Palatine girls basketball team honored for three titles in one month
Players on the Immanuel Lutheran School girls varsity basketball team in Palatine might be tired from all the championship trophies they've held recently.
March was very good to the Bobcats, who won three basketball tournaments in span of 24 days. Two of the titles were in statewide competitions, and the third a national championship.
Immanuel Lutheran's players and coaches were in the spotlight at this week's Palatine village council session, where they received certificates of achievement.
Mayor Jim Schwantz, who played linebacker for the Super Bowl XXX-champion Dallas Cowboys, read the girls' achievements before speaking to them on a personal level.
"What you've done is you've also put a mark on your lives with something that will be a bond between you guys that will never be broken," Schwantz said. "I still remember a lot of the buddies I played with on my 11-year-old baseball team in house (league) in Palatine boys baseball. I still remember that group because we won a championship."
Head coach Heather Glaser, an attorney for Lavelle Law in Schaumburg, thanked Schwantz for his remarks and informed her players the mayor is a former professional and college athlete.
"This is just such a cool, unique opportunity," said Glaser, who played on Immanuel Lutheran's 1998 national girls basketball championship team. "I want to thank the village of Palatine and the council for welcoming us and saying kind words. It means a lot to the girls."
Immanuel Lutheran's seventh- and eighth-graders began their run by defeating Christ Lutheran School of Peoria in the final game of the Lutheran Sports Association of Illinois' grade school girls basketball tourney, March 2 to 4. The Bobcats moved on to another tournament from March 16 to 18, beating Sycamore to win the inaugural Illinois Middle School Basketball Championship.
But the state titles were just an appetizer. Participating in the 72nd Lutheran Basketball Association of America's invitational national tourney at Valparaiso University from March 23 to 25, the Bobcats defeated Mount Prospect's St. Paul Lutheran School for their third championship of the month. Schwantz said the girls have been good representatives for Palatine on their travels.
"So, when people look in the program. they see Immanuel Lutheran Bobcats from Palatine, Illinois," he said. "And that's really important and why we are so proud of what you guys have done."