Photo by RR Best
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond’s Payton Wellbaum tries to hold on to the ball Saturday evening. Wellbaum contributed eight points and pulled down several crucial rebounds in the Lady Knights’ third place victory over Tri-County.

January 28, 2015

Lady Knights take third place

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

After falling to tournament champion Arcola 52-38 in the LOVC Northwest championship game, the Lady Knights bounced back to claim third place by defeating the Tri-County Titans 56-43.  Kimberly Davis led all scorers with 15 points going 10-of-11 from the foul line, and Meagan Fifer put forth her best shooting performance of the tourney hitting 3-4 from the field including two crucial 3-pointers. “For three quarters we definitely did a good job bouncing back,” said head coach Craig Moffett. “It showed a lot about a young team that’s got a really good senior leader. Assistant coach Mac Condill used the term resilient, and I think that was spot on.”
The Knights were all over the Titans from the first whistle jumping out to a 6-0 lead with baskets by Davis and Fifer. The Knights extended the margin to 9-3 with 3:30 remaining in the first utilizing crisp passing, but the Titans would claw back to within one at 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Titans actually took a short-lived lead at 11-10 on the first points of the second period, but Mycaela Miller answered right back with a big time three. Hannah Wallen then found Payton Wellbaum under the basket to push Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond’s lead back to four at 15-11 with 6:40 remaining in the half. Read More

January 28, 2015

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

Coming off a tough defeat in the first round of the LOVC conference tourney Okaw Valley’s struggles continued Thursday, falling in what was a back and forth contest. Okaw Valley built up a nine point lead with just two minutes left in the first half but were unable to hold on. Paige Robinson had 11 points to go along with five steals. However, Cerro Gordo was able to hold offensive threat Amanda McClain to just four points.
After the loss head coach Don Gardner was looking forward to playing on their home court for a change. “This was our third trip up here. We had to come up here twice, and we had to play Argenta before the tournament. So we are ready to get back home I think. We get to play Cerro Gordo Monday at our place so that will be a nice rematch.” Read More

January 28, 2015

Williams, St. T outpace Sullivan

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

Ty Molzen scored 18 points to go with eight rebounds in a competitive defeat versus the St Teresa Bulldogs Friday Night. Head coach Chester Reeder praised Molzen’s growth as a player after the game. “He keeps getting better and better. I challenged him early in the year, and he has definitely raised his level. He is rebounding like crazy for us; he is finishing at the rim and knocking down open shots. I can’t ask for any more out of Ty Molzen.”
It looked like the contest might get out of hand early as St Teresa rode the return of starter Christian Williams to a 7-2 lead with five minutes to play in the first quarter. Nick Frerichs stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut into the lead to 7-5, but the Bulldogs got two quick buckets extending the lead to 11-6 with three minutes remaining in the first. Molzen then went on a rebounding spree to close out the quarter, and the Redskins were able to cut the lead to 15-10. Read More

January 21, 2015

St. T unable to stop Lady Red trio

by Aaron Dyer
Sullivan Reporter

Last Thursday night, Sullivan Lady Redskins jumped forward in the Central Illinois Conference at 4-0 after taking on the St. Teresa Lady Bulldogs and winning 80-32.
With a combination of Brittin Boyer, Emily Neuhauser, and Elissa Stewart, it has become clear the SHS Lady Redskins are a tough team to beat.
And though St. Teresa fought to keep up with Sullivan, the first quarter was all anybody had to see to know the game would be a blow out.
Boyer won the jump, and Sullivan took off scoring six points in the first 30 seconds of the game forcing St. T to call a time out. Read More

January 21, 2015

Enter LOVC tournament as no. 1 seed Monday

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

Okaw Valley started their conference schedule Thursday night with a dominant 51-39 win over Argenta. Amanda McClain tallied another double double scoring 15 points with 15 rebounds, and Jessica Robinson turned in a performance to remember scoring the first 10 points of the game. Whatever pre game meal Robinson had before Thursday night’s game should definitely be on the menu Monday as she was on fire early in the game propelling Okaw Valley to a 9-2 lead with four minutes to go in the first period. Robinson would then add a free throw to score the first 10 for the Lady Timberwolves, a feat that did not go unnoticed by head coach Don Gardener.
“Jess had a phenomenal game tonight,” he said. “This is what we expect of her. She is solid on offense. She is solid on defense, and only being a sophomore her confidence is growing and growing.” Robinson ended the night with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Read More