An overnight road trip can tell a team a lot about itself, but mostly how its off-court bonding activities translate to on-court success.
Check that box for Trinity basketball.
The Blazers traveled to Bloomington-Normal over the holidays to partake in the prestigious 2025 State Farm Holiday Classic, and it proved an eye-opening experience.
Trinity went 1-2 in the tournament, beating Springfield 72-38, Dec. 26, before losing to downstate powerhouses Morton 44-29 on Dec. 27 and 64-49 to Quincy, Dec. 29.
Those are numbers, of course, but consider these: Senior Zaria Goins, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, nearly logged a triple-double against Springfield, going for 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals. Morton was a memorable game for Goins as she needed just eight points to hit 1,000 for her career, and that’s what she got, along with five steals and two rebounds.
Not too shabby, according to coach Kim Coleman, whose team stands at 10-5 and 1-2 in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red.
“Zaria is everything I could ever ask for in a player,” Coleman said. “She goes 150 percent in everything she does. When she needs a sub on the court and she’s gassed, you know she’s given everything.”
Goins wasn’t interested in the 1,000th point in the moment. All she cared about was getting her team the lead.
“My immediate reaction was I was trying to get the score up,” she said. “We were down by five at the moment because I was floating at the beginning of the game … in a bad way.”
Still, when she got her milestone points, the game was stopped for congratulations.
“I loved it,” said 6-2 sophomore wing Keyera Gamble. “She is a role model for people on the team, and she’s a hard worker, and I know we can do that, too.”
There was plenty of levity on the trip – bowling, spending time in the hotel watching movies and playing board games, plus the general jokes and laughter that are part of the high school experience.
But one thing was dead serious — that was the chance to sit in on an Illinois State University women’s basketball practice. It was important to all, but especially Gamble, who is being recruited by the Redbirds.
“I learned playing as a team and not playing for yourself” is important, she said. “Make sure everything is done at 110 percent and not coasting. I think I really like the school. It’s family-like out there. It’s what I like.”
Coleman said a year ago Gamble was the only freshman on varsity, so “she was everybody’s baby.” This year, she’s a captain, averaging 9.5 points, seven rebounds and almost three blocks per game.
Goins took a lot away from the ISU practice visit and the game the Redbirds played on Dec. 29 against Indiana State, a 105-64 victory.
“It was really cool to be able to watch people older than us and get a feeling for what a college practice would be,” said Goins, who is still mulling her collegiate options. “I kind of learned that communicating and being together, sharing the same goal, is important. You could tell everybody was on the same wavelength. They challenged each other.”
Now that the holidays are over, GCAC Red play will continue in earnest, and the Blazers seem primed and will be even stronger with the return of senior shooting guard Armante Dambrauskas, who hasn’t played a minute this season due to injury.
“She adds three-point shooting,” Coleman said. “You’re adding a senior with experience, a high-IQ senior who gets under the basket and gets rebounds.”
Another key will be the development of freshman Jazmyn Ratliff, who has been around the program since she was a youngster.
“She’s finally here,” Coleman said. “She is a kid who’s eager to do what’s right and best for the team.”
Expect big minutes, too, out of senior forward Chloe Santos, sophomore forward Danae Hickman and freshman wing Destinie Roe. Junior Destiny Sacluti, who scored eight against both Springfield and Quincy, will also be a major factor.
About the only downside to the State Farm Classic adventure was the ride there and back … two hours, on a school bus. Ugh.
“It was long and boring,” Coleman lamented.
