SRACLC teams compete in Special Olympics District Tournament before heading to state games
Submitted by the Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County
The Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County's three basketball teams competed on Jan. 22 in the Special Olympics District Tournaments in Deerfield and Lake Zurich.
The Crusaders-Red team played a fierce game against the NISRA Rebels and came out with a tough 30-41 loss. Sean Cosgrove of Lake Zurich led the offense with 18 points. Antonio Esch of Vernon Hills and Kelly Corbin of Hawthorn Woods were the stars of the defense with a total of 16 rebounds. Logan Pfiefer of Lake Zurich and Braydon Henriot of Grayslake were right behind them with eight rebounds.
The consolation game was a tough battle between the Crusaders-Red and Lambs Farm High Rollers. The Crusaders played a strong game and came out with a win 43-35. Antonio Esch of Vernon Hills and Matt Stubbs of Lincolnshire added 14 points to the offense and Sean Cosgrove picked up six rebounds. The Crusaders-Red team closes out the season with a 6-3 record with one more tournament at the end of February.
The Crusaders-Silver added two more wins to their record, now making the team's record 3-4. The team's first game was against Evanston-Team 3. The lead scorer was forward Katie Millar, of Mundelein, with 14 points. Jen Wilson of Mundelein took care of seven rebounds for the team. This was the Crusader's highest scoring game, with a final score of 46-18.
Silver's next game was against NWSRA's Blue team. The team was a tough match up for the Crusaders, but SRACLC ended the game victorious with a score of 26-22. Caitlin Bebber, of Island Lake brought in 12 points for the Crusaders. Head coach Courtney Rutkowski said she's "so proud of the team and can't wait to see what the future holds."
The Crusaders-Black team went in to their first game feeling confident. They were playing Lamb's Farm Wrecking Crew again who beat them by one point in the regular season. At the half, the Crusaders were down by one point, with the score at 13-14. The Crusaders picked up their offense and took home the win. The final score of the game was 28-23. Scott McNamee of Mundelein led the team with 13 rebounds. Tim Phelps of Lincolnshire was not far behind with 11 rebounds. Tim Phelps also led the team in scoring with 8 points. Dominick Deslauriers of Libertyville had five assists.
With the win against Lamb's Farm, the Cruasaders-Black were in the championship game against Warren Special Recreation Association's Red Rockets team. The Crusaders, with their adrenaline still rushing from the game before, took a quick lead and stayed on top the entirety of the game taking home first place in their division. Again, Tim Phelps led the team with rebounds, pulling down 15. Katie Ulwelling of Libertyville found a hot spot from the court and made six 10-footers, giving her 12 points. Also scoring were Lindsay Copeland of Libertyville with 8 points, Scott McNamee, Dominick Deslauriers, and Gary Herzberg with 4, 5, and 2 points respectively, Amanda Dingman of Grayslake with 4 points, and Madeline Donohue of Island Lake with a basket.
"They have had a great season and these last two games just proved how well we work together as a team," said Crusaders-Black Head Coach Katelin Sheppard. "They come together as a team and decide that they want every player to score. We don't have any ball hogs on our team, because they want to help each other. It's a great group to coach, and I couldn't be any more proud." The Crusaders-Black left the tournament with a 6-1 record.
The Crusaders-Silver team and the Crusaders-Black team earned gold medals by winning both games in this tournament, which sends them to participate in the Special Olympics State Games on March 17-19 in Bloomington. SRACLC provides 11 Special Olympics training programs throughout the year. The agency also offers several other programs available for ages 3 and older including camps, special events and weekly programs. For more information or to register for programs, call the SRACLC office at (847) 816-4866, visit their website at www.sraclc.org, or like them on Facebook.
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