IESA Headlines

2010 Seventh Grade IESA Girls Basketball State Finals Begin Saturday

For the fifth time in Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) history four champions will be crowned in the Seventh Grade Girls State Basketball Tournament series. Competition in the Class 1A, Class 2A, Class 3A and Class 4A State Final Tournaments begins Saturday (December 4) and concludes the following Thursday (December 9) at four sites.

Class 1A will be played at Normal Chiddix Junior High School. Class 2A will be at Warrensburg-Latham High School. Assumption Central A & M Junior High School will be the site of Class 3A tournament and Normal Parkside Junior High School will host Class 4A.

The time schedule for all four tournaments will be the same. Quarterfinals will be played Saturday with the first of four games beginning at 10:00 a.m. The four quarterfinal winners will meet in semifinal games late Saturday afternoon with the first of two games set to begin at 5:00 p.m. Third place and championship games will be played Thursday, December 9 with the third place game set for 6:00 p.m. and the championship game scheduled for 7:30.

Any changes in the playing status of each of the four tournaments will be posted on the IESA Web Site at www.iesa.org as each tournament progresses. Results will be posted on the web site after each game.

The price of admission Saturday is $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors (62 and over) and students (K-8) and is good for all games Saturday. Children younger than kindergarten are admitted free. Fans attending the games Saturday will receive a wristband that is to be worn all day and will be used for entry into that respective state final site only throughout the day. It will not be honored at any other 7th grade state final site. The price of admission for the third place and championship game session Thursday will be $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for seniors and students (K-8). Children younger than kindergarten again are admitted free.

IESA girls basketball began in 1979. There was one-class competition from 1979-86, and in 1986 separate state series were conducted for seventh graders and eighth graders for the first time. From 1990-2005 there were Class A and Class AA state series for both seventh grade and eighth grade. Beginning in 2006, the current four class system has been in place.

Complete pairings for each state final, plus the FanZone, can be found at www.iesa.org. Click on the Girls Basketball line in the orange box at the top of the IESA Web Site Home Page.

Here is a look at each of the four 2010 Seventh Grade State Final Tournaments:

Class 1A

The first quarterfinal game will feature two first time participants in the 7th grade Class 1A tournament. Flanagan and Martinsville will square off to secure a spot in the semifinals. The 11:30 a.m. game will showcase Bourbonnais Maternity BVM and Jacksonville Our Saviour. This will be the first appearance in the tournament for BVM. Our Saviour will be looking to duplicate their performance from three years ago when they won this tournament. Odell vs. Cissna Park will be the third quarterfinal game of the day. Both of these teams participated in this tournament last year and both are ready to finish at the top this year. In the last quarterfinal game, the only undefeated team in the 1A tournament is Decatur Holy Family and they will take on the third place winner from the 7th grade 1A tournament last year, Bartonville Monroe.

Class 2A

The first quarterfinal game of the Class 2A tournament on Saturday will be a matchup between Winchester and Onarga Iroquois West. Iroquois West is no stranger to the 2A tournament as this will be their third straight appearance. Both teams come into the tournament with 22 wins on the season. Bloomington Holy Trinity will square off against Springfield St. Agnes in the 11:30 a.m. contest. In the third game of the day, Stewardson-Strasburg will play Champaign St. Matthew who finished 3rd last year in the 7th grade Class 2A tournament. The last quarterfinal matchup of the day will pit Lewistown Central against Brimfield. Both of the teams come into the tournament with at least 20 wins and both participated in the 7th grade tournament last year.

Class 3A

A pair of one loss teams will play each other to kick off the Class 3A tournament, Washington Central and Casey-Westfield. In the second game of the day Lockport Kelvin Grove will play St. Joseph. Lockport had to beat a tough undefeated team in the sectional championship to advance to the state tournament. The only undefeated team in the 3A tournament will take the court in the third game of the day, Assumption Central A & M. They will be playing against a tough Wenona Fieldcrest team for a spot in the semifinals. The last quarterfinal game will be a great match up between Pleasant Plains and Warrensburg-Latham.

Class 4A

The Class 4A tournament is loaded this year with a talented field. In each quarterfinal game of the day there will be an undefeated team on the hardwood. Undefeated Joliet Dirksen will take on a tough Peotone team who only has one loss this season. Undefeated Edwardsville Lincoln vs. Lansing Memorial will be the second quarterfinal game of the day. Both of the teams beat undefeated teams to secure their spots at state. Undefeated Rochester will square off against a Monticello team who is coming off a sectional win against undefeated Champaign Jefferson. In the final matchup of the day, undefeated Normal Kingsley will take on Homer Glen Homer to close out the quarterfinals.