Girls basketball roundup: Springfield avenges Glenwood in regular-season finale
Here are the girls basketball results from Wednesday and Thursday:
Indefatigable guards: Petersburg PORTA girls basketball is still among the state’s best with these two guards
A true teammate: Pleasant Plains senior upholds reputation as consummate teammate across all sports
On the boys side: New Berlin survives Auburn for Sangamo lead, and other boys basketball results from Tuesday
Football vacancy: Pawnee opens search for new football coach after Kitt Thein steps down
Thursday's results
SPRINGFIELD HIGH 44, CHATHAM GLENWOOD 37: At Chatham, Emma Scheffler helped trigger a hot start with two 3s in the opening minutes and SHS won its nonconference season finale.
The Senators (19-10) rolled to a 25-14 halftime lead. Ariana Williams scored all of her team-high 10 points after the break. Mia Volpert chipped in nine points while Keziah Toran had seven. Scheffler and Zakiyah Lott posted six points apiece.
The Titans (22-7) converted just one field goal in the second period. Karley Hawkins paced Glenwood with nine points while Ava Bobb and Alexis Neumann had eight apiece.
Glenwood won the previous Central State Eight Conference meeting against SHS 43-33 in December.
NORMAL U-HIGH 40, LANPHIER 35: At Lober-Nika Gym, Aubrey Beavers and Lovely Jackson combined for 10 points in the fourth period, but the Lions’ comeback came up short.
Lanphier trailed 35-22 after three quarters.
Beavers scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the second half. Jackson had six of her 12 points in the final frame. Angel Price added six points.
Kendyl Schroeder produced a team-best 10 points for the Pioneers. Kari Merriweather and Jaz Thomas had nine points apiece. Evy York added eight points.
AUBURN 52, RIVERTON 39: At the Hawk Center, Addison Wheatley poured in 10 field goals and totaled a game-high 23 points in the Sangamo Conference road win.
She had 13 points in the first half for a 23-19 halftime lead. Chloe Crissey scored all of her 11 points in the second half. Callie Gill and Kianna McGraw had six points apiece.
Brandy Petitt and Jordyn Durham led Riverton with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
PETERSBURG PORTA/A-C CENTRAL 41, CANTON 37: At Petersburg, Jayce Privia totaled 18 points and the Bluejays, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, ended the regular season 29-1 overall on a 15-game winning streak.
GILLESPIE 54, PANA 20: At Gillespie, Delaney Talor tallied seven of her team-best 12 points in the first quarter and the Miners surged ahead 22-2 by the end of the frame en route to a South Central Conference win.
Amari Vickery supplied 10 points while Lauren Bertagnolli had nine. Laci Shuckenbrock added seven points while Mia Brawner and Becca Crays each had six for Gillespie (24-7, 7-2 SCC).
Delaney Hackler led Pana (5-26, 2-7) with six points.
Staunton (25-5, 8-1) claimed the outright SCC title with a 62-37 victory over North Mac (17-13, 4-5 ).
CARLINVILLE 47, LITCHFIELD 29: At Litchfield, Kaitlyn Reels reeled off all of her four 3-pointers in the first quarter to stroll to a South Central Conference win.
The Cavaliers (23-7, 7-2) jumped to a 22-11 advantage by the end of the opening period and held the Purple Panthers (3-25, 0-9) scoreless in the second quarter for a 31-11 halftime lead.
Reels finished with 12 points while Isabella Tiburzi generated 16 points. Braley Wiser added six points and Carlinville notched its 700th win in program history.
Emma Diveley led Litchfield with 17 points, including four 3s.
Wednesday's results
PETERSBURG PORTA/A-C CENTRAL 45, PLEASANT PLAINS 27: At Petersburg, the Class 2A No. 4 Bluejays wreaked havoc defensively to clinch the outright Sangamo Conference girls basketball title.
Pleasant Plains (22-7, 7-1) ceded nine of its 14 turnovers in the first half to fall behind 26-10 while converting just one field goal in the second quarter.
PORTA (28-1, 8-0) led 9-6 late in the first quarter until Cassie Cox summoned back-to-back buckets to end the period. Aubrey Vogel hit a 3 at the start of the second frame and consecutive Jayce Privia layups capped an 11-0 run for a 20-6 advantage.
“I felt like our defense generated a lot of good things on the offensive end,” PORTA coach Eric Kesler said. “The girls did a really good job of helping each other and I felt like for the most part we limited them to one shot, which was a huge element and what we talked about from day one before this game. You can’t let them have second or third opportunities, especially (Anna) Weber.”
PORTA set a program record for most wins. Plains captured last year’s conference title by giving PORTA its first loss of that season.
Cox and Privia each had 12 points. Carson Arthalony supplied nine points while Karlie Hoke had seven points. Vogel added five points.
“We’re just able to rely on each really well because we’ve been together ever since we were little,” Cox said. “We just work so hard in practice and we’re all best friends on and off the court. I think that has a lot to do with it.”
PORTA and Plains could meet again in the 2A Riverton Regional final on Thursday, Feb. 15, barring any upsets in the semis.
Plains coach T.J. Fraase is hopeful Madison Burke may return next week following an injury against Rochester on Jan. 25. Weber paced the Cardinals with 12 points while Bailey Leach had seven against the Bluejays.
“We had some uncharacteristic turnovers,” Fraase said, “but I think their height had something to do with it. We dug ourselves in a hole and it’s kind of tough to climb back in.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Girls basketball results around Springfield for Feb. 7-8
