Little Illini Conference girls basketball teams are off to a great start in the post season. The league went a perfect 4-0 in first-round IHSA Regional tournament games on Saturday.
Newton, 21-10 on the year but saddled with a No. 8 seed in a loaded Class 2A Sectional Complex, pulled away from Flora in the second quarter, and rolled on from there to a 61-32 victory in a first-round Regional game at home on Saturday. The Lady Eagles led 23-16 after the first quarter but turned things up a notch in the second frame, outscoring Flora 15-4 for a commanding 35-20 lead by halftime. Brad Harris’ team put three players in double figures: Claire Probst with 19 points, followed by Maddie Brummer (18 points) and Allie Hermann (11). Newton has now won four games in a row and six of its’ last seven.
Lawrenceville (13-16) celebrated its’ first Regional win since 2019 with a 68-39 victory over visiting South Central. The Lady Indians were led by the tandem of Addeline Sanders and Reagan Ivers, who each scored 21 points. Ava Cessna added 18 points and a team-high total of eight rebounds.
In other first round action on Saturday, Casey-Westfield (10-20) defeated Decatur’s Unity Christian, 35-28, in a Class 1A first round game, while in Class 2A, Marshall (15-10) overwhelmed Shelbyville. 68-39.
The four winners now move into the Regional semi-finals, which will be played at host sites on Monday. They join the other four schools, who all received quarterfinal round byes. Here’s the lineup (LIC teams are in bold):
Class 1A at Bluford (Webber)
Lawrenceville (13-16) vs. Woodlawn (21-6), 7:30 p.m.
Class 1A at Casey-Westfield
Casey-Westfield (10-20) vs. Cumberland (24-4), 6:00 p.m.
Class 2A at Mt. Carmel
Newton (21-10) vs. Mt. Carmel (22-7), 6:00 p.m.
Class 2A at Paris
Paris (23-5) vs. Effingham St. Anthony (19-10), 7:30 p.m.
Class 2A at Eldorado
Olney (17-13) vs. Hamilton County (18-13), 7:30 p.m.
Class 2A at Teutopolis
Marshall (15-10) vs. Teutopolis (23-6), 6:00 p.m.
Robinson (16-13) vs. Sullivan (22-8), 7:30 p.m.
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Another career points milestone in the LIC: Wabash News reports that on Saturday Marshall senior Marlee Heighton was presented with the game ball from the Newton game earlier in the week when she scored the 1,000th point of her high school basketball career. Congratulations!
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Six of the eight LIC teams have winning records. The league as a whole has a respectable non-conference mark of 116-66 (.637).
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