DANVILLE — As a team, the fifth time might be the best one for the Salt Fork girls basketball team.
The Storm won their fifth straight county title on Friday with a 51-20 win over Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin at Danville Area Community College’s Mary Miller Gym.
“Bismarck is a really good team, but my girls came out and executed the game plan and I am extremely proud of the girls from the seniors to the freshmen,” Salt Fork coach Brian Russell said. “I am super proud of them and they have worked hard and they have been the leaders all year they set the tone and the underclassmen followed.”
The seniors of the team, including twin sister guards Bracie and Brycie Hird and forward Sailor Pacot, joined former teammate Alexa Jamison in completing their careers with four straight tournament titles.
“It’s been a fight every year, but we set the expectations for us and we want nothing less than that,” Bracie Hird said. “We worked our butts off in-season, postseason and we have been working really hard and here we are.”
“We set that standard for ourselves and we are going to go out there and fight to the last second,” Brycie Hird said. “We do everything as a team and I am so excited to get the win.”
“They are sparkplugs and you have Sailor, who is a hard worker and she is going to do what she needs to do as well,” Russell said. “So all three of them are great leaders.”
The Blue Devils could not get their offense untracked as the Storm defense only allowed as much as six points in a quarter.
“Armstrong and Bismarck are competitive teams and they both seem to be very good and very talented with good players, but we knew that we needed to execute,” Bracie Hird said. “We blocked up on their shooters and they have some girls that can drive as well, but we knew we had a job to do and we took it.”
“We just took away their strengths and used our speed to beat their height,” Brycie Hird.
Bracie Hird had 13 points to lead Salt Fork, while Brycie Hird had 12 points, Pacot had nine points, Laurilei Pierce had seven points and Ella Cary added five points.
“Everyone that got on the court contributed and ever my reserves lifted us when we needed,” Russell said. “Ella had great defense, Sailor and Morgan (Russell) getting rebounds and Laurilei hit some big shots. Up and down, they did a fantastic job.”
“It is definitely a good feeling,” Pacot said. “It was the first year without Alexa and she was our big scorer. So to come out and have an even playing field with all of my teammates scoring and it was neat to us. It was a team effort and it was great. All five years and I have been here for four and it is a great feeling.”
Ella Acton had eight points for the Blue Devils, while Gentry Elson, Alivia Reifsteck and Reece Larsen added three points. Gianna Brown and Acton was named to the All-Tournament team.
Bracie and Brycie Hird and Pacot were named to the All-Tournament team for the Storm, who are 19-3 and ready to start the final drive before playoff action.
“We have been getting ready for County for a while,” Bracie Hird said. “We are looking good and looking at a bright future for us.”
“It’s one of those situations where we want to be better tomorrow than we were today. So we were good tonight, but we have to be better on Monday,” Russell said. “We are going to enjoy this tonight and celebrate it because these girls earned every bit of it.”
With the fifth straight crown, the Storm tied the five straight that Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin had from 2008-2012. The longest county win streak is Oakwood, who had titles from 1982-1987.
In the third place game, Armstrong-Potomac defeated Hoopeston Area 56-28. Ashlynn Ackerman had 25 points and was named to the All-Tournament team, while teammate Isabel Bullington had nine points and was also added to the team. Madison Stockwell had eight points, Addy Patton had six and Chesney Franzen added five.
Addy Kelnhofer had 10 points for the Cornjerkers, while Kayla Crull had nine points and was named to the All-Tournament Team and Shay Layden had six points.
Oakwood was able to win fifth place with a 42-35 win over Westville. Caydence Vermillion had 14 points for the Comets and was named to the All-Tournament team, while Lainee Smith and Ashtyn Dailey each had eight and Mady Nicoson had six.
Gwen Bennett had 13 points for the Tigers and was named to the All-Tournament team, while Madison Sapp had six points, Chloe Cox had five and Isabella Dodson and Kayla Walblay each had four.