By Michael Belmont

Gargoyle sports editor


Posted Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, The OG, girls basketball & sports

Jessi Sullivan takes her shooting skills to the

girls state tournament Thursday. (Gargoyle

photo by Sarah Pfander) (click to enlarge)

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, the same evening the boys team celebrated Senior Night at Kenney Gym, Jessi Sullivan quietly made Uni sports history.

While most of the Uni sports faithful were cheering the male Illineks to an overtime win against Judah Christian, Sullivan was at Watseka High School, participating in the fourth round of the IHSA Class A Three-Point Showdown.

She made seven 3-point shots in the contest to advance to the state competition. The shootout took place before the Watseka girls sectional final between Cissna Park/Crescent-Iroquois and St. Joseph-Ogden.

She advanced alongside Kassie Jones of St. Thomas More (eight shots made), Hannah Dodd of CPCI (seven), and Stephanie Denius of Oakwood (six).

When Sullivan walks onto the floor of Redbird Arena in Normal on Thursday, she will be the first Uni “ball” (basketball, baseball, soccer, or volleyball) player to ever compete at a state finals, according to Athletic Director Sally Walker.

Sullivan and 63 other Class A shooters will vie in the preliminary competition for four spots in the next round. The final four shooters will then compete on Saturday to determine a sole champion, who will face the Class AA shooting champion a week later in the “Queen of the Hill” competition.

“Going into Friday's shootout I think I was the most nervous I have ever been,” Sullivan said. “I was really hoping to make it to state, but I would have been happy with how far I had made it.”

Not as happy as she is now, though.

“Making it to state is amazing,” she said.

Before Friday's contest, Sullivan had already competed and advanced three times before IHSA playoff games.

A player has 45 seconds to work through three racks containing five basketballs each. The first rack is set to the right side of the free-throw line extended, the second is at the top of the circle, and the third is to the left side. Each basket is worth one point, and the shooters with the most points advance. (Rounds lasting 30 seconds are used to break ties.) Four girls advanced to state from each of the 16 Class A sectional sites.

“I think it's great that she's had this much success, and I hope it translates into some increased offensive weapons next year,” said girls head basketball coach Rebecca Murphy. “I didn't really have any expectations. I hadn't seen her shoot that many threes before.”

Sullivan, who took only two 3-point shots in games this season, vows to translate her success in the 3-point contest into results on the floor next year.

“I think I'll definitely have more confidence in shooting threes next year,” she said. “I'll make more of an effort to actually try to shoot them.”

In the meantime, she's glad to be the one to give Uni a presence at a state “ball” competition, albeit an individual appearance in a side event.

“A lot of people don't know us for our athletics, and maybe this will change their minds,” she said.

Between now and Thursday, though, she'll have to keep herself calm.

“With 63 other competitors, it's pretty nerve-racking to think about it, but I'm excited!”

RELATED

— IHSA: Terms and conditions of the Three-Point Showdown

— IHSA: Complete list of the 64 Three-Point Showdown state qualifiers