St. Bede state notebook: Ali Bosnich reaches out to young girls, hopes to inspire

NORMAL - As the St. Bede girls basketball team warmed up for the second half of the Class 1A third-place game Thursday, three little girls, who were sweeping the floor and bringing water to referees during breaks in the game, sat below the basket watching the Bruins.

St. Bede senior Ali Bosnich noticed the girls watching and went over to give each a high five. The girls looked up in awe and their faces lit up.

Several other St. Bede players went over as well.

“I could see in their eyes was how I viewed the (University of) Notre Dame basketball players (when I was younger) because it was my dream to play for Notre Dame,” Bosnich said.

Bosnich said she hopes the girls can draw some inspiration and belief in themselves from the experience.

“I view those little girls as myself,” Bosnich said. “I chose not to play ball in college. I’m starting to realize that if I would have had this experience and been exposed to the confidence that my team, little girls, fans, the St. Bede community has in me, then I would have believed that I was good enough to play in college.

“I hope those girls by seeing that even though we look bigger and taller and as my friends said a little famous, that they can play ball in college. They have so much support and I have all the confidence in them.”

Ball girl: Before each game at the tournament a child was selected to bring the ball out to the officials. London McClain, the younger sister of St. Bede players Quinn and Lili McClain, served as the honorary ball girl before the third-place game.

Her appearance on the court drew the attention of the Bruins as they warmed up with many players pausing their warmups to wave and smile at the little Bruin fan.

“She’s the cutest thing ever,” Bosnich said. “We all lit up (when she was out there).”

Looking ahead: St. Bede will look to build off its first state trophy next season.

The Bruins will lose two starters in Ali Bosnich and Hermes, the team’s two top scorers, but will return three starters in Lily Bosnich, Lili McClain and Ehm along with Quinn McClain, Bailey Engels and Savannah Bray, who saw significant minutes off the bench.

“We just need to pick up where we’re leaving off,” sophomore Lily Bosnich said. “We’re losing amazing people, but we’re also going to gain a lot.”

Last call: Rick Sipovic prepared game notes between bites of an ice cream sandwich in the media room Thursday just as he has for thousands of games before without the ice cream.

The game he was preparing for was different. It was the last one.

“Sip” as he is best known by his friends, signed off for the last time as a long time radio broadcaster with the call of St. Bede’s third-place game.

It marks the end of a distinguished 44-year career, which started as Lanny Slevin’s color man in 1979 and ended with an 11-year run as the play-by-play man in the WLPO booth.

He said before the game it was starting to sink in that he will be hanging up his microphone, especially after calling his final La Salle-Peru game Tuesday that has been his bread and butter games over the years. He said that game “left a little lump in my throat.”

“I’m glad I’ve got Mike (Brown) and Pat (Cinotte) with me,” Sipovic said. “Mike’s been around a long time kind of in the background and Pat for the last eight years. He’s taught me a lot of things about the game and how you can use each other in a broadcast. I thank him for that and just Mike being so loyal over the years.”

Similar experiences: Two St. Bede starters, Ella Hermes and Lily Bosnich, played prominent roles for the St. Bede state softball championship team. Starter Lili McClain and reserves Bailey Engels and Quinn McClain also saw action on the state diamond.

Hermes said while it helps to experience the state atmosphere before, the state basketball tournament is different than softball.

“I feel like mentally, it’s good for me sort of being here before. I feel mentally tougher,” she said. “But I feel it’s a whole lot different atmosphere than state softball. In a softball game you’re all so spread about and you’re all just combined in this gym and you see everyone. And it’s crazy.”

Big backing: The Bruins had a large and loud crowd for both games Thursday.

“The support in the community, the teams we’ve played in conference, teams we’ve played along the way in the state series, they’ve all backed us,” Mickley said. “The grade schools and businesses, my work, my phone has been blowing up with well wishes for the girls. I’m very happy these girls got to this point. They set these goals a long time ago and to see the community wrap their arms around them, support them and lift them up is something you don’t see every day.”

Bruins’ lucky penny: St. Bede softball coach Shawn Sons was carrying a prized possession onto the floor Thursday over from the state champion softball team, a lucky penny that assistant coach Rob Ruppert kept in the dugout. Sons carried on the tradition with Ruppert recovering from surgery.

Ruppert said Hermes, the Bruins pitcher, found the penny before the first game of her sophomore softball season outside the dugout and asked him to hold on to it. She threw a “gem,” Ruppert said, and it’s become their good-luck charm ever since, now before basketball games.

“I’m not sure Stephanie (St. Bede coach Mickley) liked it at first, but then even she was checking to see if I had the penny,” Ruppert said. “It has been a real bond between Ella and I. And obviously from her performance on the field or court you know she is a great athlete. But a far better person. I think our ritual is as special to me as it is her.”

Photo eye: St Bede senior Bella Pinter has turned in her face mask for a camera, serving as St. Bede’s official team photographer at state. She had an even better view of the state softball tournament as the Bruins catcher.

Title games set: The matchups for Saturday’s Class 1A and 2A championship games are set. It will be Illini Bluffs (32-4) vs. Okawville (24-11) in 1A at 11 a.m. and Nashville (33-3) vs. Peoria Notre Dame (33-4) in 2A at 1 p.m.