PEORIA/WASHINGTON, Ill. – One Peoria-area high school girls’ basketball team is looking to go back-to-back at state, while another is looking for its first title this weekend.
Peoria Notre Dame and Washington will both play in the Illinois High School Association state finals on Thursday at CEFCU Arena in Normal. The Lady Irish will take on Mt. Carmel in the Class 2A semifinals at 2:00 P.M. The Lady Panthers will battle Chicago St. Ignatius in the Class 3A semifinals at 6:30 P.M.
Coaches for the teams, Layne Langholf for Peoria Notre Dame and Kim Barth for Washington, spoke on Tuesday before their appearances at state.
PND is back for the second straight year, winning the Class 2A championship last year over Nashville on a last-second basket by Emy Wardle. A potential rematch could happen, as Nashville returns to play Chicago Phillips in the other 2A semifinal.
Langholf says even though this year’s team is different, they still occasionally revisit last year’s title.
“It’s a great reference, we’ve brought it up a few times,” Langholf said. “But this team is ready to make their mark. The new kids that have come in and contributed, we just want to get those kids that same chance.”
Langholf says Wardle, now a sophomore, has become the “heart and soul” of this year’s team. He says she has taken on more of a leadership role this season, with a presence that commands a room.
Langholf says the team has had to adjust after losing three elite defenders from last year’s team, but began to see a buy-in at around Christmas time, after a loss to Washington. He says it helps that the team enjoys being around each other, and has a mantra of wanting to get back to the last weekend.
Barth’s Lady Panthers team have spent most of the season as the AP ranked #1 team in the state in Class 3A. She says her team “thrives” off pressure and wanting to get better every day.
In addition, Barth says her team has taken significant leadership steps this season, motivated by a mantra of “Cut the Net.”
“It wasn’t something we talked about in public, we didn’t talk about going to Redbird or CEFCU in public, it was just something in our locker room,” Barth said. “And when things got tough, they would look at each other and they point at the sign and say ‘That’s what we got to do.’”
Barth also credits a buy-in from the community and the parents of the players for their support throughout the season, specifically mentioning how parents pitched in to get the team a charter bus for its Super-Sectional game on Monday in Rochelle.
With both PND and Washington in the state finals, Barth talked about the quality of girls’ basketball and its growth in the area, saying it’s “fantastic.”
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