Girls basketball: Scouting the Class 1A semifinal teams

The IHSA Class 1A girls basketball state tournament begins with Thursday’s semifinals.

Illini Bluffs will play Altamont in the first semifinal at 9:30 a.m. followed by St. Bede against Okawville at 11:15 a.m.

Here’s a look at the four teams that will compete for the state championship this weekend at Illinois State University’s CEFCU Arena in Normal.

St. Bede (29-7)

Enrollment: 277

Coach: Stephanie Mickley (second season, 38-28)

State appearances: None

How they got here: Marquette Regional – Marquette 63-57, Amboy 50-39; Gardner-South Wilmington Sectional – Morgan Park 75-22, Serena 50-48; Harvest Christian Supersectional – Ida Crown 70-54

Stat leaders: Points – Ali Bosnich 16.4 ppg, Ella Hermes 9.1 ppg, Ashlyn Ehm 8.8 rpg; Rebounds – Ali Bosnich 7.2 rpg, Ehm 7.2 rpg, Lily Bosnich 4.8 rpg; Assists – Hermes 2.1 apg, Lili McClain 1.6 apg, Lily Bosnich 1.2 apg, Quinn McClain 1.2 apg.

Worth noting: The Bruins enter the semifinals on an 18-game winning streak with their last loss coming against Fieldcrest (51-43) on Dec. 28. St. Bede has played a tough schedule with losses to Peoria Notre Dame, which is in the 2A semifinals, 3A Limestone, 3A Ottawa and 3A Dixon, which reached a supersectional. St. Bede lost only twice to 1A opponents in Marquette and Annawan. “We purposely loaded our schedule with state-ranked teams and bigger teams,” Mickley said. “The girls really persevered. Taking those big losses, you never know how they’re going to come out the next game, but I think they realized those teams we know we probably can’t beat, that’s what helped get us there.” St. Bede will have a height advantage with three players who are 6 feet tall in Ali Bosnich, Ashlyn Ehm and Savannah Bray, while the Rockets don’t have a player taller than 5-9. Bosnich leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game and eclipsed 1,000 career points in the supersectional, while Ehm averages 8.8 points per game and led the team in scoring in the sectional final (22 points) and regional final (19 points). Mickley said the Bruins have to try to slow down Okawville’s three-time first-team all-state guard Alayna Kraus, who averages 21.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists, and deal with the Rockets’ pressure defense. “They have a guard who is going D-I, and she has scored 2,000 career points, so she obviously is a force to be reckoned with,” Mickley said. “They have a pretty intense ball press, so we’re going to have to work on those things. The girls have to rely on their fundamentals and keeping mentally strong through a ball press. We’re going to have our work cut out for us, but at the end of the day, if they give me 100% like they always do and leave it all on the court, I can’t ask for much more.”

Okawville Rockets (23-11)

Enrollment: 192

Coach: Haylee Bowers (second season, 55-15)

State appearances: 1992, 1993 (second), 1994 (first), 1999 (third), 2000 (first), 2003 (fourth), 2006 (second), 2023 first

How they got here: Christ Our Rock Lutheran Regional – Christ Our Rock Lutheran 42-11, South Central 68-30; Nokomis Sectional – Carrollton 64-46, Father McGivney 41-29; Okawville Supersectional – Goreville 55-26.

Stat leaders: Points – Alyna Kraus 21.5 ppg, Madisyn Wienstroer 8.6 ppg, Raelyn Obermeier 5.7 ppg; Rebounds – Kraus 4.9 rpg, Caroline Tepe 4.7 rpg, Wienstroer 4.6 rpg; Assists – Tepe 2.1 apg, Wienstroer 1.8 apg, Kraus 1.8 apg.

Worth noting: The Rockets have the fewest wins and most losses of the four state teams but have played perhaps the most challenging schedule. Of Okawville’s 11 losses, seven came to ranked 2A teams, including twice to Nashville, which is in the state semis, and the other four were against 3A or 4A teams, including 3A sectional finalist Quincy Notre Dame and 4A sectional champion Alton. The Rockets have not lost to a 1A team since falling to eventual state champion Brimfield in the Brown County Supersectional in 2022. “We had conversations about how we were with the elite teams,” said Bowers, an Okawville alumnus. “We just have to keep motivated and understand we had to learn from our losses and not let them knock us down.” Kraus, who has scored more than 2,000 career points and has received interest from Division I schools, is one of three starters back from last year’s state title team along with Madisyn Wienstroer and Raelyn Obermeier. “Offensively, we like to run. We are definitely a momentum-based team. We’re not real great at slowing things down, but we have been able to do that the last couple games in the end to run some minutes off the clock. But if we can run and gun and play full-court defense, that’s what we’re going to do. Our defense is something I am most proud of. We pressure. We want to be close to people and make them turn the ball over.”

Altamont Indians (27-6)

Enrollment: 241.5

Coach: Craig Carr (first season, 27-6)

State appearances: 1981

How they got here: Dieterich Regional – Neoga 53-38, St. Teresa 52-44; Central A&M Sectional – Tuscola 52-37, Salt Fork 39-29; Blue Ridge Supersectional – Cissna Park 52-44.

Stat leaders: Points – Grace Nelson 29.9 ppg, Peyton Osteen 7.5 ppg, Kaylee Lurkins 6.5 ppg; Rebounds – Nelson 6.7 rpg, Peyton Osteen 4.2 rpg, Lurkins 4.2 rpg; Assists – Nelson 3.1 apg, Peyton Osteen 2.4 apg, Kylie Osteen 1.3 apg.

Worth noting: Altamont star Grace Nelson will play this weekend on her future home court as she has signed to play at Illinois State University. Nelson has scored more than 2,500 career points, including 988 this season, and is the leading scorer in school history for boys or girls. Nelson scored 34 points in the Indians’ supersectional win. Altamont only had three players score in the supersectional as Claire Boehm had 10 points and Peyton Osteen added eight. The Indians won 19 games in a row from Nov. 24 to Jan. 18 before losing four of their last five regular-season games.

Illini Bluffs Tigers (31-4)

Enrollment: 255.5

Coach: Jim Belville (fourth season, 78-35)

State appearances: 2012 (third)

How they got here: Mendon Unity Regional – Rushville-Industry 60-25, Mendon Unity 54-31; Bushnell-Prairie City Sectional – Annawan 53-46, Abingdon-Avon 44-37; Brimfield Supersectional – Galena 47-41.

Stat leaders: Points – Lily Luczkowiak 19.5 ppg, Annabelle Fortin 9.2 ppg, Chloe Eeten 5.7 ppg; Rebounds – Luczkowiak 5.9 rpg, Fortin 3.6 rpg, Reese Cruit 3.2 rpg; Assists – Fortin 3.2 apg, Brooke Buchen 2.3 apg, Marissa Robertson 2.3 apg.

Worth noting: The Tigers upset No. 1-ranked Galena in the supersectional. The Pirates entered 31-1 and owned a 98-8 record over the past three seasons. “This could potentially have been the state championship game tonight,” Belville told the Peoria Journal Star after the supersectional. “We’ll see what’s ahead. We just held the No. 1 team in the state to under 40 points until the final moments.” Luczkowiak led Illini Bluffs with 21 points in the supersectional, while Eeten scored 13 points, including nine in the second half, and Fortin drained three 3-pointers.