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Here are the 10 Peoria-area girls basketball teams headed to the 2024 IHSA sectionals

adam duvall, peoria journal star
·7 min read

The 2024 Illinois High School Association girls basketball regional championships were Thursday and Friday around the state of Illinois. Here are the teams from the Peoria area that won regional championships and advance to sectional semifinals next week.

2024 IHSA girls basketball brackets: Peoria-area postseason schedules, scores and pairings

CLASS 1A

Illini Bluffs

  • How they won: Sixth-ranked Illini Bluffs beat host Mendon Unity 54-31 in the regional title game on Thursday night. The top-seeded Tigers won their seventh game in a row behind a 28-point effort from Lily Luczkowiak. Annabelle Fortin chipped in eight. This is IB's first regional title since 2020 and 18th visit to the sectional in program history.

  • What's next: Illini Bluffs (28-4) vs. Annawan (24-6), 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Bushnell Sectional semifinal.

Peoria Heights

  • How they won: Peoria Heights ended a 32-year drought by beating Midland, 52-29, for the Flanagan-Cornell Regional title on Friday. The Patriots last won a regional plaque in 1992 as a Class A school. Emily Dana paced Heights 20 points, while Anna Foster added 12 and Janessa Wallace chipped in 10 for the Heights, which have won are riding its fourth win streak this season of at least five games.

  • What's next: Peoria Heights (26-6) vs. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (22-9), 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Colfax Ridgeview Sectional semifinal.

Lewistown

  • How they won: Lewistown spurred an upset over second-seeded Havana to win its own regional championship, 50-34, on Friday night. A balanced scoring attack with three players in double-figures β€” Landry Smith (12 points), Makenna Johnson (12 points) and Joley McLaughlin (11 points) β€” helped the five-seed Indians win their first regional title since a 2020 state runner-up finish.

  • What's next: Lewistown (19-13) vs. Abingdon-Avon (25-7), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bushnell-Prairie City Sectional semifinal.

Abingdon-Avon

  • How they won: Sixth-seed Abingdon-Avon came back from double digits in second-half to beat fourth-seeded Wethersfield, 46-40, at the Princeville Regional on Friday night. After being down eight at halftime, the Tornadoes took the lead late in the fourth quarter. Freshman Kennedy Quinn scored 18 points for A-Town, which is playing in a sectional for the first time since 2015.

  • What's next: Abingdon-Avon (25-7) vs. Lewistown (19-13), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Bushnell-Prairie City Sectional semifinal.

St. Bede

  • How they won: Second-seed St. Bede led wire-to-wire in beating Amboy, 50-39, in the Ottawa Marquette Regional title on Friday night. Ali Bosnich scored a team-high nine points, Lily McClain added eight, and Savannah Bray scored seven off the bench. The Bruins, who have won 15 games in a row, are regional champs for the first time since 2020.

  • What's next: St. Bede vs. (26-7) vs. Chicago Morgan Park Academy (26-4), 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Gardner-South Wilmington Sectional semifinals.

CLASS 2A

Peoria Notre Dame

How they won: Top-ranked PND overcame an early deficit to beat Sherrard, 66-33, at the Chillicothe Regional on Friday night. The Irish trailed by six in the first quarter before going on a 35-8 push to end the first half, taking a 39-18 lead into halftime. Mya Wardle (20 points) and Emy Wardle (12) points led the PND, which won their first regional title in 10 years. It was also coach Layne Langholf's first-ever postseason plaque.

What's next: PND (29-4) vs. Bloomington Central Catholic (26-6), 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Canton Sectional semifinal.

PND TO STATE? Can No. 1 Peoria Notre Dame win a girls basketball state title? Let's look at the path

Deer Creek-Mackinaw

  • How they won: No. 8 Dee-Mack made it a clean sweep Thursday over Heart of Illinois Conference foe Downs Tri-Valley with a 57-38 victory in the Clinton Regional title game. The Chiefs, who set the school record for wins in a season, beat Tri-Valley for a third time this season, using double-digit scoring by Dalia Dejesus (19 points), Elise Hahn (12 points) and Lexi Cottingham (11 points).

  • What's next: Dee-Mack (31-2) vs. host Canton (25-8), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sectional semifinal.

Canton

  • How they won: Canton used its defense to beat Monmouth-Roseville, 67-35, in Thursday's Macomb Regional title game. The Little Giants held M-R to only 10 second-half points in winning their second regional in three years. Ava Wegner scored 19 points and set the single-season program record for 3-pointers (69) in a season. Jena Goforth chipped in 17, while Ella Demler added 13.

  • What's next: Host Canton (25-8) vs. Dee-Mack (31-2), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sectional semifinal.

IRISH TO STATE? Can No. 1 Peoria Notre Dame win a girls basketball state title?

CLASS 3A

Morton

  • How they won: Second-ranked Morton won its 10th game in a row, beating host and No. 7 Galesburg, 41-29, on Thursday in the regional championship. The Potters, who had beat Galesburg by 13 on Jan. 20, held the Silver Streaks to their lowest offensive output of the season. Isabella Hutchinson scored a game-high 15 points for Morton, whose last loss came against Washington on Jan. 10.

  • What's next: Morton (25-5) vs. Washington (23-6), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the East Peoria Sectional semifinal.

Washington

  • How they won: No. 5 Washington beat rival Metamora for a third time this season, claiming a 67-53 title game victory in Thursday's Pontiac Regional. The Panthers are back in the sectional for a third successive year and have won 74 games in that span. Washington and sectional opponent Morton split the regular-season series.

  • What's next: Washington (23-6) vs. Morton (25-5), 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the East Peoria Sectional semifinal.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls basketball regional scores, sectional teams from Peoria