A string of eight consecutive Regional championships came to an end in Fairbury last season for the Prairie Central Hawks. The team did finish 23-5 overall, and went 11-3 in the tough Corn Belt conference. "May not match last years record because of our schedule (12 Class 3A schools). We won't sneak up on anyone this year. To be successful, we must remain healthy and we need to develop more depth for the likes of (Bloomington) Central Catholic," coach Barry Corban said.

Prairie Central graduated just one player off of last years team, and bring back three girls who could all reach the 1,000 point mark this year. Kaley Corban (5'7" Sr. Guard) and Whitney Scurlock (5'10" Sr. Forward) led a balanced scoring attack, each averaging 14.6 points/game. Abby Popejoy (5'6" Sr. Guard) scored 13.4 points/game. Corban was named third-team All-State by the Illinois Basketball Coach's Association, and Scurlock was a fourth-team All-Stater by the IBCA.

Last year, Corban dished out 4.9 assists/game and holds the school record in that category (393). "(Corban) could establish career records in steals and games played," Corban said. On defense, Corban forced 5.1 turnovers/game. She has 856 career points leading up to her senior season.

More records could be shattered by the Hawks in 2009-10, with Whitney Scurlock already holding a couple school records. Scurlock holds the record for blocks in a season (109) and career (119). She also has the school record in field goal percentage (57%) in a season. Last year, she averaged 8.7 rebounds/game and has 468 career rebounds and 674 career points.

Abby Popejoy is also looking to break records, from outside of the three-point arc. The senior guard holds the season record for three-point field goal percentage (62%) and could set the mark for career three-point field goal percentage. Popejoy has 688 career points and 287 career assists.

Both Scurlock and Corban are receiving a lot of recruiting attention from many junior colleges and Division-3 schools.

Last year's Prairie Central roster was young, dressing five sophomores and two freshman. Heading into their junior years will be, Brittany Tjarks (5'5" Guard) who averaged 1.5 points/game last year, Rachael Oprondek (5'10" Forward) averaged 1.0 points/game, Liz Shafer (5'6" Guard) who averaged 1.3 points/game, and Samantha Nebergall (5'9" Forward). Looking to make an impact as sophomores will be, Sara Oprondek (5'8" Guard/Forward) and Lindsay Krippel (5'4" Guard).

Bloomington Central Catholic should be the favorite in the Corn Belt conference, but the league is filled with talented teams this year. "Bloomington Central Catholic will again be the favorite. We hope to battle for second with the likes of Normal U-High, Rantoul, and Eureka."

Barry Corban enters his fourth season at Prairie Central as the girl's basketball coach. His career record is (67-24). Corban ranks highly among Illinois High School boy's basketball coaches in career wins, where he spent 15 seasons as head coach at Chatsworth, and time at Prairie Central and Crescent-Iroquois, piling up 350 career wins.

Prairie Central won eight straight Regional championships (1999-00 to 2007-08). The Hawks won a Sectional title in 2006-07. The team also won a Sectional championship in 1985-86 under head coach Don Gibb.