Back to back is twice as nice for GMS girls
By Joe Pritchett
Chatham Editor
ROCHESTER - A gritty, talented and determined Glenwood Middle School 8th grade girls basketball
team made some history last Thursday night in Rochester.
After winning the state title as 7th graders a year ago, the Titans came into the 2010 season
determined to repeat.
The road was not always smooth, and there were strong challenges along the way from teams like
Rochester and Springfield Franklin. Then in last week's IESA Class 8-4A state title game, the Titans
faced a vastly-improved Chicago Heights Washington team.
Glenwood fell behind 17-9 in the first half but came back strong, holding off a late comeback behind
point guard Kelly Graves' clutch free throw shooting. The Titans claimed the state title with a 42-35
victory, finishing 23-1 overall this season and 70-2 over three seasons of basketball at GMS.
"No, it wasn't as easy as I would have liked it to be," stated Glenwood head coach Adam Feld. "But
close games like that are more fun anyway. Coming into this game, I told the girls they're going to give
us everything we want and more. They had two real good players, 32 (Danielle King) and 21 (Katherine
Strong), and to be honest, we didn't have an answer for them."
In last year's state quarterfinals, Glenwood blasted Washington 50-9. But it was clear early on that
this was as different Washington team. The Spartans finished their season with a 21-3 record.
The back-to-back state championships matches the accomplishment of the 2003-04 GMS teams,
which were led by Hannah Werth, Erin Egolf and Allison Anderson, among others.
Down the stretch, with Glenwood up 37-31 with 1:30 left, the game was put in the hands of Graves,
who was fouled on five straight possessions.
She made 5-of-9 free throws in that period and 6-of-11 overall in the game. Graves led the Titans
with 15 points, and the Spartans never got closer than six points the remainder of the contest.
"At that point, I wasn't nervous," Graves explained. "I was thinking about getting to this point right
here and making each free throw one at a time."
"Kelly Graves played her butt off tonight," Feld stated. "She's been hurt all year and she's played
through it. She's such a tough kid and she made the free throws when we just had to have them."
"It feels so good, you can't describe it," Graves exclaimed. "A lot of us have been playing together
since first grade, and our dads have pushed us and pushed us to get to this point, and we did it."
Elle Alexander added seven points for GMS, while Maggie Juhlin and Parker Bandy each scored six
points. Karah Bell had two big jumpers in the second quarter and had four points, as did Madlyn
Lawrence. Lawrence was 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
Strong had 19 points and King added 13 for the Spartans. Both teams reached double digits in
fouls in the first half and both coaches had to juggle their lineup, with several players in foul trouble
throughout.
•There were a total of 13 fouls called in the first quarter alone. Graves hit a corner 3-ball and had a
driving layup before Alexander, who finished with 15 rebounds overall, had a rebound bucket inside to
tie the game at 7-7 after one quarter.
The Spartans opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to go up 17-9. Alexander had seven
rebounds in the second quarter alone but had trouble putting the ball back into the basket. Also,
Washington benefitted from a number of second chance opportunities on their offensive end.
But the Titans closed the half on an 11-2 run. Following two free throws from Alexander, Bell hit a
corner jumper to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 1:17 left. The Titans' full-court press netted a flurry of six
straight points, three coming on free throws from Alexander and Bandy, followed by a wing 3 by Bandy to
put GMS up 20-18 with 18 seconds left.
"We got down at first, but we got our intensity back up," Juhlin explained. "When their best player
went out, we took advantage and got going."
Glenwood finished just 6-of-25 from the field with 16 rebounds in the first half, while Washington
was 7-of-19 from the field with 19 rebounds.
"I told the girls at halftime I didn't think we played very well in the first half," Feld stated. "We missed
a lot of layups, and we missed five or six easy shots we have hit and got down 17-9. It was one of those
moments where we could have felt sorry for ourselves, but the girls started playing harder and started
hitting some shots."
