Straight to State
They’re back and better than ever! Galena High School’s girl’s basketball team smile with their third place trophy and medals after making it to state for the second year in a row. After another long season, the girls finished out at the biggest tournament of the season: the state tournament at Redbird Arena. After losing the first game to Okawville, the girls went on to beat St. Thomas Moore 48-60. Front Row: Taylor Burcham ‘24, Paeton Hyde ‘23, Gracie Furlong ‘25, Addison Hefel ‘24, Julia Townsend ‘23 and Gwen Hesselbacher ‘23. Back Row: Coach John Helle, Coach Jamie Watson, AD Ed Freed, Emma Furlong ‘24, Abigale Merritt ‘25, Macy Schulz ‘24, Naveah Ottenhausen ‘26, Superintendent, Tim Vincent, Mya McCoy ‘26, Julie Furlong, Dani Rae Hulscher ‘26, Cameron Einsweiler ‘26, Evelyn Callahan, Coach Joe Engle, Team Manager, Grace Connor ‘25.
Watch out Redbird Arena, the Galena Pirates are back! Galena High School’s girl’s basketball team played in the state tournament at Redbird Arena for the second year in a row. The girls were sent off on March 1 with a pep assembly including every school in the district. Many came with signs but all came with excitement as they watched the girls prepare to play basketball at the biggest tournament of the year.
The girls played their first game on the morning of March 2 against Okawville. They kept a close game during the first quarter finishing it with a one point lead but fell behind in the second quarter finishing the half down by four. After the half, the Pirates put up another six points but were still down by 13 at the end of the third quarter. In the end, they lost to the Okawville Rockets 49-31. “Even though this game didn’t go our way, I was proud of our hard work,” said Taylor Burcham ‘24. “We came in with everything we had and left everything on the court”.
Since they lost the first round of the tournament, the girls played that night against St. Thomas Moore. The Pirates came out strong scoring 12 points in the first quarter to the Sabers’ seven points. At the half, the Galena girls were up 15. After halftime, it was the same story. The Pirates kept the Sabers from scoring any more than seven points once again in the third quarter while they scored a whopping 21 points. After taking out their starters and putting in more JV girls, the Pirates scored 10 points and gave up 27. The girls crushed the Sabers 48-60 and the whole team was able to get in by the end of the game making it a wonderful experience for everyone. “Even though it felt defeating and was a tough game to play, we still kept our spirits high,” said Addie Hefel ‘24. “We finished out the season strong and it was great that we got to end on a win”.
After a long, exciting run ending at the biggest tournament of the season, the Galena High School girl’s basketball team finished their 2022-2023 season. It was bittersweet as all were happy to have made it to state for the second year in a row, but it was the final game some would play as Galena Pirates. After the clock ran out on the final game, Galena said goodbye to senior pirates Paeton Hyde, Gwen Hesselbacher, and Julia Townsend. The team shared a group hug as they celebrated the end of an era. “This season was awesome because we made it all the way to state,” said Gwen Hesselbacher ‘23. “But it was sad for me because it was my last basketball game ever. I’ve put a lot of dedication into this sport ever since I was young so it was extremely sad to know it was my last time on the court.”
But not so fast, we still have a wonderful girls basketball team coming up with players Taylor Burcham, Addie Hefel, and Gracie Furlong coming back next year. The girl’s team still has a great coaching staff and they’ll be working to go to state for the third year in a row in the 2023-2024 season.
