March 9, 2003

BY TINA AKOURIS High Schools

NORMAL, Ill.--The girls state basketball tournament has gone through many changes since the IHSA held the first Elite Eight in 1977.

When Joliet West--now Joliet Township--won the state title in 1978, the game was different from how it is today.

But only in some respects.

On Saturday, the 1978 state champions from Joliet West were honored during halftime of the Class AA third-place game. When Joliet West won the title, there was one class and the girls state tournament was in its second year. The Elite Eight was moved to Assembly Hall in Champaign--where it stayed until 1992--from Horton Fieldhouse in Normal.

At the time, the game was slower and there was no three-point line. But coach Jo Streit and her former players recall that the team's biggest challenge came in its quarterfinal game against Marshall.

The '78 Commandos ran a typical Public League offense, a high-energy, run-and-gun attack designed to wear down opposing defenses.

But Joliet West didn't budge, sticking to its deliberate style and beating Marshall by 18 points.

''They were on such an even keel,'' Streit said. "They were so confident, and that came through when they beat Marshall. It just set the tone. They had it in their minds that no one would beat them.''

When Joliet West won the state championship, Title IX was in its early years. Those women paved the way for the players of today, such as Fenwick's Erin Lawless and Naperville Central's Candace Parker.

The dominant player of that era was Cathy Boswell, who went on to win a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic women's team in 1984. Her accomplishments are a constant reminder to those who play at Redbird Arena because the No. 44 jersey she wore at Illinois State is retired and hanging from the rafters.

''I'm not sure if they would understand how hard it was for my generation,'' Boswell said. ''The players before me got us to where we were, and I felt that those players before me were the ones responsible for where I was.''

Boswell graduated from Joliet West in 1979 and from ISU in 1983. She has played most of her professional career abroad, but she had a stint with the Chicago Condors and Atlanta Glory in the American Basketball League before it folded.

Boswell plays for the French team Bordeaux and will retire at the end of the season. She plans to continue living in Spain, where she resides during the offseason, and start a business as a sports agent.

That 1978 team was on a mission. It lost in the quarterfinals the year before and wanted a championship.

And what a place to play--Assembly Hall. Even 25 years ago, when the girls game seemed like a blip on the sporting scene, the Steelmen played in front of big crowds and had strong fan support.

"I remember all the spectators at Assembly Hall,'' former player Mickey Vanderhyden said. "We had a big following, but we didn't let it affect us. We just let our coach lead.''

Boswell had to pass on the ceremony. She was to be inducted into the Missouri Hall of Fame in St. Louis for her accomplishments playing in the Missouri Valley Conference. When Boswell played for ISU, the Redbirds were in the Gateway Conference before switching to the Missouri Valley.

"I was really upset when I found out about [the 1978 team's] ceremony because it is equally important,'' said Boswell, who didn't find out about the celebration at ISU until she got to the United States this week.

"It seems shorter than [25 years],'' Vanderhyden said. "I'm just glad most of us are down there.''

Despite Boswell's absence, Joliet West's accomplishments on that weekend in 1978--and those of Sterling, which won the first girls state title in 1977--should not be ignored.