Photo by Jason Brown
Avery Still works through traffic.

•February 13, 2019•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

During the IHSA Class 2A girls’ basketball tournament, so far, the Sullivan girls’ team has been a team of two halves.
In the semifinal of the regional, the No. 1 seeded Sullivan team trailed No. 7 seeded Warrensburg-Latham by one at halftime.
In the regional championship game, Sullivan and No. 4 seeded Villa Grove were tied.
In the semifinal of the sectional, the Redskins committed 15 turnovers and trailed Edwards County by five points at halftime.
But Sullivan coach Sheri McCain’s motto all along has been, “It isn’t how you start; it’s how you finish.”
And in the second half of each of these tournament games, Sullivan outscored its opponents by a combined total of 52 points to win all three games and advance to its second-straight sectional championship. Read More

Photo by R.R. Best
Emily White dribbles along the sideline against St. Teresa.

•January 30, 2019•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

After placing a disappointed fourth in the Central Illinois Conference Tournament with a loss to host St. Teresa last Friday, the Sullivan girls’ basketball team bounced back to defeat the Bulldogs to stay undefeated in the CIC regular season game in Decatur Monday night.
In the first meeting, St. Teresa had a 16-point lead by halftime, but the Redskins came out with a better start in the Monday rematch with a 16-10 first quarter lead.
The Bulldogs battled back to take a 26-22 halftime lead, but the second half the game Sullivan took over.
In the third, the Redskins went on a 21-13 run for blow the game open, then held on in the fourth quarter for the 54-48 win.
“I thought we played a tremendous game defensively tonight,” said Sullivan coach Sheri McCain. “We gave up 68 points to them on Saturday night, and tonight we held them to 48. We followed the game plan and did a great job attacking the basket.”
Lilly Null led the Redskins with team-highs of 17 points, seven steals and five assists.
“Lilly Null played a phenomenal game for us,” McCain said. “She was the difference offensively for us in the first half, and Avery Still was the difference in the second half.”
Avery Still hit double-digit scoring with 10 points, and Esther Miller followed with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Josie Orris recorded eight points, and Emily White added five. Read More

•January 16, 2019•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

After winning 14-straight games including 4-0 in the Central Illinois Conference, the Sullivan girls’ basketball team has risen to the No. 5 team in the Associated Press Class 2A State rankings.
But Sullivan coach Sheri McCain does not want her players to become complacent.
Thursday, Jan. 10, the Redskins stayed undefeated in the CIC after knocking off Clinton.
Instead of blowing out the Maroons in the first quarter as Sullivan has done with most opponents this season, the Redskins gradually increased their lead each quarter. Read More

Photo by R.R. Best
Redskin Esther Miller (No. 23) ties up Okaw Valley’s Mia Harris (No. 2) while Madison Vogel (No. 12) helps.

•December 19, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The No. 10 Class 2A state-ranked Sullivan girls’ basketball team kept on rolling last week with three more nonconference wins.
The Redskins knocked off Mattoon Monday, Pana Saturday and Okaw Valley Thursday to improve its record to 11-1 on the season.
Monday night against the Green Wave, Sullivan jumped out to a 12-0 lead with just under three minutes in the first quarter when Emily White hit a 3-pointer on an out-of-bounds play.
Mattoon cut the lead to 16-11, but Sullivan scored the next four points for a 20-11 halftime lead.
To start the third quarter, Avery Still made two baskets, and Josie Orris hit a shot to extend the lead to 26-11.
Mattoon battled back to 26-17 until Lilly Null pulled up at the top of key hitting a three pointer for a 29-17 lead.
Null followed that with a transition basket to extend the lead to 31-18.
With just less than two minutes in the third quarter, Esther Miller stopped a Mattoon run at 37-27 with a steal at half court and a transition layup.
The score stayed the same until Miller hit two free throws to make it 39-27 with about seven minutes left.
Still extended the lead to 11 points 43-32 with a rebound put-back and another shot down low with 4:41 left in the game.
Miller scored down low and later made free throws to extend the lead to 47-33 with three minutes left in the game. Read More

•November 28, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team split a pair of nonconference games this past week.
The Knights defeated Oakwood in a close game Monday night but lost to Salt Fork last Tuesday.
Against Oakwood Monday, the Knights jumped out to an early lead then held on for the one point win.
ALAH took a 16-11 first-quarter lead then extended the lead by six at half, 29-18.
The Comets cut the lead to three points after the third quarter and outscored the Knights 20-13 in the fourth quarter.
The Knights were able to hold off the Comets for the final 56-55 score. Read More