Antonia Reaching for 1,000
Every sport has certain numbers that stand out as a measure of success and excellence. In baseball there is winning 20 games as a pitcher or batting .300 as a hitter. In football there is rushing for 1,000 yards. You do those things and you are considered the best of the best.
In high school and college basketball scoring 1,000 points in a career is one of those measures of excellence and success. The catch is that usually you are talking about reaching 1,000 points in a high school or college four year career.
This week the Carl Sandburg women’s basketball team started post-season tourney action. Entering the first game, Antonia Kisler of Galesburg needed 12 points to pass the 1,000 point mark for her career at Sandburg. To reach such a milestone in just a two year career is an extraordinary achievement.
Not only did Antonia reach the 1,000 points, but she blew right by it. Antonia posted 28 points and 12 rebounds to help lead Sandburg to a 64-62 upset of higher seeded Waubonsie.
Sandburg coach, Kellen Fernetti described Antonia and her role this way, “Antonia is our go to player. What makes her so valuable for our team is she can play any position and guard any position. She scores the basketball at all 3 levels, but has really good court awareness. Any time we need a play to be made, Antonia gets the ball. Defensively shes very strong and athletic which enables her to guard well vs guards but can also guard a bigger player. She’s a very versatile player that can have success in multiple ways on the basketball court.”
For me, knowing Antonia’s work ethic, it is no surprise the great success she has had at Sandburg. As a high school player, she was totally committed to self-improvement. I remember one off-season when she was trying to shoot every day. On a Saturday she had a commitment where she was going to be gone all day, leaving at 8am. While many athletes would say they had a conflict and couldn’t shoot on Saturday, Antonia asked if it would be ok to come in at 6:00am to shoot. That drive has made her successful.
When I reached out to Antonia, she expressed her usual humility, “ I never would have dreamed that I would be scoring 1000 points, especially in 2 seasons. It is an indescribable feeling to accomplish that. I am just so thankful for my teammates throughout these two years and my coach too. They have really made me better everyday!”
Many Galesburg women’s basketball have had successful careers at Sandburg which launched a basketball career at a four year school. The list of Galesburg greats to choose Sandburg included- Jodie Prina, Amy Crisman, Debbie Roberts, and Ami Pendry.
When I expressed to Antonia that Sandburg had certainly been a good choice for her, she enthusiastically agreed, ”Sandburg has been good for me by opening up different opportunities on the court with playing different positions. Playing with different play styles, as well as, a faster pace play. The relationships I have been able to build with all my teammates and coaches are definitely something that will stick with me forever.”
There are a lot of good things going on with the Sandburg women’s basketball team. Earlier this month they wrapped another Arrowhead Conference Championship.
During the season, the Chargers have proven to be a team that is not going to be outworked or outhustled by their opponents. Their high energy approach vaulted them to the championship. Their logo of “ten toes in,” certainly is appropriate.
Antonia Kisler expressed pride in her team and pride in how much all of them have improved,”I am very proud of how far we have been able to come since the beginning of the season. I think so many of my teammates have improved just by becoming more confident and passionate in our game.”
Pulling Tourney Upset
This week the Chargers pulled a first round upset over Waubonsie. They will play in the semi-finals on Saturday.
According to Coach Fernetti, “This will be a very challenging game for us but I believe we can ve successful as longas we bring our best focus and energy level. Our team has improved so much this year.”
This is the link to Aaron Frey’s write up of the Sandburg’s upset…
Special thanks to CSC’s Bill Gaither for the wonderful photos.
