Basketball is bigger than the game played on the court for senior guard Brie Tomlinson and senior forward Blair Ritchey. The people around the game are considered family to them.
“I’ve grown close to so many girls and with coaches as well,” Tomlinson said. “They’ve taught me a lot of life lessons and things that I need to know that I’ll use for the rest of my life.”
Now, the two seniors and the rest of the Charleston High School girls’ basketball team prepare for the 2024-25 season aiming for improvement on last season and a deeper playoff run after losing in the first round, the regional semifinals.
“I think one of our goals should be to get farther into regionals,” Ritchey said.
The Trojans, who finished 6-22 last season and 0-10 in Apollo Conference play, have all but two players on last season’s roster returning this season. That’s going to be a huge advantage, according to Alex Koebele, who’s in his third season as head coach of Charleston.
“Implementing a new system and then everyone learning the new system takes time,” Koebele said. “[Being able to come] back and everyone knows the system, the drills, what we expect, how hard we play is a huge step forward.”
In the past three seasons, Charleston has gone from suffering blowout games to being competitive in a few more of its games and picking up a few more wins.
While the team is still winless in conference play during that stretch, Kobele says the signs of improvement are there.
“Two years ago, we were getting beat by 70 points a game,” Kobele said. “[The goal is] just to take that next step and compete for a regional championship. At the end of the day, I think a regional championship would mean a lot to this program and a lot to the girls.”
Tomlinson and Ritchey are the two highest-scoring players from last season that are returning. Ritchey played every game for the Trojans and totaled 138 points, which is 5.1 points per game. Tomlinson, who is expected to run the floor for Charleston this season, averaged 6.3 points per game for a total of 151 total points.
The next highest scoring returner is sophomore guard Sadie Phillips. As a freshman on varsity last season, she averaged 5.4 points per game and totaled 86 points in 16 games. Koebele said he expects her to be a consistent scorer nearly every night.
The Trojans will hope to find a way to replace Ally Logsdon, who graduated after last season with the team lead in points at 282. Her sister, Anny Logsdon, could make an impact as a senior center. Koebele says Anny Logsdon and Richey’s main impact will be defensively.
“The girls have a lot of experience,” Koebele said. “They talk well, communicate and they really set the tone for us defensively.”
When defending, Charleston hopes to keep its opponents out of the middle and force mistakes that the team can capitalize on.
Offensively, the Trojans will look to play a fast-paced brand of basketball. Koebele hopes to get the team ready for the implementation of a 35-second shot clock in the next two years.
“We want to get the ball down the court and within four passes we want [a shot] going up,” Koebele said. “We’re going to push the ball. Last year our tempo wasn’t nearly as good as it’s going to be this year.”
The Trojans will begin their season on Monday at the North American Lighting Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Paris High School. Charleston’s first conference game will be at home against Mt. Zion on Tuesday, December 3.
2024-2025 Charleston Girls Basketball Schedule
Bold games are home at Baker Gym
*Apollo Conference game
11/18/24: NAL Thanksgiving Tournament
11/21/24: NAL Thanksgiving Tournament
11/23/24: NAL Thanksgiving Tournament (two games)
11/25/24: Monticello High School
12/2/24: Robinson High School
12/3/24: Mt. Zion High School*
12/5/24: Taylorville High School*
12/9/24: Tuscola High School
12/12/24: Mahomet-Seymour High School*
12/16/24: Effingham High School*
12/19/24: Dieterich High School
12/27/24: Girls’ basketball Holiday Tournament
12/28/24: Girls’ basketball Holiday Tournament
1/6/25: Casey-Westfield High School
1/9/25: Neoga High School
1/10/25: Mattoon High School*
1/14/25: Mt. Zion High School*
1/17/25: Taylorville High School*
1/20/25: Chrisman High School
1/21/25: Terre Haute South Vigo High School
1/27/25: Urbana High School
1/30/25: Mahomet-Seymour High School*
2/4/25: Effingham High School*
2/6/25: Richland County High School
2/10/25: Decatur Eisenhower High School
2/12/25: Marshall High School
2/13/25: Mattoon High School*
2/15/25: IHSA Regionals begin
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.
