By Avanti Chajed

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Monday, Feb. 12, 2007, The OG, girls basketball & sports

Mandy Grill (24) and Bianca Zaharescu

embrace at the end of Senior Night Jan. 29.

(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

THE 2006-2007 girls basketball team had only two seniors in its ranks: Mandy Grill and Bianca Zaharescu. When they were underclassmen, the varsity won two East Central Illinois Conference titles, going 11-8, 9-0 in 2003-04 and 14-9, 9-1 in 2004-05. As upperclassmen, they experienced some bumps in the road, finishing 8-16, 5-5 as juniors.

But this year the team rebounded with a 12-12, 8-4 regular-season record. A playoff loss Feb. 7 gave the Illineks a 12-13 overall mark.

Shortly before their final Uni game, Grill and Zaharescu sat down with Gargoyle staff reporter Avanti Chajed to discuss seasons past and, for the players who will return, seasons yet to come.

Next year's team will include seniors-to-be Samantha “Sam” Nguyen (who tore her ACL in the season opener and missed the rest of the year), Sarah Pfander, Ruthie Welch, Aran Yoo, Marika Iyer, and Karen Woodley.

The varsity will also feature juniors-to-be Rachel Skoza (who was lost for the year Jan. 22 after breaking a bone in her shooting hand), Jessi Sullivan, Kaylie Dastrup, and Sheri Grill, Mandy's sister.

The full transcript follows. To listen to the audio podcast of this interview, click here.

[NOTE: Staff reporter Andrew Lovdahl transcribed this interview. The use of an ellipsis indicates a pause by the speaker, not a deletion of words.]

Looking back at your basketball career, what have been the highlights? What have been the moments that aren't so good?

Mandy: Oh, wow. I think one of the biggest highlights for me, well, at least in [my] entire career, would be JV, my sophomore year, when we first had Aran, and Pfander, and Ruthie, and Sam, and everyone, and it was just an all-star JV team. And I think that it just really excited us for the years to come, because we were like, “Wow, we're gonna go up to varsity, and we're gonna be so kick-ass.”

Bianca: Definitely that year. I remember that as one of the best years.

Mandy: And then, this year, I mean, we've had a lot of highlights, but I still look back at our year and think of it as our first game, when we had Sam and we had Aran, and it was just so great, and I really think that that first game [a 37-35 victory over Atwood-Hammond] shows what they're gonna be able to do next year.

Mandy Grill enjoys the applause after

leaving the Kenney court for the last time.

To her right is younger sister Sheri Grill.

(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

Bianca: This season, I think, really has shown, like Mandy said, what is gonna be able to happen next year. And honestly, it's just been very inspiring to see how much every single person on our team has just, I think, grown so much and really stepped up to the challenge. And I think this year, which kind of was a … a learning season, a growing season, I think everyone did that, and did that very well. And I think, definitely, it helped.

Mandy: Like, we helped with all of the hardship, and with all the injuries … it brought everyone closer together, even Skoza and Sam. They weren't, like, “OK, well, they're out, they're done,” you know what I mean? They're still there, they're still on our team, they're still there with us every day in practice. Skoza still … is even doing drills with us, and I think that really encourages a lot of people. To see Skoza with one hand, still doing drills with us, or Sam, with one foot, jumping and doing three-pointers for the regional shootout. I mean, I think it's really inspiring, and every time you're running a sprint, you're like, “Wow, I'm gonna push harder for this, because of them.”

Bianca: Definitely. For that, definitely I'm thankful, just for the way that, I guess, our senior season was. That it really was something that … it was a team effort, and the entire time, it was just, everyone was working hard, you know, never give up. For moments of time people definitely were down, but somehow, somehow we managed to get up. Somehow everyone managed to get up, and so I think it was definitely the way I would like to go out.

So, what will you miss most about playing on Uni's team?

Mandy: I'm gonna miss Merf [head coach Rebecca Murphy]. I love Merf. When I was on JV, I was like, “Wow, you know, I wanna play for Merf”; when I was with Merf, I was like, “Wow, I want to do this well for Merf.” I'm gonna miss the team; I like the girls, and especially since I play with them on other sports. It's gonna be sad when, like, this is my last basketball season with them, you know what I mean? And I still have soccer with Pfander, or soccer with other people, but it's not the basketball team. These are the girls that have been with us since our sophomore year.

Bianca: Definitely. I'm gonna miss the people. I'm gonna miss playing, too.

Mandy: Playing, of course.

Bianca: But, mostly, mostly just the people, the team. Like, going to practice and having the team there that you've been with forever. Just yeah, we've, just probably because of the hardships and everything that we've been through. I'm gonna miss everyone.

Mandy: I'm gonna miss the catchphrase, and the, um, definitely the bus rides, because, I think those were definitely fun bonding sessions.

So, you're not planning on continuing basketball in college?

[laughter]

Bianca: Um, I don't know if that's an option. But, I would definitely like to … I'm definitely gonna keep playing just for myself.

Mandy: If anything, I think, I'll play maybe some, like, intramural basketball, but nothing too special.

Bianca: If they would take me on their team, then I would definitely join.

Mandy: I wanna play beach volleyball … so I can't play both.

What have been your strengths in basketball? How did it help you grow?

