Lady Eagles finish 22-11, second in regional
By Maria Borri
IV Leader Sports Editor
The Lady Eagles basketball team finished the season by placing second in the Regional IV Tournament and second in the Arrowhead Conference.
They finished the season with an overall record of 22-11, conference record of 7 - 5.
In the final national poll, the women were ranked 15th. The team also placed second in three-point field goal percentage, 19th in scoring average (70 points a game), 23rd in team field goal percentage, and 23rd in free throw percentage.
Lady Eagles who placed in the national rankings were Katie Kohr, Jennifer Stokes, and Karissa Dinges. Kohr finished number nine in the nation in scoring her 20-point contribution per game. Kohr also placed 20th in the country for free throw percentage. She had an 83 percent average.
Stokes placed 17th in the country in rebounding, averaging 10 per game.
Dinges placed seventh in steals and 23rd in assists, despite the fact that she was out for nine games due to a torn ACL.
"I feel she would have placed first if it wouldn't have been for injury," stated Coach Steve Crick.
The women, seeded number two, lost the regional title to number-one seed Kankakee on March 9 at Sauk Valley.
Kankakee jumped into the lead quickly and stayed ahead throughout, winning with a final score of 90-71. At the beginning, IVCC quickly became the underdogs, 14-2, and they were never able to get any closer than nine points behind.
"Kankakee played the best I've ever seen them," coach Crick said. "They deserved to win."
High scorers were Kohr (20), Stokes (19), and Camia Brown (16).
IVCC defeated McHenry on March 5 in the semifinal round in a seesaw game. The IVCC women finally squeaked by 70-69.
The Eagles were determined to win, according to coach Crick.
"We wouldn't give up," he said. "We played extremely hard and were determined to win. These ladies wanted it (the win) just a little more."
Since losing to IVCC on Dec. 11, McHenry had won 18 of 19 games, gone 12 - 0 in the Skyway Conference and defeated national power Vincennes.
Against McHenry, the IVCC women had a poor night shooting from the field. However, their free-throw shooting was excellent, which allowed the women to win.
High scorers were Stokes with 20, Kohr with 16, Brown with 15, and Leah Gapinski with 10.
IVCC advanced to the semifinal round with a victory over Lake County in their first regional game, 69-47, on March 2 at IVCC. It was a consistent game that saw IVCC in the lead throughout.
The team's defense was excellent, holding the opponent to their low score.
Brown scored 26 points and had 14 rebounds.
"Overall, we had a real solid performance," stated Crick.
The women exceeded their expectations this season. Their goal was to win 20 games; they won 22, making this the third straight 20-win season under coach Crick.
"We exceeded our expectations, especially considering the fact that Dinges, our point guard, was out nine games with her injured knee," Crick said, adding that all of the team except Kohr were first-year players.
The coach explained that five of the season's losses occured when Dinges was hurt.
"I feel that we could have won the conference if she wouldn't have been injured," continued Crick.
The players did, however, win five out of the last six games without Dinges in the line-up. The players pulled together with "an outstanding conclusion to the season," Crick said.
The coach's prediction for next year's season is a strong and positive one: "We did so well this year with almost all freshmen. We have got to be really encouraged and excited about the possibilities for next year. We have gotten recognition because of the success in the past three years.
"There is an incredible amount of interest for players wanting to come here. I'm getting phone calls, video tapes."
The coach said next year's team could end up with a full roster of 15, since as many as eight players may come back from this season's team.
"With the interest, it should be no problem to get seven more," he said. "It is looking good for the Lady Eagles."