The Titans kept the lead and extended it in the third quarter. A long jumper by Bandy and three free
throws from Lawrence put GMS up 27-23. A baseline jumper from Alexander and a driving, left-handed
layup in the lane by Graves gave the Titans a 32-25 edge after three quarters.
Up 32-29 in the fourth, Graves got the Titans' offense re-started with a baseline driving layup with 3:
45 left, and 1:30 later Juhlin scored on a give-and-go layup to put GMS up 36-29. Graves finished off the
win at the free throw line, and the celebration was on.
The Titans finished 12-of-36 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range. Glenwood made 16-
of-31 free throws and had 26 rebounds, seven turnovers and 20 fouls. Washington was 13-of-43 from
the field and 9-of-21 from the free throw line. The Spartans had 32 rebounds, 12 turnovers and 23 fouls.
The scrappy Spartans did some major damage on the offensive glass, with the slashing King and
tall post player Strong featured prominently.
"It was just a matter of at times on the offensive glass, they were wanting it more," Feld explained.
"We were waiting for the ball to come to us and they were going to get the ball. We did a better job in the
second half, and our Achilles' heel, if we have one, has been rebounding."
Coming into the season, there was no doubt what the Titans wanted to accomplish. And there were
expectations, which brings pressure.
"There was a lot of pressure, no doubt," Feld responded. "It's been our goal and in our heads from
day one. There was no hiding or shying away from it. We understood we were gonna have a bullseye
on our backs. These girls, going back to sixth grade, finished 70-2. That's a pretty remarkable feat.
"It's such a great group of girls, and I can't say enough about them as far as effort, hard work and
coming to practice every day," he continued. "They made my job pretty easy."
Finally, this season wasn't just about the on-court success. The entire GMS girls basketball
program and local community rallied around the family of eighth-grader Kailey Wilmarth, who was
diagnosed with leukemia near the beginning of the season.
"It showed the type of character these girls, their parents and the entire Chatham community has,"
Feld stated. "All stepped up to help a family in need. We all rallied around her and it was a big
motivational thing for her. It's another example of the type of girls we have."
By Joe Pritchett
Chatham Editor
ROCHESTER - A gritty, talented and determined Glenwood Middle School 8th grade girls basketball
team made some history last Thursday night in Rochester.
After winning the state title as 7th graders a year ago, the Titans came into the 2010 season
determined to repeat.
The road was not always smooth, and there were strong challenges along the way from teams like
Rochester and Springfield Franklin. Then in last week's IESA Class 8-4A state title game, the Titans
faced a vastly-improved Chicago Heights Washington team.
Glenwood fell behind 17-9 in the first half but came back strong, holding off a late comeback behind
point guard Kelly Graves' clutch free throw shooting. The Titans claimed the state title with a 42-35
victory, finishing 23-1 overall this season and 70-2 over three seasons of basketball at GMS.
"No, it wasn't as easy as I would have liked it to be," stated Glenwood head coach Adam Feld. "But
close games like that are more fun anyway. Coming into this game, I told the girls they're going to give
us everything we want and more. They had two real good players, 32 (Danielle King) and 21 (Katherine
Strong), and to be honest, we didn't have an answer for them."
In last year's state quarterfinals, Glenwood blasted Washington 50-9. But it was clear early on that
this was as different Washington team. The Spartans finished their season with a 21-3 record.
The back-to-back state championships matches the accomplishment of the 2003-04 GMS teams,
which were led by Hannah Werth, Erin Egolf and Allison Anderson, among others.
Down the stretch, with Glenwood up 37-31 with 1:30 left, the game was put in the hands of Graves,
who was fouled on five straight possessions.
She made 5-of-9 free throws in that period and 6-of-11 overall in the game. Graves led the Titans
with 15 points, and the Spartans never got closer than six points the remainder of the contest.
"At that point, I wasn't nervous," Graves explained. "I was thinking about getting to this point right
here and making each free throw one at a time."
"Kelly Graves played her butt off tonight," Feld stated. "She's been hurt all year and she's played
through it. She's such a tough kid and she made the free throws when we just had to have them."
