Lady Redbirds see first return to Toepke Gym since beginning of COVID-19

Incoming junior Kayla Pacha wins the opening tip for the Lady Redbirds, who'd go on to defeat East Peoria in their opening scrimmage, 40-13. PHOTO / ALEX STAAB
METAMORA - Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Metamora Girls Basketball team met as a group for the first time since a frustrating regional final loss to #7-ranked Kankakee. You could see the beaming joy on the face of 7th-year head coach Brianna Morrow when she entered the gym, as was the case for nearly everyone inside Toepke Gym.

"Today was like a Christmas again. We're super excited to be back in the gym."

The Lady Redbirds have been on hold waiting to tip off their summer season, after the COVID-19 pandemic began and step-by-step, slowly shut all sports down.

When the State of Illinois moved to Phase 4, and not too long after - the IHSA moved to Phase 2, it allowed groups of 50 and sport-specific drills, clearing the way for things like Wednesday night's scrimmage. Coach Morrow says it's more than nice to have that in place, but just seeing the group is a big plus.

"The big thing for us is just getting together. It's been the weirdest summer I think I've ever had."

Morrow also draws on personal experience of summer basketball from her playing days at Central A&M, Parkland, Illinois College, and Millikin, and has found herself thinking back to how it was considering how COVID-19 has made the summer of 2020 feel like.

"When a lot of us were growing up, we didn't have all this organized stuff. You had to get better on your own in the summers."

As much optimism as there may be with a return to the gym, Morrow acknowledges the fluidity of the coronavirus.

"I think getting to take this step of getting in the gym, and have at least some contact, that's a step in the right direction. There's still so many unknowns."

One thing that's not unknown - the team's mentality after the aforementioned Kankakee game. Coach Morrow says that will be not so much the driving force, but is definitely a motivating factor going into the 2020-2021 season.

"I think this group was definitely ticked after that, knowing that we had it. They're hungry. They've been putting a lot of work in on their own."

Metamora will have an open gym like Wednesday morning's on Friday, then another round of scrimmages on next Wednesday, July 15th.

It should be noted that due to COVID-19-related precautions, there are no fans of any kind allowed inside.

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