BREESE, Ill. — Arguably the best girls basketball shootout in the state is the one that takes place at Breese (Central) every January.
Both the St. Anthony Bulldogs and Teutopolis Lady Shoes competed in this year’s shootout. St. A — the No. 1 team in Class 1A entering last Saturday’s event — played No. 4 Okawville, winners of the previous two Class 1A state championships. No. 5 Teutopolis played No. 7 Carlyle.
The Bulldogs and Lady Shoes both lost their games. St. A lost by 12 points, 46-34. T-Town lost by eight, 44-36.
Both teams gained a wealth of experience in their defeats.
“Carlyle’s a good team,” Lady Shoes head coach Laurie Thompson said. “I felt like we had missed opportunities offensively. We’ve got to make those open shots, but we didn’t. Offensively, we struggled; this is the second game in which we’ve struggled offensively. Defensively, at times, we looked good, but if you can get stops and you come down and throw the ball away and don’t get the opportunity to score and miss a shot you need to make, it’s tough to get back in a ballgame.”
T-Town trailed 15-8 after the first quarter and 25-19 at halftime.
The Lady Indians opened the game with a layup by senior Jacie Persing. Lady Shoes senior Mollie Ruholl answered with one to tie the game.
Carlyle then hit back-to-back three-pointers. The first came from senior Ella Rolfingsmeyer and the second from Persing.
T-Town would cut the lead to four points, 10-6, with 4:11 left in the opening frame following a layup by junior Kelsey Niemerg.
Persinger then hit a layup with 2:18 left to push the lead back to six points.
The Lady Indians extended the lead to 11 points in the second quarter after a three-pointer by Rolfingsmeyer. The Lady Shoes then went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to five points. Carlyle then hit one of two free throws before the break to take a six-point advantage into halftime.
T-Town stayed within striking distance in the second half, but mistakes continued to hurt the Lady Shoes chances of a comeback.
Thompson alluded to that after the loss.
“Some of it’s just panic and, honestly, half the time, we were playing against a zone,” Thompson said. “There’s not that much pressure [in the zone]. They have to accept the pressure. They have to accept the pressure; some kids are unwilling to do that. We have to play more disciplined. Our decision-making is not coming around yet.”
T-Town fell to 16-3 on the season after Saturday’s loss, all three defeats coming to state-caliber opponents.
“We’re in the ‘meat’ of our season. Bad decisions are gonna lose you ballgames,” Thompson said.
Junior Anna Probst led the team with 11 points. Senior Chloe Probst had 10. Junior Malea Helmink added nine and Ruholl and Niemerg each had three.
Heading into the game, Thompson felt they had a real shot to win the contest.
“I thought we should be able to win this game,” Thompson said. “I think they would have had a hard time guarding us. We got to the basket and got shots whenever we wanted them. We didn’t make them. We did have mismatch issues, which we knew was going to happen with their two big kids and they do exploit that which they should. We knew that was going to be a difficult situation.”
The Bulldogs also found it difficult against a team that has dominated Class 1A for the past two seasons.
The Lady Rockets outscored St. Anthony (13-4) by 12 points, 33-21, from the second quarter-on to seal the victory.
The game was tied at 13 after the opening period.
The Bulldogs threw the first punch, leading 11-3 with 3:18 left in the frame. Senior Addi Nuxoll and senior Adysen Rios both made baskets. Rios then converted a layup off a turnover. Sophomore Addie Lauritzen converted a layup after rebounding a missed shot and junior Nancy Ruholl knocked down a three-pointer.
Okawville responded, taking a two-point lead on a 10-0 run. Sophomore Kenley Hackstadt made two three-pointers and hit a free throw and senior Jenna Hackstadt made a three-pointer during the run.
Laurtizen then made a layup to make the score after the first.
From there, it was an uphill battle.
The Lady Rockets led by three points, 27-24, at halftime and 41-26 at the end of the third. St. A outscored Okawville 8-5 in the fourth.
Nancy Ruholl led the team with 14 points. Rios had eight and Nuxoll and Lauritzen each had six.