Three metro-east girls basketball teams vying for the ultimate prize Saturday at ISU

The girls basketball teams from Okawville, Mater Dei and O’Fallon high schools will take a shot at metro-east history Saturday.

Each will be playing for a state championship at CEFCU Arena (formerly Redbird Arena) on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal:

• Okawville (33-4) vs. Christopher (31-3) at 11 a.m. in Class 1A.
• Mater Dei (26-7) vs. Byron (34-2) at 12:45 p.m. in Class 2A.
• O’Fallon (33-4) vs. Lisle Benet Academy (25-7) at 7:15 p.m. in Class 3A.

Okawville and Mater Dei secured berths in the title game Thursday, as Okawville blasted Galena 49-31 and Mater Dei battled past Quincy Notre Dame 61-54. O’Fallon secured its spot Friday, pulling away in the fourth quarter to defeat Arlington Heights Hersey 77-60.

Since Illinois adopted the four-class system in 2007-08, the metro-east never has had three teams playing for titles in girls basketball. Only once has two teams from the metro-east played in championship games in the same season: Breese Central in Class 2A and Edwardsville in Class 4A placed second in 2012, but the tournaments were on different weekends.

“We don’t necessarily get a lot of love down in the 618. It’s mostly Chicago schools in the polls,” O’Fallon coach Nick Knolhoff said. “But we can also play down here.”

Knolhoff said it would be “awesome” for the metro-east to bring home three state championship trophies on the final day of the season.

“East St. Louis and Belleville West won the 3A and 4A (titles) in the same year,” Knolhoff said, referring to the 2018-19 boys basketball season when the Flyers earned the Class 3A crown and the Maroons repeated as Class 4A champions. “If we could get three (championships) on the girls side, that would be fantastic.”

O’Fallon all-state senior Shannon Powell, who scored 30 points Friday, is proud of the talent metro-east teams bring to the table night in and night out. Now it’s time for them to show the rest of the state how much quality resides in southwestern Illinois.

“We’re all super excited,” she said. “People will finally give us respect down there.”

The metro-east won all three state championships in girls soccer in 2011 behind Alton Marquette in Class 1A, Triad in Class 2A and Granite City in Class 3A, and in 2021 behind Althoff in Class 1A, Triad in Class 2A and O’Fallon in Class 3A.

Okawville is staring down another 618 team as it faces Christopher. The Rockets are seeking their third state title, having won Class A championships in 1994 and 2000.

“Tonight we’re going to get back after dinner and probably pack up because when we leave here to go to our game (Saturday), we’re not coming back to the hotel. We’re going to head back home,” Okawville coach Haylee Bowers said Friday. “Hopefully, we’re taking something really nice home with us.”

Bowers praises team

Bowers, a 2009 graduate of Okawville, was a freshman when the Rockets finished second in the Class A state tournament in 2006. She expressed pride about what the metro-east contingent in Normal has accomplished during its chase for championships this season. Many of Bowers’ players are friends with the girls at Mater Dei, and they are eager to see the Knights chase down the same prize dangling in front of Okawville.

“It’s awesome because they’re good people,” Bowers said. “Coach (Craig) Zurliene and I actually have helped each other out with scouting reports and stuff like that. Having a team that’s so close to us at home, with us here, is great. Hopefully, we can cheer for them and they can cheer for us. We can bring two (trophies) home.

“It’s cool to have them up here. They’re in a different hotel than us. We were wondering if they would be in our same hotel. That would have really been cool.”

Senior Briley Rhodes agreed.

“I play club ball with a lot of those (Mater Dei) girls,” Rhodes said. “I’m happy for them that they get to experience this as well. I think they can pull it off and that we can as well.”

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Junior Raelyn Obermeier knows the majority of the Mater Dei players and is close, in particular, with senior Julia Korte.

“I’ve played all sorts of sports with a lot of those girls,” Obermeier said. “I’ve played volleyball, basketball, softball. It’s fun to see them up here and think about all the talent we have in southern Illinois. Most people talk about Chicago. It’s very fun to see all of us from down here rise up.”

The Rockets had time to kill Friday since they didn’t have a game. They grabbed a quick breakfast, practiced at Illinois Wesleyan and ate lunch. After watching the Class 3A and Class 4A games on TV, the team looked forward to eating dinner at Texas Roadhouse. While there, they might have seen O’Fallon players also enjoying a big postgame dinner.

“The girls wanted a nice dinner. They wanted to get dressed up as a team and just enjoy being with each other,” Bowers said. “I love (Texas Roadhouse). I eat there all the time. I kind of like it all. Their rolls are the best.”

‘I love the bread’

Bowers will get little argument from Rhodes.

“I love the bread, but my go-to (menu item) is the chicken tenders. They’re better than anywhere else,” she said. “We’re all going to get real full.”

Junior Alayna Kraus, the Rockets’ leading scorer, calls herself a “steak lover.”

“I’ll get a medium-rare sirloin,” said Kraus, who scored 23 points in the semifinals and will seek a similar performance in the title game. “All of us have been waiting for this all year.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 8:43 PM.