EDWARDSVILLE – The game itself may not have ended the way Edwardsville's girls basketball players, coaches and supporters would have liked.
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But the pride in the Tigers' run to the IHSA Class 4A Girls Basketball Championship final and the season was very much in evidence throughout the weekend.
Tiger fans, parents and administrators were on hand at the EHS campus to welcome home the girls basketballers from their second-place finish at the Class 4A tournament at Illinois State's Redbird Arena in Normal over the weekend in a welcome-home ceremony held Sunday afternoon.
Edwardsville finished the season 32-1 after falling to Geneva on a last-second shot 41-40 in Saturday night's championship game when the Vikings' Stephanie Hart connected on a shot in the dying seconds of the game to claim the state championship.
“It's been a great journey, it really has,” said Tiger coach Lori Blade. “We just ran out of time at the end; give us one more possession and you never know what's going to happen. The kids battled; they got down both games and battled back. They just happened to pull out one the night before to get into the championship game.
“We had our chances and that's all you can ask for from that standpoint, to have a chance, and we did. It just didn't fall in our direction there at the end.”
The players should be proud of their accomplishments in the 2016-17 season, Blade felt. “They gave it everything they had; they should be very proud of everything they accomplished,” Blade said. “Many, many teams in the state would love to trade places with them.”
Makenzie Silvey, one of three seniors on the Tigers this year, recognized the successes the Tigers had en route to the final. “We beat a lot of really good teams and really good programs just to be able to make it to state,” Silvey said. “It was a lot of fun just to be up there and to be able to experience that. Coming back into town today was awesome; it was awesome to see the support we had – really all postseason – from the community.”
Compared to 2012's run to the championship game, the Tigers' support from their fellow students and the community mean much to Silvey and the other players. “As coach (Blade) said, in 2012, they didn't have much support; this year, our whole section was filled with students and parents. It was awesome to see the community come out and back us.”
“I've been fortunate to watch this for awhile,” said Edwardsville athletic director Brad Bevis. “I've known Lori and her family since she was in middle school; I'm lucky enough to have a daughter who coached in Lori's program, so a lot of these girls in middle school – when Katie (Bevis' daughter) was coaching – come up with Lori and to see the success they've had, it doesn't just happen – it's hours of preparation by the coaches, players and everybody else involved.
“If it were easy, everybody would do it. Opportunities like this are rare, so you've got to take advantage of it when it comes around; there's no easy loss in the playoffs or the postseason. In the big picture, our mission is to educate kids and get them ready for life, prepare them for the challenges they're going to meet; Lori Blade and her staff certainly do that as good or better than anybody.”
“It is the process,” said EHS principal Dennis Cramsey. “We talk about that a lot; the results that come out of life are sometimes unpredictable, but the thing you can control is the process or the journey along the way. I think coach Blade did an amazing job preparing our girls throughout that journey.”
Even more important than the athletic success, to Cramsey, is the academic success and leadership the basketball players have experienced. “Our GPAs on both the boys and girls teams are well over 3.4 (on a four-point scale); it's just amazing that they're outstanding students,” Cramsey said. “They're kids of high character; they're fun to be around.
“We're proud of the kids, we're proud of the community; everything just came together this weekend. It was a fantastic finish.”
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