"It feels so good, you can't describe it," Graves exclaimed. "A lot of us have been playing together
since first grade, and our dads have pushed us and pushed us to get to this point, and we did it."
Elle Alexander added seven points for GMS, while Maggie Juhlin and Parker Bandy each scored six
points. Karah Bell had two big jumpers in the second quarter and had four points, as did Madlyn
Lawrence. Lawrence was 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
Strong had 19 points and King added 13 for the Spartans. Both teams reached double digits in
fouls in the first half and both coaches had to juggle their lineup, with several players in foul trouble
throughout.
•There were a total of 13 fouls called in the first quarter alone. Graves hit a corner 3-ball and had a
driving layup before Alexander, who finished with 15 rebounds overall, had a rebound bucket inside to
tie the game at 7-7 after one quarter.
The Spartans opened the second quarter on a 10-2 run to go up 17-9. Alexander had seven
rebounds in the second quarter alone but had trouble putting the ball back into the basket. Also,
Washington benefitted from a number of second chance opportunities on their offensive end.
But the Titans closed the half on an 11-2 run. Following two free throws from Alexander, Bell hit a
corner jumper to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 1:17 left. The Titans' full-court press netted a flurry of six
straight points, three coming on free throws from Alexander and Bandy, followed by a wing 3 by Bandy to
put GMS up 20-18 with 18 seconds left.
"We got down at first, but we got our intensity back up," Juhlin explained. "When their best player
went out, we took advantage and got going."
Glenwood finished just 6-of-25 from the field with 16 rebounds in the first half, while Washington
was 7-of-19 from the field with 19 rebounds.
"I told the girls at halftime I didn't think we played very well in the first half," Feld stated. "We missed
a lot of layups, and we missed five or six easy shots we have hit and got down 17-9. It was one of those
moments where we could have felt sorry for ourselves, but the girls started playing harder and started
hitting some shots."
The Titans kept the lead and extended it in the third quarter. A long jumper by Bandy and three free
throws from Lawrence put GMS up 27-23. A baseline jumper from Alexander and a driving, left-handed
layup in the lane by Graves gave the Titans a 32-25 edge after three quarters.
Up 32-29 in the fourth, Graves got the Titans' offense re-started with a baseline driving layup with 3:
45 left, and 1:30 later Juhlin scored on a give-and-go layup to put GMS up 36-29. Graves finished off the
win at the free throw line, and the celebration was on.
The Titans finished 12-of-36 from the field, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range. Glenwood made 16-
of-31 free throws and had 26 rebounds, seven turnovers and 20 fouls. Washington was 13-of-43 from
the field and 9-of-21 from the free throw line. The Spartans had 32 rebounds, 12 turnovers and 23 fouls.
The scrappy Spartans did some major damage on the offensive glass, with the slashing King and
tall post player Strong featured prominently.
"It was just a matter of at times on the offensive glass, they were wanting it more," Feld explained.
"We were waiting for the ball to come to us and they were going to get the ball. We did a better job in the
second half, and our Achilles' heel, if we have one, has been rebounding."
Coming into the season, there was no doubt what the Titans wanted to accomplish. And there were
expectations, which brings pressure.
"There was a lot of pressure, no doubt," Feld responded. "It's been our goal and in our heads from
day one. There was no hiding or shying away from it. We understood we were gonna have a bullseye
on our backs. These girls, going back to sixth grade, finished 70-2. That's a pretty remarkable feat.
"It's such a great group of girls, and I can't say enough about them as far as effort, hard work and
coming to practice every day," he continued. "They made my job pretty easy."
Finally, this season wasn't just about the on-court success. The entire GMS girls basketball
program and local community rallied around the family of eighth-grader Kailey Wilmarth, who was
diagnosed with leukemia near the beginning of the season.
"It showed the type of character these girls, their parents and the entire Chatham community has,"
Feld stated. "All stepped up to help a family in need. We all rallied around her and it was a big
motivational thing for her. It's another example of the type of girls we have."
Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: Dec. 23, 2010
