Centerburg 48, Northridge 45
Kayla Larimore was tough to stop in a double-double performance to lead the Trojans (4-6, 1-4) to a 48-45 victory over Northridge (4-6, 2-4), Dec. 29.
Larimore scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and also hit all four of her free throws. She grabbed 11 rebounds and deftly added three steals. Clara Johnson scored 11 points and had five boards and an assist. Kenlee Fairall scored six points and tallied a board and an assist, as well as a pair of steals.
“Our girls came out a little tentative but quickly matched or even raised the intensity and physical level,” said Centerburg girls basketball coach Bo Glenn. “Northridge's press affected us early on and we made adjustments that allowed us to get easy buckets. We had kids just making plays in the end with Kennedi Glenn knocking down a three with seven seconds left and Evie Stowe getting a deflection to Kayla Larimore for the steal to seal the victory. Great team win.”
River Valley 57, Highland 32
The Highland Lady Scots (1-8, 1-4) couldn’t find a way to stop Brooklyn Mosher or a third-quarter run by the River Valley Vikings (7-3, 5-1) in a 57-32 blowout loss, Dec. 29.
The Fighting Scots started off the scoring on a 3-pointer by Guinevere Jackson to go up 3-0. Down 4-3, Kameron Stover showed solid defense on a steal, but the Vikings played well on both sides of the ball to take a 19-6 first quarter lead.
In the second quarter, Highland's Shelby Conley had a pair of steals and a block when it was a 19-6 game. Guinevere Jackson drained a three to bring the score to 26-11, and both Kate Clements and Bryleigh Young each had steals for the Lady Scots, who trailed 26-15 at halftime. In the third quarter, River Valley’s offense went off for 23 points and the defense held Highland to eight. In the fourth quarter, Makayla Woods and Young each drained a three as Highland played to a 9-8 advantage.
“Trailing by only eight early in the third quarter, the Lady Scots saw the Lady Vikings close the quarter on a 20-2 run, and it took us out of it,” Highland girls basketball coach Matt Bradley said.
Jackson led Highland in scoring with nine points and Stover added eight. Clements had four points and Young, Woods and Abby Jordan scored three points. Amarie Morgan rounded out scoring with two points and Mosher scored 20 points for River Valley.
Mount Vernon 46, East Knox 40
Mount Vernon 46, Ashland 37
The Lady Jackets combo of Rees Lepley and Kymber Bell led Mount Vernon (MV) to a 46-40 victory over East Knox, Dec. 27, for their third straight win, despite Ella Divan of the Lady Bulldogs leading all scorers.
Mount Vernon (6-5, 3-4) went up 13-11 in the first quarter with Lepley hitting a three and a pair of free throws to lead the charge for the Lady Jackets. Divan had six points for East Knox (2-9, 1-4). Both teams scored 11 points in the second quarter with Bell going off for eight points for Mount Vernon and Divan scoring four points.
With MV holding a 25-22 lead going into the second half, the Lady Jackets had a 13-6 third quarter advantage led by Mia Reider’s two 3-pointers. Hayley Burke also hit a three. Sydney Opfer scored four points for Mount Vernon, who was able to hold on for a six-point win with a 12-9 fourth quarter advantage.
Bell and Lepley each scored 12 points to lead Mount Vernon. Divan had a game high 16 points and Opfer added nine points for East Knox.
“I was really proud of our team and how hard they played against Mount Vernon,” said East Knox girls basketball coach Mandy Todd. “The complete effort was there, the difference was a few more shots went their way. I really think this game could have gone either way.”
Mount Vernon took on Ashland (1-10, 1-6) on Dec. 29, and came away with a 46-37 come-from-behind victory.
Mount Vernon trailed 15-7 after one and 22-18 at the half, but in the third quarter they had an 8-7 advantage and then blew up for a 20-point fourth quarter.
Brooklyn Thayer scored 11 points and tallied seven boards, three assists and a steal for MV. Hayley Burke was a force on defense with six steals to go with her five points and two rebounds. Lepley scored nine points and had a pair of rebounds, to go along with an assist. Nevaeh Williams scored eight points and gathered 10 boards. Bell was big on the glass with nine boards, adding five points and four steals.
Mount Gilead 54, Elgin 24
Mount Gilead (9-1, 5-0) continued to be a force out of the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, and most recently blew out the Elgin Comets (3-7, 0-2) by a 54-24 count Dec. 29, thanks to a solid scoring night for Madilyn Elson.
Mount Gilead went up 20-5 early and cruised to a 35-7 halftime lead. They didn’t slow up with a 17-11 third quarter advantage before being outscored 6-2 in the fourth when the game was far out of reach.
Elson scored 17 points, and added seven boards, three assists and two steals to lead the charge. Candace Millisor had three steals and a block on defense to go with six points, five boards and four assists. Faith White had 13 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Aubrey Thomas scored 10 points, two rebounds and an assist.
Utica 56, Centerburg 41
Utica (2-5, 0-4) had three players in double figures against Centerburg (4-6, 1-4) to take a big 15-point victory over the Trojans, Dec. 28.
Utica had a 2-0 lead when Bella Coulter drilled a 3-pointer to make it 5-0. Coulter later made it a 17-8 game on another three. Utica led 19-10 after one, with Abby Dickson scoring 10 points to lead the offense.
In the second quarter, Coulter hit another three, making it a 23-13 game. She had nine points at the half that ended with a 24-21 Utica lead.
In the third quarter, Skylar Parker hit a fast break layup, and Coulter drilled another three for Utica. The Redskins outscored Centerburg 19-10 and went on to outscore Centerburg 13-10 in the fourth with six points by Parker.
Utica was led by Coulter’s 17 points, and notably, she hit five threes. Dickson scored 16 points and Parker had 11 points to round out the Redskin players in double figures.
Clara Johnson’s 12 points were tops for the Trojans, which included three makes from three. She also had two steals. Kayla Larimore added 10 points, nine rebounds and an assist. Kenlee Fairall dished out five assists, had two points and a rebound.
