1st Annual Breese Central June Jamboree

Don Halling

June 30, 2018 @ 06:34 PM

Fans and coaches that got to see the Breese Central June Jamboree were treated to being able to see some of the top programs in Southeastern Illinois. Teams like Highland, Nashville, Breese Central, Mater Dei and Effingham have had a long history of success and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. Effingham lost to Breese Central in the Super Sectional last year and appears to be loaded and ready to make another run at a trip to state. The floor general for the team is Miranda Fox and she teams with returning leading scorer and 40th ranked player in the state Carsyn Fearday. Carsyn has lead the team in scoring the last two years and can be counted on for at least 15 points virtually every night. Fearday has been praised for her work ethic and non stop desire to improve her game. You can see that desire every time she steps on the floor. Fox is very comfortable in that leadership role that often goes along with the point guard spot and is an extension of her coach on the floor. Abby Weis was a second team All Conference player in her junior year, which was her first year at Effingham. She played at Effingham St Anthony's her first two years but moved back into the public school for her final two years and certainly made an impact in her junior season. This core along with other returners hope to take the additional step this year and make the state tournament. Nashville has a strong history by winning almost every conference championship in girls basketball over the past 25 years. Recently Harrisburg has put a dent in their run and the Hornettes want to get back on track. They have a tall task in replacing the departing 1,000 scorers Paige Kasten and Karly Stanowski. The players they will look to as leaders this season will be Libby Ahlers, Sabrina Kollbaum and Emily Stern who all saw action on the versity last year and contributed in big games at the end of the season. Ahlers showed an ability to be a leading scorer at times such as the 20 points she had against Carbondale last year. She is a capable 3 point shooter and will need to step into a consistent role of scoring the basketball for Nashville to have a strong season. Another player that can play a key role for the team is 6'0 Rylee Luechtefeld. Rylee is stepping up and has shown well with her Blue Star Renken 16U team and should be able to really help absorb some of the scoring load lost by graduation. She is wing player that can move well and hit the outside shot. In addition to the teams mentioned above the field included Southwest Conference teams O'Fallon, Alton and Belleville East along with Greenville and Jerseyville who bring state ranked players including Nancy Fritzsche, Clare Breden and Abby Manns. It was a great event that we hope to attend again next year.