Saturday, February 19, 2011
Indians hit 4 of 5 in the final minute to advance to Normal sectional semifinals.
DANVILLE—Free throws. You won’t see many of them on any highlight shows, unless they determine the outcome of a game. They were a determining factor in Minooka High School’s 51-48 win over Danville on Friday in the Class 3A Danville Regional championship game. The Indians (23-4) went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe during the final minute to pull away from the pesky Vikings and win the school’s first regional plaque in 31 years. “This is a credit to these girls,” Minooka coach Ray Liberatore said. “We hit some clutch free throws at the end. Sara Placher really stepped up at the end there.” The junior guard went 4-of-4 from the line during the final minute. “I just had to concentrate and not worry about the crowd,” Placher said. Senior …
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Minooka Community High School, Central Campus
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Minooka 51 Danville 48. Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch touches off celebration 31 years in the making.
The Hot Read: Minooka ended a 31-year drought by beating Danville 51-48 to win the Class 3A Danville Regional championship Friday in Danville. It’s the Indians’ first regional championship in girls basketball since 1980. Patch’s MVP: Sara Placher, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to finish with 12 points. The Last Time … Minooka won a regional championship, Jimmy Carter was president. Minooka’s Leaders: Senior guard/forward Stephanie Furr and junior center Ashley Clemmons scored 13 points each. Senior guard Sara Placher added 12. Be the Three: Danville hit nine three-pointers to keep Minooka’s defense at bay. The Run: Trailing 43-38, Minooka went on a 10-2 run to take command late in the …
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Minooka Community High School, Central Campus
301 S Wabena Ave, Minooka, IL
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Indians faced with envious problem--second team is as sharp as the first.
Minooka girls basketball coach Ray Liberatore has a problem most coaches only dream about. The Indians have been so dominant of late, their “second” team might be sharper than their first team. The entire roster saw plenty of action during a 71-25 Southwest Prairie Conference victory over Plainfield Central Friday. “They’ve been playing well in practice,” Liberatore said. “We have a schedule now where we are playing a lot of (junior varsity) games. They have played more basketball than our starters. I think they might be a little sharper right now.” Minooka was sharp from the tip to run its records to 14-3 overall and 7-0 in the SPC. Plainfield Central fell to 2-16 and 1-6. “Minooka’s an outstanding team,” Plainfield Central coach Mark …
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Minooka Jr High School
333 W McEvilly Rd, Minooka, IL
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Saturday, December 18, 2010
Indians knock off rival Panthers 48-34 at girls holiday tourney.
Minooka couldn’t wait to get back on the basketball court Saturday, and once the Indians did they wasted little time in taking control. After a one-sided loss against Hampshire two days earlier, Minooka (11-3) was anxious to get back out and play better in the third-place game of the Oswego Holiday Classic. On top of that, they got to face rival Oswego, a team that had knocked them off three times last year. The Panthers–playing without injured point Alexis McClain–couldn’t contain Minooka guard Stephanie Furr and couldn’t keep Minooka off the glass in a 48-34 triumph by the Indians. Minooka hit the Panthers (6-6) with an 18-6 first-quarter barrage and led 30-12 at the half and 41-19 after three quarters. Furr, who was named to the all…
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Minooka Jr High School
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Indians fall at Oswego basketball tourney, next face Panthers for third place.
For a stretch in the first half, Minooka did, indeed, look like a team with 10 wins already this season. But the rest of the night, the Indians looked like a team trying to figure out how to slow down unbeaten Hampshire. The Whip-Purs (12-0) jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the semifinal matchup of the Oswego Holiday Classic, but Minooka (10-3) fought back to within 17-15 in the second quarter. Hampshire, however, closed out the half on a 13-0 run and cruised to the tourney title game with a 60-32 defeat of the Indians. Minooka will now take on host Oswego in the tourney’s third-place game at 4:340 p.m. on Saturday, while Hampshire gets a date with Neuqua Valley in the title game at 6 p.m. “You can tell why they’re undefeated," Minooka …
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Minooka Jr High School
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Indians use strong second half to pull away from Rosary in pool play at Oswego Holiday Classic.
