Feb. 24--St. Joseph sophomore guard Maia Marshall sometimes catches herself glancing over at her team's bench with excitement during games.
Marshall usually has no thoughts of leaving the game, especially during the Chargers' historic playoff run, but she's thrilled the opportunity is available if needed.
The Chargers (20-12) overcame drastically low roster numbers early in the season with a gritty group of six players.
Now with a full squad of 14, St. Joseph has reeled off eight straight wins to earn the program's first state trip. The Chargers will play Teutopolis (28-6) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. Class 2A state semifinal at Redbird Arena in Normal.
"Every game I would look over and see all these players on the bench late in the season and smile," said Marshall, who averages a team-best 17.3 points per game. "I used to look to the bench and there would be nobody there."
Due to three players transferring and two players quitting the sport, the Chargers had five players -- Marshall, junior point guard Davane Gross, senior guard Elise Estelle, senior center Amber Brooks and junior forward Alexa Epps -- for the summer season.
St. Joseph coach Andrew Winston had to promote incoming freshman Jade Link to the varsity to provide some depth.
"Jade didn't even know all the plays in the summer," Winston said, "but I told her she didn't have a choice and that we would grow together."
Gross, who averages 6.5 points and 5.7 assists per game, said the players learned to play within themselves until Winston brought up several junior varsity players late in the season.
"We used to have to stay out of foul trouble," Gross said. "That was one of our hardest struggles at the start of the year, and we had to get in better shape and learn how to play with fatigue. We had to slow down the game to catch an extra breather and not just run up and down the court non-stop."
The low point of the season came when foul trouble forced the Chargers to play an overtime period with four players in a 68-65 loss to Plainfield East on Nov. 24.
The Chargers' 4A-heavy schedule challenged their small roster. St. Joseph went 4-8 in December, at one point losing five in a row to powers Loyola, Proviso East, Montini, Young and Geneva.
The 5-foot-8 Brooks, who averages 14.1 points and a team-high 8 rebounds per game, called the Montini game a test of her will. After 6-3 St. Joe sophomore center Dana Johnson suffered an early-season injury that sidelined her for 26 games, Brooks became the Chargers' lone inside player.
Led by highly recruited sophomore centers Lindsey Jarosinski and Aaliyah Patty, the Broncos crushed the depleted Chargers, 82-37.
"I would get very tired some games, but I tried to use mind over matter," Brooks said. "But Montini was very tough. They had a lot of subs, and we had to stay in the game and play against fresh legs. It was very tough playing defense and offense that game."
St. Joseph's tough early season schedule, though, did serve as the ideal preparation for its maiden voyage in the 2A playoffs. Five of the Chargers' six playoff wins have decided by 20 or more points.
Besides the opportunity to win the team's first state championship, Winston said his players are motivated by another factor.
"We had five girls from last season that chose not to return this season," he said. "That made the girls feel a certain way, maybe that those girls didn't want to play with them or people were leaving for a better team or what they thought was a better team. It made the girls a little bitter. I think that brought them together and been their motivation that they can do it without them."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
IHSA girls basketball state tournament
At Redbird Arena, Normal
Class 2A
Friday's semifinals
--Teutopolis (28-6) vs. St. Joseph (20-12), 6:30 p.m.
--Byron (31-3) vs. Camp Point Central-Augusta Southeastern (27-5), 8:15 p.m.
Saturday's schedule
Third place, 6:30 p.m.
Championship, 8:15 p.m.
Players to watch: Amber Brooks, St. Joseph, 5-8 sr. F/C (14.1 ppg, 8 reb); Lexi Devries, Byron, 5-10 jr. G (15.7 ppg, 3.7 ast); Paige Holloway, Byron, 5-8 jr. G (14.7 ppg); Delaney Lantz, Camp Point Central-Augusta Southeastern, 5-6 fr. G (15.6 ppg); Maia Marshall, St. Joseph, 5-6 so. G (17.3 ppg); Kolby McClelland, Central-Southeastern, 6-0 jr. F (13.5 ppg, 10.3 reb); Shelby Thompson, Teutopolis, 5-8 jr. G (11.1 ppg).
