The Good, the Bad, and the Shrill

I go to many Illini sporting events each year, but only one makes me worry for my (aural) health: the annual Tuesday morning women's basketball game with approximately 50,000 screaming children. I legitimately have to give myself a pep talk in the parking lot before I head into SFC, that's how nuts this game is every year.

What's that? You have a 9-5 job that precludes your attendance at this juvenile bacchanalia, but you're still curious about the goings-on therein? Well, to emulate Tyler and his annual "Moments" post, I'll provide a blow-by blow after a quick recap to the beginning of the season.

Game 1: SEMO (91-67 win)
I was feeling pretty good after this one. I made some wild predictions on the Slack forum, maybe a few which I should probably walk back. But backcourt looked great, game was never in doubt, bring on the next one...

Game 2: Illinois State (75-65 win)
Well, this one was closer that we'd all prefer for a game against an in-state mid-major. ISU cut a sizable lead down to two before we slowly pulled away.

Game 3: Oregon State (64-59 loss)
This one was uggggly. A long drought in the second quarter lost us our lead and the offense just never truly recovered. Berry's 24 points kept us close, but Gretchen had a dreadful night from the field (4-19) and our first true road test ended in a loss.

Which brings us to Game 4: Murray State with 13,000 area elementary students in the building. RIP my poor ears.

15 minutes before tip-off

After dodging scores of yellow buses on the drive to SFC, I park, give myself my pep talk ("You can DO this, Heath!"), pop in my earplugs, and head in. Unsurprisingly, my usual spot has been taken, but I'm able to take refuge with other adults in section 113.

So Murray State is no joke. Their coach, Rechelle Turner, has built a real nice program in her 8+ seasons there. Last year they went 25-8, won the Missouri Valley conference and made an NCAA tourney appearance. And they like to GO; second in the nation in scoring last year at 86.8 ppg. Torvik has us at 67 (those two numbers will figure prominently below) while MSU is at 83...turns out we may need a lively crowd after all.

Tip-off

• Shouts to Camden, the young national anthem singer who did a bang-up job (and as a singer myself, boy oh boy, do I have opinions on national anthem renditions).
• MSU is not big at all. Starting "center" is 6'2" and skilled, but we have the height advantage nearly everywhere.

1st Quarter

• Berry hits a free throw to make the score 6-7 and it seems that the DIA decided to lean into this current phenomenon. They highlight the score on the board and the kids go crazy. (BTW, if you're unaware of the whole 6-7 thing, I envy your ignorance)
• I suspect we won't have a a traditional "toss it to the big in the post and let 'em work" this year. Lety does not have much of a soft touch and I don't know if it can be fixed anytime soon. But we have plenty of booty ball actions with our bigger guards so there will still be plenty of post touches this year.
• Murray State started off 1-7 from the line which means NUGGETS. I have a ten-year old so I know that "whaddy mean we can't get the free nuggets today??" line that many parents are getting tonight.

2nd Quarter

• Ooh, we get Erica Finney on the "Meet the Illini" segment and sure enough she's got a great Aussie accent. Hot take, but Australian might be the best accent (I'll take your contenders in the comments).
• "Everybody Dance Now" still hits HARD and the kids are into it. Who knew that C&C Music Factory would help bridge the generational divide?
• I'm starting to see less Jasmine Brown-Hagger in this one...Shauna has a long stretch with our two point guards, Destiny Jackson and Aaliyah Guyton, and I like it.
• ...but oh, poor Gretchen Dolan is in a terrible slump. She finished the day 3-11 from the floor, and she's started the year 1-13 from three. We're going to need her scoring punch very soon.
• I'm not very close to the floor so I can't tell what Shauna is telling one of the refs, but the body language indicates that she's giving him the business. I had good seats once last year and...well, she's not shy about sharing her opinion.

Halftime

• 47-30 Illini on top. Teams combined for 19 turnovers and it feels like 12 of them were traveling calls. Have we seen an uptick in these this year? One of the men's games had more traveling calls than normal now that I think of it...
• I'm surprised the kids still know the "It's corn!" song. I feel like that's so 2021. They're vibing to it.

Third Quarter

• Brutal start to the half...both teams went nearly three minutes without scoring. We're seeing some concerning scoring droughts in the early season...put me on the team of running an action for Berry Wallace when we're struggling to get points. She's been super-efficient including today: 22 points today on only 13 shots.
• Destiny has been great today and the shots are finally falling. And I love watching her hound the opposing point guard.
• I think Maddie Webber is going to keep stealing minutes from JBH. High-energy player and she's always engaged even when her shot isn't falling.
• TV timeout at 4:03 on the clock: Uh-oh, announcement about not throwing stuff on the court. This could have gone two ways, but I suspect a glare from each teacher was enough to dissuade any other tomfoolery.
• Score is 60-40...everyone in the building can feel what's coming up. I'm sure Shauna won't admit to it after the game, but I suspect plans are being made to land EXACTLY on the number in question rather than risk hopping over it.
• ...and there it is. Destiny Jackson is now the favorite player of about 13,000 area kids. Illini up 67-46 after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

• Lights come down for that "Whoa oh oh OH oh..." song (name escapes me). It is LOUD in here...I was not joking about those earplugs, folks. I learned my lesson in years past.
• Irene Noya Catoira getting some meaningful minutes in the post! My goal this week is to practice saying her last name. (cuh-TOYD-uh, it seems...I would not have guessed that)
• 7:45 on the clock and I'm realizing I don't like where I'm seated in relation to where I parked in relation to where all these kids are probably headed when the buzzer sounds. Dang it.
• Cearah Parchment has been flirting with a double-double for a long time and finally snags a tenth rebound. She's had a quietly solid game.
• 5:06 and it's 76-57...small, small chance at a 9X-6X and I'm holding out hope. (It didn't happen)
• KPop Demon Hunters song is on at the TV timeout and the kids almost levitate during the "UP, UP, UP" part. It's pretty shrill in here.
• 2:20 and finally a Naomi Benson sighting! Her first minutes played in four games...strange. She really looks the part.
• Oh gosh, MSU his a three with about a minute left to get to 64 points. How much do you want to bet we see some threes hoisted in the next possession or two? If you're Shauna do you foul here to prevent the inevitable exuberant response? Man, that would be petty and awesome all at once.
• Thank God...they missed, final score is 84-64 and I look like I've been shot out of a cannon to get to my car. Go Illini.