Mandy: I think that because I came into basketball, because I didn't want to run fitness, and I had never actually had any basketball experience before, I had to develop other qualities. Because I was stronger and bigger than some of the girls, but I wasn't taller than anyone, I had to be able to see the court and talk to people that I could, like, even if I couldn't do anything about some girl, I would be like, “Skoza! To your right!” or something, and I was able to talk and communicate to people better. And so, I think it really helped me in my, I guess, leadership abilities because I didn't have the skills that I had at volleyball or soccer.

Bianca: Well, along with what Mandy said, I also didn't have the skills that I have at math, or whatever else there is that I'm skilled in. But, it definitely helped me a lot. Not like everyone says, you know, like “Impossible is nothing” and “Everything's gonna end great.” I've learned that some things, it's gonna be really hard and you're gonna fight really hard and it's not gonna end great. But that you just have to still be able to get good stuff out of it, and I definitely have. Like, this year, like whenever I am on the bench, and I see them playing, as opposed to previous years, this year I really feel like I don't want them to mess up so I can go in or anything; I really truly want them to play their best because I really care about them. I really want Pfander after the game to feel good about herself, and Ruthie, and Aran, and Sam, after the game, even if she didn't play, I want her to still feel like she's part of the team. And just everyone. So, I guess it's really brought out, I guess, now I know that it doesn't have to be about me, and I can still be happy, I guess, if I kind of do my own thing and feel good about what I'm trying to do in practice and stuff. Like, I finally learned how to actually be, I guess, like, not selfish, and a team player. Not just like, quote “team player,” but actually to feel like you really want what's best for your team, even if it's not necessarily what you initially wanted, what you initially thought would have been best for yourself.

VARSITY RECORD: 12-13 overall, 8-4 East Central Illinois Conference (3rd place)
(Games at Kenney Gym in bold)

Season Preview: Illineks ready for season opener tonight

Nov. 16: Atwood-Hammond, W 37-35
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 14 pts
— story: Illineks triumph in season opener

Nov. 18: Hoopeston (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), W 45-23
— leading scorer: Ruthie Welch, 13 pts
— story: Illineks win one, lose one in Oakwood

Nov. 18: Chrisman (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 50-48
— leading scorers: Rachel Skoza & Jessi Sullivan, 15 pts each
— story: Illineks win one, lose one in Oakwood

Nov. 20: Blue Ridge (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), W 52-47
— leading scorer: Sarah Pfander, 13 pts
— story: Illineks down Blue Ridge in tournament action

Nov. 21: Oakwood (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 72-39
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts
— story: Shorthanded Uni loses to undefeated Oakwood

Nov. 24: Milford (at Oakwood/Westville Thanksgiving Classic), L 44-24
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 10 pts
— story: Uni finishes sixth in Thanksgiving Classic

Nov. 28: Shiloh, L 45-25
— leading scorer: Ruthie Welch, 5 pts
— story: Uni drops third straight

Nov. 30: Villa Grove, game postponed because of bad weather

Dec. 5: Paxton-Buckley-Loda, L 34-23
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 9 pts
— story: Slump continues as Uni falls to PBL

Dec. 8: Decatur Lutheran, L 57-38 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 14 pts
— story: Uni begins conference play with loss to defending champ

Dec. 9: Villa Grove, L 38-27
— leading scorer: Kaylie Dastrup, 9 pts
— story: Villa Grove hands Illineks fourth home defeat of season

Dec. 11: Judah Christian, W 44-29 *
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 13 pts
— story: Illineks end six-game losing streak

Dec. 14: at DeLand-Weldon, W 64-26 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts
— story: Illineks win by 38

Dec. 16: LeRoy, W 43-33
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 18 pts
— story: Girls basketball: Skoza, Yoo lead Uni to third straight win

Jan. 2: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 57-19 *
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 12 pts
— story: Four players score in double figures as Uni gets back to .500

Jan. 4: at Decatur Christian, W 53-26 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 15 pts
— story: Uni wins fifth straight game, record improves to 8-7

Jan. 6: Fisher, L 52-41
— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 15 pts
— story: Fisher ends Uni winning streak

Jan. 8: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 48-36 *
— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 12 pts
— story: Uni loses showdown for second place in conference

Jan. 11: DeLand-Weldon, W 58-14 *

— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 13 pts
— story: Uni completes sweep of DeLand-Weldon

Jan. 19: at Decatur Lutheran, L 79-41 *

— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 16 pts

— story: Conference leader Decatur Lutheran tops Uni

Jan. 22: at Judah Christian, W 49-47 *

— leading scorer: Rachel Skoza, 14 pts

— story: Illineks win close call against Judah, lose Skoza

Jan. 25: at Donovan, L 84-41

— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 12 pts

— story: Minus three players, Illineks lose big to Donovan

Jan. 26: Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 66-18 *

— leading scorer: Sarah Pfander, 19 pts

— story: see Illineks return to .500, improve ECIC record

Jan. 29: Decatur Christian, W 47-40 *

— leading scorer: Aran Yoo, 21 pts

— story: Grill, Zaharescu go out winners on Senior Night

Feb. 1: at Normal Calvary Baptist, L 54-36 *

— leading scorer: Mandy Grill, 10 pts

— story: Illineks end regular season 12-12, 8-4

Feb. 7: Oakwood (at the St. Joseph Class A regional), L 64-41

— leading scorer: Ruthie Welch, 11 pts

— story: Oakwood ends Uni's season

Remaining games: Uni's season is over.

*East Central Illinois Conference opponent