A Hope and a Yeager: Gilmore's steal leads to senior's game-winning basket in Glenwood win
In a tied game with 15 seconds left, Chatham Glenwood pressured Taylorville’s inbounds pass, freshman Alexis Neumann stole the ball, drove to the basket and threw the ball up toward the hoop.
Charge, called the referee. That whistle fouled out Glenwood’s leading scorer, leading rebounder and top defender against Taylorville’s 6-foot-4 forward Mazie Fleming.
On Taylorville’s second chance to inbound the ball in hopes of avoiding overtime, Glenwood once again found the ball in one of its players’ hands. Eventually, it found its way to Makenna Yeager, who hit an uncontested layup for the 41-39 Class 3A Southeast Regional championship on Friday. It's the first regional championship for the Titans since 2018.
"It was a crazy play; we didn't plan anything out,” said Yeager, a senior. "We were just, 'We have to get the ball. We have to get the ball and get a basket.’ The ball was going out of bounds and Hope Gilmore saved it and then Katelyn (Lehnen) tipped it. I'm the only one over here and I'm just like, 'Oh my gosh, Makenna, just get the ball and put it in the basket.’
"I grabbed it and I hoped and prayed that my layup was going in."
No. 3 seeded Glenwood (24-7) will face No. 1 Mount Zion (20-12) in the Decatur MacArthur Sectional semifinals on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Glenwood beat the Braves 47-27 on Jan. 31 in Mount Zion. The semifinal winner will get either No. 1 Quincy Notre Dame or No. 3 Mahomet-Seymour on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Down to the wire
It was a wild finish to an intense night. Glenwood led by six points at the end of the first quarter and twice took five-point leads in the second. The Titans opened the second half with a pair of buckets to regain a six-point advantage. Then, after Ava Bobb made it 25-19 in favor of Glenwood, Taylorville ended the third period on an 8-0 run to take its first lead.
The fourth saw five ties and three lead changes. Twice, the Tornadoes led by three points, including when senior Aubrey Kietzman hit a rainbow shot from the corner to give Taylorville a 39-36 lead with 2 minutes, 1 second left.
That momentum didn’t last long. Glenwood junior Rowann Law answered back 17 seconds later with a game-tying 3-pointer of her own to pull the Titans into a 36-36 tie.
"I wasn't really on during warm-ups, so I was hesitant to shoot but I shot it because (her defender) gave me space," Law said.
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Addison Tarr and Kietzman combined for three free throws as Taylorville regained a 39-36 lead with 29.7 seconds to play. With 17.8 to go, Neumann buried a 3 from the wing in front of Glenwood’s bench to set up the final dramatics.
"That play was for her; they executed exactly what I wanted,” Glenwood's first-year coach Alyssa Riley said. "My shooter No. 1 went to the top, shooter No. 2 went to the wing, (Taylorville) covered them and (Neumann) slipped right back to the opening. She's a tall guard; I play her at the post, obviously, because of her height but she's a guard."
Glenwood’s defense caused chaos
All night long, the No. 2 Tornadoes (25-7 and the Apollo Conference champions) had trouble making crisp passes. Taylorville, which committed 20 turnovers, threw the ball wide, low and high.
Yeager and Taylorville coach Hayden Eldred both credited the Titans’ defense.
"We're definitely a defensive team and we're always going to come out and work our hardest on defense,” Yeager said. "Our goal was to make it a little bit chaotic for them offensively because from what we watched, (the Tornadoes) definitely like to play steady, they like to play calm and our goal was just to get them off their feet and make them a little more hesitative on their passes."
An emotional Eldred shed a few tears when talking about senior captains Kietzman and Olivia Woodward but was able to credit Glenwood's defense.
"They were playing real pressure tight but we were sped up, we were amped, we saw (passing lanes) but by the time we made the pass, it was late and (Glenwood) did a good job of collapsing on that open person quickly to where they would get a hand on the ball," Eldred said.
"We just weren't quite connected the way we have been with some entry passes and some things. We were just a little off with our timing and everything."
On the back-to-back turnovers to finish the game, Eldred said his senior took it harder than she should.
"(Kietzman) feels terrible but she played so well,” Eldred said. "It was just one unfortunate turnover but ... we had 20 or more so that one doesn't matter in the end; it was (an accumulation of turnovers)."
Big assignment
At 6-feet-tall, Neumann usually stands above her competition so her task against Taylorville's Fleming was a tough one. Fleming finished with five blocked shots, including three in the first half.
"It was a lot different,” Neumann said. "I'm normally the taller center against everybody. Especially in the first half when she was blocking my shots, I just had to find a way to get around (Fleming). She's an amazing player."
Yeager, basking in the glow of her first postseason hardware in her four-year career, said Neumann is a special teammate.
"Alexis Neumann is one of the most gifted basketball players that I've ever met and she's an incredible teammate and an incredible person," Yeager said. "I love that girl with my whole heart.
"She has been such an asset for us this year; she's been so positive on offense and defense, she's a hard worker — she never stops working her hardest — and so I'm so proud of her. She came out and played her best today and I'm beyond thrilled for her."
Addison Tarr led Taylorville with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
CLASS 3A SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
At Herb Scheffler Gymnasium
Chatham Glenwood 41, Taylorville 39
Glenwood 10 9 8 14 — 41
Taylorville 4 13 10 12 — 39
GLENWOOD (41) — Ava Bobb 3-8 0-2 6, Makenna Yeager 2-9 0-0 4, Katelyn Lehnen 3-7 0-0 7, Alexis Neumann 5-11 4-4 15, Karley Hawkins 0-2 0-0 0, Reagan Littrell 0-0 0-0 0, Rowann Law 2-4 2-2 7, Hope Gilmore 1-7 0-2 2. TOTALS: 16-48 6-10 41.
3-Point Goals: 3-18 (Yeager 0-6, Lehnen 1-5, Neumann 1-2, Law 1-2, Hawkins 0-2, Gilmore 0-1). Rebounds: 33 (Neumann 13, Gilmore 6, Bobb 3, Lehnen 3, Law 3, Yeager 1, Team 4). Offensive rebounds: 13 (Neumann 4, Lehnen 2, Law 2, Gilmore 2, Bobb 1, Team 2). Turnovers: 18. Personal fouls: 20 (Fouled out — Neumann).
TAYLORVILLE (39) — Aubrey Kietzman 1-3 6-6 9, Olivia Woodward 1-4 1-2 3, Addison Tarr 5-14 4-6 14, Kyleigh Heimsness 2-10 1-2 5, Mazie Fleming 3-6 1-2 7, Grace Rogers 0-0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 12-37 14-20 39.
3-Point Goals: 1-7 (Kietzman 1-2, Heimsness 0-5). Rebounds: 29 (Kietzman 2, Woodward 4, Rogers 1, Tarr 11, Heimsness 1, Fleming 6). Offensive rebounds: 9 (Tarr 4, Fleming 2, Woodward 1, Team 2). Personal fouls: 13 (Fouled out — none). Turnovers: 20.
Records: Chatham Glenwood 24-7. Taylorville 25-7.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA girls basketball: Yeager's game-winning layup gives Glenwood win
