PLEASANT PLAINS — Madison Burke has navigated through two season-ending knee injuries.
The Pleasant Plains senior forward can celebrate now.
The Cardinals (30-2) will appear in the Class 2A girls basketball state semifinals against Breese Central (30-3) at CEFCU Arena in Normal on Thursday, March 5, at 2:30 p.m.
“It takes a lot of motivation being able to come back from that,” Burke said. “It’s really mentally draining, especially after it happens a second time. You don’t know if it’s worth coming back because of the risk of reinjuring it again. But it’s so worth it, especially now.
“I’m so glad I did and I wouldn’t change anything. Obviously I wish it didn’t happen, but I’ve come back stronger and I don’t play with fear while I’m out there.”
Burke missed both the end of her freshman and sophomore seasons due to ligament tears in the same knee, both requiring surgery.
One is hard enough. A second rehabilitation is even harder mentally, through the countless therapy and training.
But she also encountered an uplifting community the entire way. By the first game junior year, she was back in the flow and was selected all-Sangamo Conference third team.
She presents yet another scoring and passing threat on the floor. She supplied a team-best 12 points in a 47-28 win over Petersburg PORTA-A/C Central for a second straight conference title before serving up 16 points and four rebounds in a 57-23 win over Glen Carbon Father McGivney in the sectional finals.
“It doesn’t bother me anymore now,” Burke said. “Sometimes you get a little nervous just because I’ve been through a lot, but I’m comfortable now. And I’ve strengthened it and it feels stronger than when it happened before. I don’t worry about it anymore.”
Girls basketball playoff breakdown
Here’s what else to know about the girls basketball state finals featuring Chatham Glenwood, Pleasant Plains and Mount Pulaski:
Class 3A
No. 1 Chatham Glenwood vs. No. 1 River Forest Trinity (Friday, 10 a.m.)
No. 1 Washington vs. No. 3 Arlington Heights St. Viator (Friday, 11:45 a.m.}
Third-place game (Friday, 7 p.m.); Championship game (Saturday, 4 p.m.)
What to know: Glenwood juniors Ava Bobb and Alexis Neumann return as starters after earning second place in the program’s first state appearance in 2024, coach Alyssa Riley’s first season. Neumann, The State Journal-Register’s reigning Large School Girls Basketball Player of the Year, has doled out at least 20 points in her last three games, including back-to-back 25-point performances against Quincy Notre Dame and Decatur MacArthur. She has added to her repertoire this season as an extra ball-handler alongside Bobb.
Bobb and freshman Jemma Lamb combined for 23 points in the 62-35 supersectional win over MacArthur. Lamb has supplied double figures in four of her last five games in the playoffs, including 15 points in the 48-33 sectional semifinal win over Carbondale.
Washington enters the favorite, ranked No. 1 statewide by The Associated Press. The Panthers (33-2) blitzed No. 2 state-ranked New Lenox Providence Catholic 73-47 for their second straight state appearance.
Class 2A
No. 1 Pleasant Plains vs. No. 2 Breese Central (Thursday, 2:30 p.m.)
No. 1 Byron vs. No. 2 Elgin St. Edward (Thursday, 4:15 p.m.)
Third-place game (Thursday, 8:15 p.m.); Championship game (Saturday, noon)
What to know: Seniors Anna Weber and Bailey Leach combined for 36 points in the 54-37 supersectional win over Downs Tri-Valley, including 19 points in the sizzling second quarter where the Cardinals outscored the Vikings 22-5. The team’s defensive pressure also allowed just four field goals in the first half.
Plains, ranked No. 4 by The Associated Press, has dominated each of its five playoff games by an average margin of 34.6 points per game. No. 3 state-ranked Breese Central and No. 2 Byron also harbor strong playoff résumés.
Breese Central (30-3) upset defending state champion Nashville 58-48 in the sectional finals before sinking No. 6 state-ranked Teutopolis 46-33 in the supersectionals. Byron (32-2) rolls into the semifinals with a 34-point average margin of victory. Elgin St. Edward (27-8) pulled off two overtime victories to reach the state finals.
Class 1A
No. 1 Mount Pulaski vs. No. 1 Mount Sterling Brown County (Thursday, 10 a.m.)
No. 1 Deer Creek-Mackinaw vs. No. 1 Rockford Christian (Thursday, 11:45 a.m.)
Third-place game (Thursday, 7 p.m.); Championship game (Saturday, 10 a.m.)
What to know: Senior guard Alyson Murphy, averaging roughly 20 points per game, has carried Mount Pulaski (32-1) to its most wins in school history and second ever state appearance. The Hilltoppers took second place in the 2013 state finals. Murphy reached 2,000 career points during the regular season in February. Only two Mount Pulaski players in both boys and girls basketball history have achieved the feat: 2019 graduate Skylar Hayes and 1978 alum Jeff Clements, who scored the game-winning basket for the school’s only basketball state title 50 years ago.
No. 2 state-ranked Mount Sterling Brown County (31-3) is making its first ever state appearance. Junior Kenzie Kassing led the Hornets with 18 points in the 51-39 supersectional win over Winchester West Central. She averages 20 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 4.1 assists per game.
Also making its state debut, Deer Creek-Mackinaw (32-3) is the No. 1 overall ranked team in the Final Four.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Top takeaways — Plains, Glenwood, Mount Pulaski girls hoops reach state
Reporting by Bill Welt, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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