homestandthat also included gamesagainst Colorado and LosAngeles. The Blackhawks, whoreached the conference finalssix months ago, have wonseven consecutive at home.

“Down two against a topteam like that, you’re not veryoften going to come back andget (the victory),” Blackhawkscoach Joel Quenneville said.