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BETHALTO - As Allie Troeckler headed out on to her home court at Civic Memorial High School to play Collinsville, one thing, besides winning the game, was in the back of her mind: the number 14.
Fourteen points was all she had to score to reach former Eagle Katie Broadway's all-time scoring record at Civic Memorial of 2,079 points.
It didn't come in the first half of the game against the Kahoks, but on the first opportunity she had at the basket after the long break, Allie Troeckler shattered the school record by finding a spot, swooping in and shooting toward the basket for two.
"Getting the record was definitely in the back of my mind, but getting good shots for my team was definitely my main focus," she said. "I looked to make the best shots for my team. If that means taking the shot, or passing it on to my teammate who has open shots, that's what I have to do."
After making the shot, the crowd rose for a standing ovation. From the crowd and led by head coach Jonathan Denney, Katie Broadway made her way onto the court and gave Allie her record-breaking basketball. The girls embraced in a warm hug, sharing the moment together as two sides of the same coin: the past and present model of excellence in the Eagles basketball organization.
"It's so special to have [Katie] here," Troeckler said. "She was the one I always looked up to. Her dad was my first ever basketball coach. To have him here also is really nice."
In the eight years that followed after Broadway set the school record in 2007, she attended Illinois State University and played as a Redbird, worked with the women's basketball team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and accepted a position as Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill.
Allie has previously mentioned that, as a young player growing up, she had always looked up to Katie and thought of her as her childhood hero.
"That's one of the biggest reasons I loved playing basketball," Broadway said of Allie's admiration. "I played basketball not only for myself, but for what I could do to inspire others. I watched Allie play as she grew up from third, fourth and fifth grade. It's really neat to see the player she's become and see all that hard work pay off. It's pretty cool."
Although Coach Denney only had the pleasure of coaching Broadway two seasons, he was well aware of the excellence she had to offer his team.
"When Katie did that eight years ago, I thought, 'man, I can't imagine anyone coming and breaking that any time soon,'" Denney said. "When I sat over and I see a bunch of seeder kids [on the bench] and hopefully see a third or fourth grader who wants to try to beat Allie Troeckler one day."
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