For Ridgeview Mustangs’ Jordyn Talley and Heyworth Hornets’ Madielynn Sims, having one more day competing on the basketball court was what counted. They got their one more day competing at the IHSA 3-Point Competition at Redbird Arena on Feb. 23.
Even though both Ridgeview and Heyworth, both Class 1A schools, made exits en route to a championship bid, Heyworth lasted until the Class 1A Super-Sectional – one stop short of making an appearance at Redbird Arena. But for Talley, the 3-Point appearance came after experiencing Ridgeview’s fall in the Regional championship.
One More Day On The Court For Talley: But for Talley, to try to become the top free throw shooter in the Class gave the senior one more day on the court when the competition. That extension allowed her to sink 6-of-15 shots in the allotted 45 second time frame.
“I feel I could have done better, but I’m just glad to be here,†Talley said. “It’s a good feeling to be here. I just wished I had gotten 10-of-15, but you can only do what you can do.â€
Redbird Arena “is a different environment†than the Mustangs’ home gym, Talley admitted.
The daughter of Gene and Tonia Talley, she added her coach, Scott Ghere, advised her “to have fun and take it all in.†Concerning the Mustangs having been stopped when they were in their quest to get to State finals by Cissna Park, Talley said, “We were really happy with how far we had gotten. When we lost, we were sad but it’s hard to hang your head when you’ve had such a good season.â€
She’s right. When you have a losing season the prior year as the Mustangs did, and recoup to go 23-6, there is no reason to hang your head for too long, even when you lose a Regional. The Mustangs hope to get further next season, Talley said. She believes that’s possible based on “our having such a good season this year. Having gone from a losing season to a winning one this year was nice.â€
Talley’s next challenge after high school is attending Parkland College followed by the University of Illinois where she’ll major in Kinesiology. That will, she hopes, lead to a job in sports training.
Heyworth’s Sims “Glad To Shoot A Little Longerâ€: For Madielynn Sims, the extension of her basketball season meant going 4-for-15 in the 3-Point Showdown. Of the experience, she said, “It was pretty exciting and I was pretty nervous. I’m glad I could shoot the basketball a little longer.â€
The 3-Point Shootout was also Sims’ basketball finale in more ways than one, as she will be off to Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, where she will play Softball. She even has a profile page on a college scouting website.
“I’ve always been a softball player and played basketball, too,†Sims said. In addition to making the sport change once she gets to college, she would like to major in Criminal Justice.
Heyworth lost to Harvest Christian in the Class 1A Pontiac Super-Sectional, falling one step short of making it to State.
Sims wasn’t even supposed to have any more basketball beyond that point, but the 3-Point Shootout opportunity became a reality when a girl who was supposed to compete backed out, creating an open slot. “My goal was just to get one basket, so I was happy with what I got,†she explained.
The daughter of Derrick and Celena Sims, she said her head coach, Tony Griffin, “told me to just go out there and have fun and don’t worry about the distractions†shooting in a larger facility can be for high school players.
Sims admitted about the experience, “I was nervous, but I had fun.â€
For both Talley and Sims, it sounds as though they enjoyed the experience of demonstrating their basketball skills one last time before heading off to new adventures in college. Here’s hoping those adventures for these young women will be equally satisfying.
This entry was posted on Friday, February 24th, 2017 at 10:11 pm and is filed under Heyworth, The Normalite. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.