BY JOHN D. HOMAN

Logan Media Services

CARTERVILLE – The John A. Logan College volleyball team has added to its frontline depth with this week’s announced signing of Cheyenne Pitchford of Sesser-Valier High School.

The 6-foot-2 spiker played mostly middle hitter for the Red Devils, but could also play rightside for the Volunteers. The Black Diamond West Conference Most Valuable Player recorded 161 kills and 86 blocks this past season. She also owned the second-highest serving percentage on the team at 93 with 121 total service points.

Cheyenne Pitchford

Pitchford was also selected All-South and All-State Honorable Mention by the Champaign News Gazette.

“We are excited to add Cheyenne to our 2015 recruiting class,” said Vols head coach Bill Burnside. “She has been a standout multi-sport athlete at Sesser-Valier (plays center on the basketball team) and I believe she has a lot of potential as a collegiate volleyball player. Despite limited club volleyball experience, she already has a great start towards the fundamental skills she needs to be successful at our level. When volleyball becomes her only sport, I think she will have the chance to really flourish.”

Burnside said Pitchford will be able to contribute as a middle or rightside hitter immediately.

“I think so,” he said. “Cheyenne has great potential as a blocker and the heart and determination to play the middle. The challenge will be getting her used to running middle hits as quick as we are used to running them.”

The addition of Pitchford brings to six the number of players on the Logan roster for next fall that stand 6 feet tall or taller.

“We are going to have more size on the court than we ever had in the past,” Burnside said. “I don’t think we have ever had this much size in the past. Once we get the girls used to our system and playing as a unit, that size should really have an effect. It should allow us to compete more successfully against the best teams on our schedule.”

Pitchford said she chose Logan because she felt welcome there.

“I love the campus and enjoyed meeting the players on the team. It seems to be a good fit for me,” she said. “And even though I love playing basketball, volleyball is my passion. I am definitely looking forward to having the opportunity to play at the next level.”

Pitchford said she plans to compete in club volleyball in the spring and will be pushing herself to get stronger through individual workouts in the spring and summer.

“I’m confident that I can contribute next year. Volleyball has always come naturally for me.”

Pitchford said she will pursue an associate’s degree in science at Logan with plans to later study veterinary science.

The IHSA Archives project is serving up an early treat for high school basketball fans this holiday season. On Sunday evening (Dec. 21) the Illinois High School Association will release video recordings of 145 boys and girls basketball state championship games, covering tournaments from 1947 to 2007. The videos, available free of charge to anyone using a computer, tablet, or smartphone, will be posted on the IHSA Archives channel on YouTube.

“We’ve been looking for an opportunity to make our old films and tapes available to the public,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Scott Johnson. “It doesn’t make much sense for us to save them if no one gets a chance to watch them.”

Included in the collection are many memorable contests, including Carver’s last-second win over Centralia in 1963, the great Thornridge team putting up 104 points in 1972, and the unbridled joy of the first girls championship game in 1977.

“There is something to see in every one of these videos,” said Johnson. “You might need to set some time limits.”

There are still a few holes in the list of championship games, but Johnson is hopeful some of them will be filled as word of the project spreads.

If the videos prove popular, many more could be posted. According to Johnson there are about 1,600 state final games and meets covering all IHSA sports still in the pipeline. “Digitizing our archives is a multiyear project”, he said, “but it’s well worth the effort to share and preserve the history of our tournaments.”

The IHSA Archives channel on YouTube is at www.youtube.com/IHSAArchives. A comprehensive index of currently posted videos can be found on the IHSA Web site at www.ihsa.org/archives. More than 120 championship videos from other IHSA fall and winter sports have already been posted.

NOTE:  This is a listing of games for Friday, Dec. 26, 2014.  Pairings for games on Saturday, Dec. 27 will be determined by a team’s record in pool play from first round games.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Illinois took advantage of an early lead over the Salukis and never let go as Southern Illinois fell to the Illini, 86-42, at SIU Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Illini (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten) were in control over the Salukis (4-2, 0-0 MVC) in the first half, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before Southern scored its first points at the 14:53 mark. Illinois’ 2-2-1 trap zone wreaked havoc on what was, entering today, a highly efficient Saluki offense. The Illini defense forced 14 first half turnovers and held SIU to 15 points on 17.9 percent shooting in the opening frame en route to a 57-15 difference at the break — spurred by a 39-6 run over the last 11:52.

