At first glance, Elaina Rager finally did something wrong on a basketball court.
A cameraman asked Pecatonica’s all-time leading scorer to autograph her photo on the camera itself after Saturday’s Rising Stars Classic at Rock Valley College. “It was sick,” Rager said of the new technology.
Except the glass plate fell off the camera, leaving a small pile of broken glass near the scorer’s table after Rager led the All-Area Girls to a 95-82 Rising Stars victory over the NIC-10.
But even the broken glass wasn’t her fault.
“He was moving it and accidentally hit the glass and it fell to the floor,” said Rager, who still enjoyed the experience of signing digital autographs.
She also enjoyed the final, final chapter of her record-setting high school career.
First, Rager won a state championship at a school that had never even gone to state in any sport in its 90-year history.
Then she was named the best girls basketball player in the state in Class 1A. And finally, Rager made her statement as the best Rockford-area player — in any class — this year. The Pecatonica guard scored 22 points and was named the MVP of the 27th annual senior girls all-state basketball game.
She did this in a particularly star-studded year, with a game featuring four of the 19 players in area history with more than 2,000 career points.
“That senior class was stacked,” Rager said. “Everyone shared the ball well. It was a blast playing with all of them.
“I am still on a high from winning state with all my teammates. But it was also cool playing with all of my competitors that I have played with and against. It was just cool having a last hurrah with everyone. And we got the dub.”
The All-Area girls now trail the NIC-10 only 15-12 in the all-time series. Genoa-Kingston’s Ally Poegel also scored 22 points and ...
