Okawville cruises into Class 1A state title game, will play for championship Saturday

Okawville’s girls basketball team overcame a slow start Thursday morning to romp past Galena 49-31 in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 1A state tournament at CEFCU Arena (formerly Redbird Arena) on the campus of Illinois State University.

The Rockets (33-4) now will face Christopher for the state title at 11 a.m. Saturday.

All in all, Okawville’s performance pleased coach Haylee Bowers, whose team trailed 10-9 after one quarter.

“We started a little rocky,” she said “The excitement was getting to us a little bit. During the first time out, I told them we just have to calm down and let’s play like we play. That’s kind of what they did. They settled down. They started making their shots. And after that, we stayed on top and made it to the end.”

Alayna Kraus led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds and Briley Rhodes chipped in 10 points, while the Rockets also exhibited lock down defense. Okawville outscored the Pirates (33-2) 26-12 in the second and third quarters to assert control.

“I’ve been telling girls all year the little things are what’s going to get us the wins: Defense, free throws, rebounds,” she said. “Our offense is pretty good most games. But I don’t want them to lean on that when things get tough. Tonight I told them we have to guard ... and that really helped us out.

Needless to say, Bowers is thrilled to advance, heaping all the praise on her players.

“The most honest statement I can make is I’m the lucky one here,” Bowers said. “I have good, talented players and they’re also really good people. I cannot tell you how proud I am of them. They have my back and I have theirs. Their heart and their drive ... you can’t teach that and they have it. What they put into the program is awesome and here we’ve made it to the last game. I just hope we come out ready to go Saturday.”

Okawville now will gear up for Christopher, which defeated Champaign St. Thomas More 42-28 in Thursday’s other semifinal.

“Christopher is a good ball club and aggressive,” Bowers said while watching both teams in the semis. “We’ve got to play good defense, get rebounds, run the ball and do what we do. This big floor is kind of beneficial for us ... we like to get out and run and hope we can wear down our opponent.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2023 at 12:55 PM.