2019 Tournament Tidbits: Day 3

Championship Day

Small School Girls
Normal University High School, the #5 seed, faces third-seeded Brimfield for the title. Brimfield has never won a Classic title, finishing second in 2008 and 2009. U High, returning to the Small School Girls bracket for the first time since 2006, won titles in 2002 (Class A bracket) and 2014 (Large School bracket).

Small School Boys
Aurora Christian is seeking its second title in the last three years, taking home the Golden Ball in 2017. Rockford Lutheran is no stranger to championship night either, winning consecutive titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Large School Girls
Top-seeded Morton, the defending Class 3A state champion, has won four of the past five state titles, but they only won the Classic title in 2017 during that span. Ironically, that was the only season (2017-18) they didn’t win a state title during that streak, losing to Classic entrant and eventual state champion Peoria Richwoods in the Sectional. For Chicago Marist, this is their first year as a Classic participant.

Large School Boys
Rock Island is the defending champion, and this will be their fifth appearance in the title game, winning last year and in 2015. Opponent Wheaton Warrenville South is guaranteed their fourth trophy in five years as a Classic participant, finishing second in 2016.

Public vs Private

Of the eight teams in the championship games, there is equal representation among public and private schools. All eight teams in the third-place games are public institutions.

Record Book

New Lenox Lincoln-Way West has already shattered the record for most 3-point field goals, tournament, sinking 35 in their first three games. The previous record was 27, set by Springfield in 2010. Individually, freshman Ava Gugliuzza has recorded 17 3-pointersin the tournament, breaking the mark of 16 set by three separate players, the most recent being Zahna Medley of Springfield in 2010.

Record Book 2

Although she won’t make the top five in tournament career storing, Kankakee’s Ambranette Storr’s 105-point performance left her 52 points shy of the fifth spot (262) held by Zahna Medley. Storr played her freshman and sophomore years for Rockford Lutheran before the family relocated. Her 35 points in Kankakee’s first-round win over Normal Community is the fifth best individual scoring performance (tied with Courtney Martin of Stanford Olympia, 2007) in the Girls tournament.

And Then There Was One

With Bethalto Civic Memorial’s semifinal loss to Chicago Marist, Morton (14-0) is the lone undefeated team among the Classic’s 64-team field.

The Buzzer, Again

Wheaton Warrenville South’s Ben Bastian scored 14 points in Tigers’ semifinal win over Metamora, but none were more important that the 3-pointer he hit as time expired.

Ben Bastian’s buzzer-beating 3 sends Wheaton Warrenville South to the State Farm Classic championship game! ?@benbastian13 @wwshoops @SFClassic pic.twitter.com/vVnUZAHoiT

— BallerTV (@BallerTV) December 30, 2019

Overtime

As in Day 2, there was one overtime game on Day 3, with Normal University High outlasting Peoria Central, 65-58, in the Large School Girls Bracket.

Leading Scorers – Day 3 (20 or more points)

Small School Boys
Chance Izard – St. Joseph-Ogden | 36
Julian Samuels – Annawan | 27
Danny New – Surora Christiam | 25
Braden Zenor – Downs Tri-Valley | 25
Jack Weber – El Paso-Gridley (vs St. Joseph-Ogden) | 23
Jack Weber – El Paso-Gridley (vs Quincy Notre Dame) | 22
Cole Davis – Bloomington Central Catholic | 21

Large School Boys
Grant Coleman – Mahomet-Seymour | 32
Roland McCoy – Chicago Kenwood | 28
Bennie Slater – Springfield | 24
Daveon Rogers – Chicago North Lawndale | 22
Gabe Mason – Metamora | 21
Shane Miller – Springfield | 20

Small School Girls
Haley Wallace – Brimfield | 26

Large School Girls
Whitney Dunn – Chicago Kenwood | 30
Ambranette Storr – Kankakee | 29
Brianna McDaniel – Chicago Kenwood (vs Peoria Richwoods) | 25
Lily Huntzinger – Wheaton Warrenville South | 24
Brianna McDaniel – Chicago Kenwood (vs Kankakee) | 24
Sarah Byrd – Springfield | 23
Lauren McDonald – Chicago St. Ignatius | 22
Taylor Gugliuzza – New Lenox Lincoln-Way West | 22
Kammie Ludwig – Geneseo | 21
Maddi Barickman – Geneseo | 20
Kenzey Decker – Springfield | 20