All-BCR Girls Basketball Team
Andes and Prokup Make 1st Team; Wallaert Earns Second Team Honors
by Brad Martin
March 10, 2008
Three newcomers
join All-BCR girls' team
2008 All-BCR Girls Basketball Team
By Brad Martin
bmartin@bcrnews.com
Saturday, March 8, 2008 12:06 AM CST
The 2007-08 season was full of highlights for the ladies as Hall
won their fourth straight regional, St. Bede won the Tri-County for
the third straight year and Princeton relied on some growing pains
from talented underclassman.
Bureau Valley showed vast improvements in the second half of the season with sophomore Melanie Thompson leading the way, and LaMoille has a rising star in Chelsea Gross.
The Lady Bruins and the Lady Red Devils battled, once again, for the regional championship, and both teams have several of their players coming back for another battle next season. Defending sectional Princeton went through a major rebuilding project.
Here is a rundown of the 2007-2008 All-BCR girls’ team:
First Team
Jen Andes, sr. (Hall)
The senior center accomplished what no one else has in the history of Hall High School. She won four championships for the Lady Red Devils while starting on the varsity team all four years. She finishes her career as the Lady Red Devils second all- time leading scorer with 1,265 points, behind Kailey Klein.
“Jen is a special player, there’s no doubt about that,” Lady Red Devils coach Pat Cinotte said. “She is a workhorse, and a great leader who’s willing to work hard to get the job done for the team. She shot 74 percent from the free-throw line, knowing that as aggressive as she is and teams coming at her, she was going to spend some time at the line ... and did a great job.”
Andes also earned all-state honors as a second team AP, unanimous first team NCIC Lincoln, second team IBCA and first team Illinois Basketball System (IBS). Andes will continue her basketball career with former St. Bede star Katie Carls at St. Francis in Joliet. Andes averaged 16 points a game (464 for the season) as well as 298 rebounds for an average of 10.25. Both stats were tops among the BCR athletes.
Sam Galas, jr.
(St. Bede)
The Lady Bruins junior center/forward was one of the most improved players in the area, and that play earned her first team BCR as well as special mention in the IBCA. Galas averaged 8.9 points a game (266 for the season) as well as bringing down 178 rebounds for an average of 5.9 a game.
Galas had a big game against Hall her first time around with 18 points and 13 rebounds to claim the Lady Bruins first win over Hall in 10 contests. St. Bede coach Tom McGunnigal expects big things for Galas for her senior season.
“Sam has come a long way in three years at St. Bede,” McGunnigal said. “It used to be in practice where she would miss a shot and hang her head and try to walk away. But I wouldn’t let her walk away. Now if she misses, she grabs the ball and stays until she makes the shot. She has learned what it means to play hard, and I think she can play at the next level.”
Chelsea Gross, jr. (LaMoille)
The do-it-all point guard for the Lady Lions was a pleasant addition to the team and coach Bill Stouffer this season.
“Well, coming into the season, we knew what kind of player she was, so it wasn’t a big surprise to us,” Stouffer said. “She had her biggest games against a very tough schedule and is very laid back with any recognition that she gets. She just absolutely has a great passion for basketball.”
Gross was the second leading scorer in the area with a 15.4 average and was the leader of the team from her point-guard position. She also made it to Peoria as a three-point shooter in the queen of the hill competition. She led the team in steals, with 85, on the season.
“She was an outstanding defensive player,” Stouffer said. “She is a very well rounded player, and I am very happy to have her back next year.”
Carly Prokup, jr. (Hall)
Hall’s junior forward did a little bit of everything for the Lady Red Devils, again, this season. She averaged 10.8 points a game as well as 8.1 rebounds. Prokup was a second team All-BCR a year ago and worked her way to the first team this season. Perhaps one of her best traits on the court is that she usually was guarding the opponent’s top offensive player. She also was a first team selection in the NCIC Lincoln as well as a fourth team honorable mention and special mention on the IBS team.
