IESA Headlines

26th Girls Basketball State Series

BLOOMINGTON - Competition in the 26th annual Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Girls State Basketball Series gets under way throughout the state Saturday (Nov. 20) with the 7th grade regional tournaments. The 8th grade regionals begin Monday, Nov. 29.

This year, there are 169 schools competing for the 7th grade Class A title and 166 for the 7th grade Class AA championship. In the 8th grade series, there are 173 Class A schools entered and 168 Class AA.

Defending 7th grade champions are Paris Crestwood in Class A and Chatham Glenwood in Class AA. Defending 8th grade champions are Carrollton St. John in Class A and Bloomington Junior High School in Class AA.

IESA traditionally conducts its girls basketball series in late fall and its girls volleyball series in late winter. Why? Availability of facilities and licensed officials are the primary reasons.

Regional championship games in the 7th grade Class A and Class AA series are to be completed by Wednesday, Nov. 24. The single-game sectionals are scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 1. Sixteen teams in each class advance from the sectional game to their respective state final tournaments.

The Class A 7th Grade State Final Tournament is set for Divernon Junior/Senior High School. All eight first round games will be played Saturday, Dec. 4, with the first game set to begin at 9:00 a.m. Quarterfinals will be Dec. 6, semifinals are Dec. 7 and the consolation and championship games will be played Dec. 9.

The Class AA 7th Grade State Final Tournament will be played in Normal with first round and quarterfinal round games set at two sites, Kingsley Junior High School and Parkside Junior High School. The first round games will be Saturday, Dec. 4 and the quarterfinals are set for Dec. 6. Top bracket games will be at Kingsley and bottom bracket games will be played at Parkside. The semifinals on Dec. 7 and the consolation and championship games on Dec. 9 will be at Kingsley. IESA is experimenting with the split site concept in an effort to allow for a later start and earlier ending in the competition at the first round and quarterfinal round of the state final. Kingsley Junior High is the old Normal (Community) High School.

Regional championship games in the 8th grade Class A and Class AA series are to be completed by Thursday, Dec. 2. The single-game sectionals are scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8. Sixteen teams in each class advance from the sectional game to their respective state final tournaments.

The Class A 8th Grade State Final Tournament is set for the brand new Bloomington (Central Catholic) High School gym. All eight first round games will be played Saturday, Dec. 11, with the first game set to begin at 9:00 a.m. Quarterfinals will be Dec. 13, semifinals are Dec. 14 and the third place and championship games will be played Dec. 16.

The Class AA 8th Grade State Final Tournament will be played at the Chatham (Glenwood) High School facilities. The first round games will be Saturday, Dec. 11 and the quarterfinals are set for Dec. 13. Games will be played in both the East Gym and West Gym. The semifinals on Dec. 14 and the third place and championship games on Dec. 16 will be at the West Gym.

Go to www.iesa.org for complete information regarding each of the 2004 IESA girls state basketball tournament series. Click on the underlined Girls Basketball in the box at the top of the page. Once on the Girls Basketball home page, you can click on the underlined Regional Assignments for local pairings and the names of the host school. You can also click on the respective grade and class to go to the state final pairings. And you can click on the records section for an historical perspective of IESA girls basketball.

State Final Online Updates: Scores of each state final tournament game, and game notes, are posted at the conclusion of the game on the respective scoreboard page. In addition, we suggest you make contact with the coach of the team(s) from your area to report back to you for quotes and other information each day. Scores and other data from the regional and sectional games are not posted by the local managers.

State Final Media Passes: We honor the season General Media Pass issued by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) at our state final events. The local managers of our regionals and sectionals also should honor that pass. If you or any member of your staff plan to cover any of our regionals or sectionals, be sure to let the local manager know in advance. If you and/or any member of your staff plan to cover the state finals, please let the IESA Office know in advance. Please do not give the General Media Pass to someone not on your staff. It is meant to provide access to the event for someone in a working capacity.

State Final Radio Originations: In addition, IESA invites any radio station in our state to originate any game(s) at the state finals in which their (hometown-local) team participates. Currently, we do not have a written Broadcast Policy. We provide opportunity for any station to originate. We may develop a written policy in the future. Currently, each radio station originating from the state final is responsible for ordering its own telephone(s) line and paying all other expenses. IESA provides space for up to three people on the originating team in a location at the state final site that can accommodate the crew. Everything else regarding an origination is open-ended.

IESA Staff Contacts: Basketball Administrator is Mrs. Nicole Schaefbauer. Contact her at (309) 829-0114 or nicole@iesa.org. If you have any other questions, please call the IESA Office at (309) 829-0114. Ask for either Executive Director Steve Endsley or Special Projects Manager Jim Flynn.