By Michael Belmont
Gargoyle sports editor
Posted Friday, Feb. 16, 2007, The OG, girls basketball & sports

Jessi Sullivan, taking aim against Decatur
Christian, has been on target in the IHSA
Three-Point Showdown. (Gargoyle photo)
(click to enlarge)

[UPDATE: Jessi Sullivan has made it to state. She was one of four players at the Watseka sectional final tonight to advance to the Class A Three-Point Showdown state preliminaries next week at Redbird Arena in Normal. Sullivan hit seven 3-pointers. The other advancers were Kassie Jones, St. Thomas More, eight; Hannah Dodd, Cissna Park/Crescent-Iroquois, seven; and Stephanie Denius, Oakwood, six.]

SOPHOMORE JESSI SULLIVAN is just one round away from advancing to the Class A state preliminaries of the IHSA Three-Point Showdown.

A total of 64 girls from 16 sectional sites will compete next week in the 3-point shooting contest at Illinois State University's Redbird Arena as part of the girls state basketball tournament. The preliminaries will begin 5 p.m. Thursday, with the finals scheduled for Saturday in between the Class A semifinal games.

Sullivan has already made it through three rounds of the Showdown. She began her trek by making five treys before the Uni vs. Oakwood regional semifinal game on Feb. 7, then six 3-pointers the next night before the St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Oakwood final. Both games took place at SJ-O High School.

She made seven 3-pointers Monday night before the SJ-O vs. Unity sectional semifinal at Watseka High School. She advanced to the fourth round along with Amanda Vanetta of Unity, Lindsey Barron of SJ-O, and Stephanie Denius of Oakwood.

Tonight she will compete against those three athletes and four others before the 7:30 p.m. Watseka sectional final match between SJ-O and Cissna Park/Crescent-Iroquois.

Her other four opponents will be Rachel McIntyre, Iroquois West, who made eight 3-pointers Thursday night before the CPCI vs. St. Thomas More sectional semifinal; Hannah Dodd, CPCI, eight; Kelsey Russel, Westville, eight; and Kassie Jones, St. Thomas More, seven.

Coach Rebecca Murphy says no other Uni girls player has advanced this far in the 3-point shooting contest since she took over as varsity head coach in 1994.

Even Sullivan has been surprised by how things have turned out.

“I've been practicing for it, but I didn't expect [to advance so far],” she says.

Despite her coolness under pressure, Sullivan admits to having jitters going into tonight's contest.

“I'm really nervous about it,” she says. “There are some girls who are really good.”

Strangely enough, Sullivan only attempted two 3-pointers in actual games this season, both of which were misses.

“This is going to sound stupid, but I'm really afraid to air-ball them [in games],” she says.

Sullivan credits the coaching and support she's received from Murphy for helping her stay calm during the contests. If she can pull it off one more time, she'll accomplish individually what no Uni “ball” (basketball, baseball, volleyball, or soccer) team has ever been able to manage — a trip to state.

Whatever happens, the Uni girls may have found a new outside threat for the 2007-08 season.

RELATED

— IHSA coverage: Results from tonight's Three-Point Showdown (check back after 7:30 p.m.)

— Gargoyle coverage: Season continues for one Illinek