“Carly really stepped up a lot this season,” Cinotte said. “On defense, she did more than expected guarding teams top players, and she was quicker this year, meaning she anticipates passes and gets the deflection. She never backs down from any challenge, either.”
Prokup helped the Lady Red Devils claim their fourth consecutive regional title and end the season with a 20-9 record before bowing out of the Oregon Sectional with a loss to Byron after dominating St. Bede in the regional final 56-42.
Sarah Stariha, Sr.
(St. Bede)
Tough as nails is how the senior point guard is usually described by coaches. Stariha was a three-year starter on the Lady Bruins varsity squad and was the team’s floor general this past season. St. Bede finished the season with a 27-3 record.
“To say the least, I am going to miss Sarah,” McGunnigal said. “She is a tremendous leader, teammate and friend to me. She is going to be an outstanding athlete in college at Beloit. She wants to try and play basketball and softball as well as major in engineering, and I have no doubt she could pull it off.”
Stariha averaged 8.6 points a contest (257) for the balanced offense of the Lady Bruins and was special mention on the IBCA squad. Stariha also scored 905 points in three years of varsity action, which is good for sixth all-time at the Academy.
She helped St. Bede win their first Lady Bruins Classic since 2002 as well as winning their third straight Tri-County Conference Championship in the regular season and in the tournament.
The Tri-County All-Conference has yet to be selected.
Second Team
Jheri Emmerling, sr. (St. Bede)
The Lady Bruins senior center was a big part of the success this season for St. Bede as they won the Tri-County Conference Tournament for the third consecutive year. Emmerling averaged 6.9 points a game as well as 6.5 rebounds for the 27-3 Lady Bruins.
“Jheri worked as hard as anyone for us,” McGunnigal said. “She was a consistent player and loved to compete out there. She’s another senior that we’re going to miss a lot around here.”
Laura Lovgren, sr. (LaMoille)
The Lady Lions co-captain was second on the team with two double-doubles for third-year coach Bill Stouffer. Lovgren was second on the team in rebounds with an average of 7.9 as well as scoring 8.8 points per contest.
“Laura was a co-captain for us this year and a great leader,” Stouffer said. “She really improved over her four years at LaMoille. She also did a nice job all year in the post for us and was right there competing all season for the top rebounder on the team.”
Melanie Thompson, so. (Bureau Valley)
What a second half of the season for the Storm sophomore center. She averaged 13.5 points and eight rebounds over the final 16 games, helping the Storm go 9-7. In a late January game with St. Bede, she gave the Lady Bruins all they wanted and more with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
“It took her a while to get accustomed to varsity ball, but we when she got better, we got better as a team,” Ohlson said.
Thompson was tied for fourth among the top BCR scorers with an average of 10.4 per outing as well as 6.7 rebounds a game for the Storm. There’s no doubt that with two years remaining Thompson will be a handful for opponents.
Meghan Odell, sr (Bureau Valley)
The senior guard did a little of everything for the Storm this past season. Like Thompson, Odell was a big part of why Bureau Valley played outstanding basketball after the Christmas season. Odell averaged 8.1 points a contest as well as 2.5 steals per contest.
“She was the heart and soul of the team. When she played, we played well,” Ohlson said. “She really committed herself to get better and better and took on a lot more of a leadership role.”
Odell also shot .281 from behind the arc which was good for second in the area and tops for the Storm in 2007-08. Odell’s play earned her honorable mention in the Three Rivers Conference.
Lindsay Wallaert, jr. (Hall)
Hall’s junior guard/forward had a solid year for the regional champion Lady Red Devils. She showed, on many occasions, that she could bring the ball up the floor for Hall as well as setting up the offense. Wallaert was named to the NCIC Lincoln division second team and was named to the IBCA special mention team.
“She really is a carbon copy of Carly Prokup,” Hall coach Pat Cinotte said. “She is a workhorse and an all around complete player. She can handle the ball, shoot the three and play outstanding defense.”
