'Crying either way': Illini Bluffs girls basketball take second in state after emotional finals run
NORMAL — Memories made through sports are sometimes the sweetest ones.
Annabelle Fortin can no doubt attest to that. The Illini Bluffs senior has played girls basketball since she was knee-high with her classmates. She has made sister-like friendships with those teammates throughout her athletic career.
“We would have been crying either way,” she said following Saturday’s Class 1A state championship game — a 48-36 loss for Illini Bluffs against Okawville. “These are my best friends. This is my last sport with them.”
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Fortin will move on to softball season, having played her final basketball game with these lifelong friends. But there won’t be anything easy about closing this chapter.
“It’s crazy that that was the last time on the floor with them," she said. "I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Those accolades date back to 2018 when this group was playing in junior high. It was current IB coach Jim Belville at the helm and guiding them to the IESA Class 7-3A state championship. A year later, this team finished as the state runner-up in Class 8-3A.
“Amazing,” he said, smiling. “Couldn’t ask for a better group of girls.”
The fourth-year coach talked about the relationships built and bonds formed throughout their time together.
“I thought I had this all out already,” Belville said, fighting back tears.
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Luczkowiak put into perspective the deepest postseason run in program history. The senior all-stater will continue her playing career at Illinois Central College. She put everything she had into capturing a state championship.
“The journey has really been unreal,” Luczkowiak said. “It’s been an amazing last season with this team. Obviously, finishing first would have been, you know, the dream ending but finishing second is still a huge accomplishment.
“I’m just so proud of everything that we’ve done and everything we’ve accomplished this season.”
How the game was decided
Illini Bluffs came out confident and built a 6-0 lead thanks to Reese Cruit’s lay-in, along with back-to-back baskets by Lily Luczkowiak. The Tigers made just two second-quarter field goals but maintained a 15-14 advantage at halftime.
Once the second half started, Okawville found their grove.
“It’s a crazy,” Rockets coach Haylee Bowers said, “because our third quarter is usually our bad quarter, but we came out and we were ready.”
That wasn’t the case at all for the reigning state champs. They went 7-for-7 from the field for 17 points and built a 10-point lead.
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All-stater Alayna Kraus was tough to contain defensively for IB. The 5-foot-8 senior guard scored nine points in the frame, finishing with a game-high 33 points on 9-for-16 shooting and a 13-for-14 effort from the foul line.
“It was a little frustrating at first,” Kraus said of shooting 3-for-10 in the first half, “but you know, just to know that we had to keep trusting our team and the game was far from over.”
IB (32-5) cut that double-digit deficit to six just 41 seconds into the final quarter. Luczkowiak’s free-throw miss on her three-point play attempt landed into the hands of Breanna Davis, who converted on the rebound putback.
It was the closest the Tigers would got for the remainder of the game.
“Some silly turnovers from us here and there,” Belville said. “Some (shots) not going in. In a game like that, the tide can really shift really quickly on you.”
Fortin scored a team-high 13 points, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers. Luczkowiak added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers, who shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27).
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
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Below are updates from CEFCU Arena.
12:41 p.m. - Okawville 48, Illini Bluffs 36 Final
IB takes second in Class 1A. IB was led by Annabelle Fortin, who goes for 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Lily Luczkowiak scores 12 points & 9 rebounds. Alayna Kraus scores 33 for Okawville, which goes back-to-back.
12:23 p.m. - Okawville 37, Illini Bluffs 29 with 3:34 to play 4Q
IB got within six points, but the Alayna Kraus answers with six of her own. She has 24 points.
12:09 p.m. - Okawville 31, Illini Bluffs 21 after 3Q
Okawville explodes for 17 third-quarter points including nine by Alayna Kraus (18 points for the game).
12:05 p.m. - Okawville 29, Illini Bluffs 19 with 1:12 to play 3Q
Okawville on an 8-point run. IB has three points this quarter, shooting 1-for-5 from the field.
11:59 a.m. - Okawville 21, Illini Bluffs 18 with 3:44 to play 3Q
Alayna Kraus has seven points this quarter including five in a row. Lily Luczkowiak goes to the line for two FTs when play resumes.
11:39 a.m. - Illini Bluffs 15, Okawville 14 Halftime
Lily Luczkowiak has four points and seven rebounds for IB. Tigers went the final 3:11 without a field goal.
11:33 a.m. - Illini Bluffs 15, Okawville 12 with 2:28 to play 2Q
Annabelle Fortin hits a 3 after Okawville's Alayna Kraus scores seven in the quarter.
11:23 a.m. - Illini Bluffs 10, Okawville 5 after 1Q
Lily Luczkowiak has four points and four rebounds. Reese Cruit also has four for the Tigers.
11:17 a.m. - Illini Bluffs 8, Okawville 5 with 2:18 left 1Q
Lily Luczkowiak has four points for IB.
10:56 a.m. - Illini Bluffs warming up ahead of the Class 1A state title
IB takes on Okawville for the Class 1A state championship. A win gives them their first state title in program history.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls basketball state: Okawville wins title vs. Illini Bluffs