Southern showed some signs of life in the second half, though, which only ended up 29-27 in the Illini’s favor. Much of SIU’s success in the second half came from the bench, which scored 14 of its 17 points in the game in the back half. Southern’s bench play helped keep the lead where it was, but it could do little else to dig into the large lead the Illini built in the first half.

“We have to stick to the fundamentals, and that’s part of the process we are in with this team,” said SIU head coach Cindy Stein. “Getting them to stick to the fundamentals and getting the snowball factor to roll the other way.”

“We just got away from what we practiced,” said redshirt sophomore point guard Rishonda Napier. “We weren’t playing Saluki basketball. We weren’t playing our game and the turnovers got to us, which made us hang our heads.”

Key to Illinois’ strategy was canceling out Preseason All-MVC center Dyana Pierre, who was double-teamed the entire game by an athletic and tall Illini defense down low. Pierre still managed seven points and seven rebounds amid the chaos, but with the added attention on Pierre and the disappearance of passing lanes in the trap zone, Southern’s offense struggled.

However, leading the way for SIU once again was Napier, who scored 18 points to make this game her sixth straight to start the season in double-digits. She had 11 of Southern’s 15 points in the first half and ended up with nearly one-third (17) of SIU’s shot attempts (56) all game.

“Rishonda does not have much fear and that’s what makes her a great point guard,” Stein said. “She was trying to make something happen and we just didn’t have a whole lot of people rolling with her. Rishonda is playing well and she is a very confident young lady but at the same time very humble. She just wants to prove that she can make her teammates better.”

The energy was high in SIU Arena today, though, as 1,975 fans took advantage of $1 tickets as part of a Pack the House promotion for the Illinois contest. Today’s attendance is the eighth-highest in Saluki women’s basketball history and the highest since 1,838 came out to see SIU take on Illinois State in 2009.

Even after today’s loss the Salukis are still riding high after a three-game home winning streak over Thanksgiving break that lead to Southern’s first 4-1 team since 1991-92. Remaining in the non-conference season are trips to Austin Peay (Dec. 13) and Morehead State (Dec. 30), a home contest against Murray State on Dec. 16, and a neutral-site trip to New Orleans to play No. 17/18 Oregon State and Toledo on Dec. 19-20.

“That was an ugly game, but I think we are going to be much better with this kind of game,” Stein said. “We aren’t used to being in this kind of situation and I think we backed down a little bit in the first half and then we finally got rolling. A lot of elements got to us but, like I said, I think we are going to be much better from experiencing this. Next time we will be able to handle it better.”

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois trounced Austin Peay, 71-49, on Saturday and demonstrated it could thrive despite an off night by star guard Anthony Beane, who was limited to nine points.

Winners of four-straight games, the Salukis (5-3) won tonight for the first time this season when Beane was held below his 21-point scoring average. His scoring touch wasn’t needed, as 10-different players registered field goals, led by Jordan Caroline’s career-high 13 points.

“I think the story of the night was it wasn’t Sean (O’Brien) tonight and it wasn’t Anthony (Beane),” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. “If it’s not Sean and Anthony, everybody out in that arena is thinking, oh man, they’re going to have a bad night. We have some guys coming on and developing.”

The Governors (2-6) may have put too much emphasis on stopping the talented junior guard. Beane was 4-of-14 from the field while the rest of the team was 24-of-44.

“Austin Peay came in and said we’re going to take (Beane) out of the game, and that’s when everybody else has to step up,” Hinson said. “If everybody else plays like they played tonight, then Anthony will not be guarded like that.”

All of Caroline’s points came on layups or dunks, as he grabbed four offensive rebounds and was also the beneficiary of several of the team’s season-high 14 assists. Caroline scored six of Southern’s first eight points.

Defensively, the Salukis held APSU to 39 percent shooting, including a frigid 2-of-18 from 3-point range. They also forced 18 turnovers, including 13 in the first half, in which Southern’s sticky man-to-man defense helped the team build a 41-25 halftime lead.

“I thought we guarded well on the perimeter and made them take guarded shots,” Hinson said. “Our game doesn’t have to go by how we shoot the ball, it can go by how we guard.”

Two freshman guards provided long-range shooting for SIU as both Chaz Glotta and K.C Goodwin drained a pair of 3-pointers. They finished with eight and seven points, respectively.

