Centralia Sports Hall of Fame

1977 Centralia High School Girls Basketball Team
The Centralia Sports Hall of Fame
1991 Team Award Winner

FRONT ROW: Tracy Nollman Walton, Cathy Brown, Deedee Cole Brummett, Emily Moss Jones, Theresa Ashby Malekovic, Karen Fortmeyer, Terri Davis, Jane Sumner
BACK ROW: Torey Crowell, Linda Blowers, Misty Sprehe Wright, Coach Ann Murray, Christal Royal Trumbo, Robin Carpenter Brink, Rose Gibson.

In only the second year of competition for girl’s basketball at CHS, the Orphan Annies were really something. They placed fourth in the very first IHSA girl’s State basketball tournament, winning seventeen games while losing only three.

The potent pressing, running attack of the Annies had most teams out of the game early, as they out-scored their opponents by an average of 27 points per game. They scored 113 points in one game against Pinckneyville. The Annies became the first high school girl’s basketball team in Illinois to receive a state final’s trophy as they accepted their fourth place honors.

Everyone knew the Annies were good. Just how good they were remained to be seen as the first state playoffs for girls was set to begin. The Annies rolled through the Regional with ease and moved on to the Sectionals at Belleville (Althoff) where they downed Belleville (East) 47-38 in the first game and then took on an Alton team that had only one loss on the season. The Annies quickness and pressing defense rook its toll as a close game ended in a twenty point win for the ladies from Centralia.

In the Super-Sectional at Salem the Annies had little trouble with Fairfield and were on their way to ISU and the State Finals.

The Annies made a great impression in the first game as they upended a highly regarded Joliet (West) team 56-47. The next day things didn’t go so well as they lost more games in one day then they lost all season long. They fell to Washington 44-38 in the semi-finals as things just went flat in the second half of the game. The third place game saw the Annies fall to Palatine (Fremd) 56-50.

COACH: Ann Murray.

TEAM MEMBERS: Cathy Brown, Deedee (Cole) Brummett, Emily (Moss) Jones, Theresa (Ashby) Malekovic, Karen Fortmeyer, Terri Davis, Torey Crowell, Robin (Carpenter) Brink, Rose Gibson, Linda Blowers, Misty (Sprehe) Wright, Christal (Royal) Trumbo. MANAGERS: Tracy (Nollman) Walton and Jane Sumner.