Here are 3 takeaways from Staunton, Hillsboro’s sectional semifinal losses to state’s best
PLEASANT PLAINS — Staunton surged to its first regional title in program history.
The upstart Bulldogs encountered a colossus in their sectional debut, however. Ditto South Central Conference counterpart, Hillsboro.
Camp Point Central/Southeastern dispensed Staunton 62-26 in the Class 2A Pleasant Plains girls basketball sectional semifinal on Tuesday.
The Panthers, ranked No. 3 in the final 2A poll by The Associated Press, raced ahead 18-0 to set up a heavyweight showdown against AP top-ranked and defending 2A state champion Quincy Notre Dame on Thursday at 7 p.m.
QND also triggered a running clock with a 67-30 win over Hillsboro in its semifinal win.
“They’re definitely No. 1 in the state for a reason,” Hillsboro senior guard Layne Rupert said. “You can’t come in thinking you’re going to lose, but they’re good and they showed it.”
Here are some takeaways from the sectional semifinals.
Future looks bright for Staunton
Staunton reached new heights with a relatively young team.
That starting lineup includes senior forward Haris Legendre but also four sophomores: Lilly Troeckler, Ele Feldmann, Lilly Bandy and Grace Bekeske.
Bekeske led the Bulldogs with nine points and seven rebounds in the loss while Feldman had seven points and four rebounds.
It could be described as a drubbing but perhaps also a learning experience for the future.
“They showed they’re young talent,” Legendre said of her teammates. “They had a lot of success in junior high as well. I knew that was going to be super fun when they came up. We had two great seasons with them, so it was fun.”
Staunton (26-7) indeed generated another unprecedented feat with back-to-back 20-win seasons under head coach Corrie Allan.
In the watershed regional final, Legendre totaled 17 points and 15 rebounds to top Alton Marquette 44-31. She will play volleyball at Lewis and Clark Community College.
“It was a really good experience, especially since it’s never been done before by a Staunton girls basketball team,” Legendre said. “Being with this team and doing it was definitely one of the best parts. We’re all really close. We all bond really well, so getting this far has been really fun.”
Legendre could be credited with providing a strong foundation for the future to add to the family’s basketball legacy. Her grandfather, Randy, coached the Staunton boys basketball team to the 1993 Class A state title.
“After every game, he comes and tells me everything I did well and everything I did bad,” Legendre said. “He really pushes everything I did bad and honestly he’s helped a lot. He was my coach when I was younger, so it’s been a lot of fun having him in the family.”
Hillsboro bids farewell to senior class
Rupert leaves Hillsboro as the program’s fourth all-time scorer with more than 1,400 career points.
She led the Hiltoppers (20-12) with 11 points in the loss to QND.
Other seniors in the starting lineup included Sierra Compton, Kenadie Carlock and Alex Frailey.
“It’s been fun,” Hillsboro coach Bret Tuetken said of Rupert, a three-year starter. “She’s improved in some aspect of her game every year. From her junior and senior years, she became so much better defensively than she was before and picked up that part a lot more. She’s been a good shooter all four years, but she’s been a big part of our program.”
Hillsboro knocked off Pittsfield 56-39 for its first regional title since nabbing fourth place in the 2019 2A state finals.
“Last year we had a hard loss in regionals in the championship, but this year we finally got it,” said Rupert, who will pursue academics at the University of Tennessee. “It feels good with my seniors. I’ve been playing with them since seventh and eighth grade, so it was a good season overall.”
Clash of titans
QND (32-1) and CSE (31-4) are the top two remaining teams in 2A, at least according to the final AP poll.
The latter toppled the No. 2 team in the state, Petersburg PORTA/A-C Central, 31-28 in the regional final. QND matched that with a 54-43 win over No. 7 state-ranked Sacred Heart-Griffin.
QND senior all-state guard and University of Missouri commit Abbey Schreacke thrashed the Toppers with 23 points. Fellow senior star Blair Eftink and sophomore guard Sage Stratton had 17 and 11 points, respectively.
Schreacke and Eftink combined to shoot 16 of 27 from the floor.
Sophomore guard Lauren Miller led CSE with 15 points in its win over Staunton. Teammates Abbey McMillen (12), Brilyn Lantz (10) and Karly Peters (10) also scored in double figures.
The Panthers controlled the ball for large spans of time against PORTA, but they quickly unleashed on Hillsboro after McMillen’s opening 3-pointer.
“We weren’t really for sure what might happen as far as tempo went,” CSE coach Matt Long said. “We told them they may try to slow us down and they may allow us to run. The big thing was we came out and hit shots.”
McMillen, in particular, hit four 3s.
“She’s the best pure shooter I’ve ever coached,” Long said. “When she gets hot, she’s hard to control and our kids are smart enough to know when she’s hot and they do a great job of setting her up and looking for her.”
Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA girls basketball: QND, CSE top South Central Conference foes
