State-ranked showdown between Morton and Washington decides Mid-Illini girls basketball title
MORTON — This Mid-Illini Conference championship was won with defense.
The Morton girls basketball team held Washington to one of its lowest outputs of the season in claiming the outright league title after a 45-41 victory Tuesday night at the Potterdome. The Class 3A second-ranked Potters (23-5, 13-1) end the No. 3 Panthers’ two-year reign as Mid-Illini champ while picking up their eighth conference crown since 2015.
“That was a huge part of this game,” senior Addy Engel said of the Morton defense that allowed Washington’s lowest point total since Dec. 14. “Lower possessions, you got to play great defense.
“We knew they weren’t going to back down, so we knew we had to match their energy and be more intense than that. We had to bring it. They’re a good team. They’re a talented team, but we had to bring the grit, the intensity that we did.”
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“They worked for it,” Morton coach Bob Becker said. “Not many seasons does it come down where you’re playing your last home games on senior night for all the marbles.
“… It wasn’t a perfect game, but we did show some toughness and some resolve. We do have a burning desire to win this game and it was evident.”
A big part of that Morton defensive gameplan was containing Washington sharpshooter Avery Tibbs. In the first meeting, the sophomore guard torched Morton for 18 points, while adding 11 rebounds and four steals in the 11-point victory on Jan. 10.
This time, the Potters were ready for Tibbs, holding her to eight points on five shots to go with one rebound. Morton won the rebounding battle 23-13.
“That was a big emphasis this game was taking away their best player,” Engel said. “Tibbs is a great shooter, so we can’t let her have any room.”
Washington shows its inexperience
But Washington, which shot 41.1 percent (14-for-34) from the field, held a 31-25 lead midway through the third quarter. The Potters responded by finishing the final 9:43 of the game on a 20-10 push.
Morton shot 40.6 percent (13 of 32) and utilized some full-court pressure to force seven second-half turnovers.
“We had (players) that didn’t want the ball in their hands,” Washington coach Kim Barth said, “and we need them to want the ball in their hands, so credit to them. That took us out of our game. Next time we see them, we’ll be prepared for that, and it’ll make us better for postseason.”
Barth had five sophomores on the floor for a lot of minutes, getting good production from Tibbs, Becca McDougall (team-high 11 points, four rebounds), Ainsley Redlingshafer (nine points) and Adriene Donald (five points). Mazzy O’Brien, Dani Guedet also got significant playing time.
Once the Panthers get through some growing pains, this squad has the potential to be very dangerous.
“They have grown,” Barth said of her crew of second-year players. “They’ve taken leadership roles. We forced them to grow up very quickly. It’s just some little things … that they may have gotten away with as freshman or in grade school that they’re not going to get away against a really good team.
“I think that was exposed at times tonight.”
Inside Morton's key run
Morton's Engel scored six of her 11 points in that span including the go-ahead basket only 43 seconds in the final quarter. Ellie VanMeenan then made it a six-point game with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
She scored a game-high 12 points, while her freshman sister, Abby VanMeenan chipped in six points and eight rebounds. Paige Selke contributed 11 points and four boards off the bench.
“My teammates have been filling me with confidence this whole year,” Ellie VanMeenan said. "They believe in me, so I have to believe in me too.”
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Now, next week’s postseason awaits. The teams are heading to separate regionals as Washington heads to Pontiac, while Morton is at Galesburg. A rubber match looms in the East Peoria Sectional semifinals pending both teams hoist a regional plaque.
“This definitely gives us more confidence going into (the postseason),” Engel said. “I know it’ll motivate them too, but we just got to bring it like we did tonight.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls basketball: Morton defeats Washington for 2024 Mid-Illini title