- SPORTS
- Ken Ryan
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
When Minooka girls basketball coach Ray Liberatore says senior forward Terese Tyrell plays like a football player, he means it as an ultimate compliment. "She'll bang, she'll play defense and rebound," Liberatore said. "She'll do all the little things that as a coach you're lucky if you have a player like Terese. She loves to do it. She doesn't care how many points she scores, that's just how she plays every night. She's a big part of why we win games." Tyrell was a big part of why Minooka was able to pull away for a comfortable 70-41 victory over Rosary Tuesday at the Oswego Holiday Classic. She finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, a steal and a block. "I do my best to contribute in any way I can and it happens to be being tough, I guess…
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Minooka Jr High School
333 W McEvilly Rd, Minooka, IL
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Indians' junior center scores career-high 32 points and grabs 13 rebounds to lead rout of Wolves.
- SPORTS
- Ken Ryan
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
When Minooka had its three-year Southwest Prairie Conference championship streak snapped last season, it didn't sit well with junior Ashley Clemmons. The 6-foot-1 center doesn't want to have that feeling again. She turned in a career-best performance Tuesday against one of the teams that finished ahead of the Indians last season. Clemmons erupted for 32 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and a steal to lead Minooka to a convincing 63-30 victory over visiting Oswego East. "It means a lot to me," Clemmons said of her performance. "I could've only done it with all the guards passing to me. The other girls really came together and helped me out. We want to try to win conference this year. It was really big winning this game because it's supposed…
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Minooka Community High School, Central Campus
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Saturday, December 4, 2010
Furr, Clemmons come up big in non-conference basketball victory for Indians.
- SPORTS
- Ken Ryan
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Saturday, December 4, 2010
Minooka junior center Ashley Clemmons is amazed at what senior guard Stephanie Furr is capable of doing on the basketball court. Clemmons hopes to be a reliable sidekick to the star of the team, however. "She's such a great player," Clemmons said of Furr, who joined the Indians' select 1,000-point club on Friday. "Stef is our top scorer every game and is a big help to everything we do out there. I just try to step up and do what I can to help the team. I try to get as many rebounds as I can and make my layups." Clemmons and Furr played key roles in host Minooka pulling out a 51-48 non-conference victory over rival Morris Saturday night. The 6-foot-1 Clemmons had 12 points, five rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal to help the Indians …
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Minooka Jr High School
333 W McEvilly Rd, Minooka, IL
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Friday, December 3, 2010
Indians' senior scores 26 points and plays stellar defense in 55-41 win over Spartans.
Stephanie Furr became the fifth female basketball player in Minooka High School history to score 1,000 career points Friday night against Romeoville. However, it was her defense that set the tone for the host Indians' 55-41 Southwest Prairie Conference victory. Furr, who is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, was assigned to Romeoville point guard Abby Smith. The Spartans' sophomore was held scoreless through 3 1/2 quarters, and finished with six points before fouling out in the final minute. "One of the major points on defense tonight was stopping Abby," Furr said. "We remembered her from last year. She's a really good player. They put me on her and I did the best I can. Everybody else played good defense, too." "That was one…
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Minooka Community High School, Central Campus
301 S Wabena Ave, Minooka, IL
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Big third quarter helps Indians start Southwest Prairie Conference girls basketball season with a 55-45 victory over rival Tigers.
Running an offense isn't about just getting shots. It's about what you do with them. The Minooka girls basketball team's offense was efficient and effective on the opening night of Southwest Prairie Conference play Tuesday versus Plainfield North. The result was a 55-45 victory for the Indians, who improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the league. Plainfield North, fresh off winning the Lincoln-Way Central Thanksgiving Tournament, fell to 3-2 and 0-1. "I thought we had some nice looks and we still need to finish our free throws a little better," Minooka coach Ray Liberatore said. "But we're going to the basket and getting to the line, which is a good thing." "You have to run stuff and that's what we talked about at halftime," Plainfield North…
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Minooka Jr High School
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tami
4:13 pm on Monday, February 21, 2011
Way to go Minooka Girls Basketball great game!!! FYI Sara Placher is a Junior more ›