Coming into the game, Southern had recorded more turnovers than assists in every game this season, but they reversed that trend against Austin Peay with 14 assists and only seven turnovers. Jalen Pendleton and O’Brien each had three assists to lead the team.

“We’re starting to mesh a little bit and starting to do the things we should be doing,” Hinson said. “When we rebound, when we guard, when we share the basketball, we can be a pretty good basketball team.”

In their previous seven games, the Salukis had been out-scored in the second half by every opponent except Olivet Nazarene. That streak also ended, as SIU edged the Governors, 30-24, in the final 20 minutes.

“Tonight we won the second half, too, and that was a big deal for us,” said Hinson, whose team improved to 3-0 against Ohio Valley Conference teams this season.

Pitcher Jason Hammel is returning to the Chicago Cubs.

Here’s the link at the Chicago Tribune.

HILLSBORO, Mo. – The Rend Lake College Lady Warriors Basketball team fell 64-76 last night to Jefferson College of Hillsboro, Mo.

Leading RLC was freshman Jordan Bruenton (Cincinnati, Ohio) with a double-double for the night at 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freshmen Brianna Hawkins (Louisville, Ky.) and Jasmine Washington (Evansville, Ind.) also scored in double digits with 17 and 12 points respectively. Other lead scorers were Valencia Chandler (Joliet) with nine points, Savannah Enlow (Corydon, Ind.) with seven points, and Mykhaela Tolds (Pearland, Texas) with seven points.

The Lady Warriors are now 1-2 for the season. They will play Shawnee College in Ullin on Nov. 22 before returning home Nov. 25 to take on Southwestern Illinois, their first GRAC conference match-up. For all things athletic at The Lake, visit www.rlc.edu/warriors.

Times have been set for the ‪‎IHSA‬ Football Quarterfinal Playoff Games. All contests are scheduled for Saturday, November 15:

CLASS 1A
Lena-Winslow High School at Galena High School (Illinois) – 1 PM
Forreston High School at Stark County High School – 5 PM
Bismarck Henning High School at Carrollton Hawks – 2 PM
North Greene High School at Central High School (Camp Point, Illinois) – 1 PM

CLASS 2A
Eastland High School/Pearl City High School at Rockridge High School – 1 PM
Fieldcrest High School at Clifton Central High School – 4 PM
Maroa-Forsyth High School at Athens High School – 1:30 PM
Tuscola Football at Chester High School – 2:30 PM

CLASS 3A
Newman Central Catholic High School at Byron High School (Byron, Illinois) – 1 PM
St. Joseph-Ogden High School at Wilmington High School – 5 PM
Robinson at Mount Carmel High School – Wabash County Illinois – 1 PM

CLASS 4A
Rockford Lutheran School at Wendell Phillips Academy High School – AUSL Honors Academy – 6 PM
Manteno High School at Coal City High School – 2 PM
Central Catholic High School at Rochester Rockets – 4 PM
Herrin High School at Carterville High School – 1 PM

CLASS 5A
Geneseo High School at Sycamore High School – 1 PM
Montini Catholic High School at Marian Central Catholic High School – 1 PM
Morris Redskins Football at Peoria High School – 2 PM
Sacred Heart-Griffin High School at Taylorville High School – 3 PM

CLASS 6A
Lake Forest Community High School District 115, Lake Forest, IL at Nazareth Academy – 1 PM
Hinsdale South High School at St. Francis High School (Wheaton, Illinois) – 1 PM
Lemont High School at Harold L. Richards High School – 6 PM
East St. Louis Senior High School at Peoria Notre Dame – 1 PM*

CLASS 7A
Geneva High School (Illinois) at Cary-Grove High School – 1 PM
Libertyville High School at Fenwick High School – 4 PM**
Wheaton Warrenville South High School at Providence Catholic High School – 1 PM
Lincoln-Way East High School at Mount Carmel High School (Chicago) – 1 PM

CLASS 8A
New Trier High School at Adlai E. Stevenson High School – 1 PM
Barrington High School at Glenbard West High School – 1 PM
Neal F. Simeon Career Academy at Naperville Central High School – 2 PM
Bolingbrook High School at Homewood-Flossmoor High School – 7 PM

* Played at Richwoods High School
** Played at J. Sterling Morton High School West