Jr. Hornettes Advance To State
The Nashville Middle School Jr. Hornettes basketball team won the Regional Championship with a 22-21 win over Okawville to advance to the State Tournament. Front Row: Annie Ahlers, Jordan Donato, Ryan Stiegman, Daphne Kollbaum, Emily Guest, Alyssa Cole, and Emme Paszkiewicz. Back Row: Coach Tierney Moore, Hailey Baugh, Baylie Newman, Emma Eberhart, Daci Finke, Hope Liszewski, Korbi Rhine, and Coach Bryan Tebbe.
By Brent Huelsmann
For the third straight season, the Jr. Hornettes are headed to the SIJHSAA Class M State Tournament. The Jr. Hornettes defeated Breese in the Regional Semi-Finals before defeating Okawville in a thrilling Regional Championship game. The Jr. Hornettes will play on January 19 at 6 p.m. at Rend Lake College.
The Jr. Hornettes got Regionals started on their home court with a 37-27 win over Breese on January 10. Nashville took the lead early and steadily added on throughout the contest.
The Jr. Hornettes led 9-4 at the end of the first, and lead 17-10 at half. After the break, Nashville pushed the lead to nine points as they outscored Breese 8-6 in the third. In the fourth, the Jr. Hornettes put Breese away to take a 37-27 win and advance to the Regional Championship game.
Alyssa Cole led Nashville with 20 points, followed by Daphne Kollbaum with 5 points. Jordan Donato and Emme Paszkiewicz each finished with four points, while Daci Finke and Annie Ahlers each scored two points.
In the other Regional Semi-Final, Okawville defeated Carlyle 40-15.
The stage was set for an all Washington County Regional Championship game. Weather pushed the game back to Saturday, after schools cancelled on Friday.
The Jr. Hornettes got the lead early and withstood a furious rally from Okawville to hold on for a 22-21 win. Okawville trailed by as many as 10 in the contest, but Okawville could not complete the comeback as the Jr. Hornettes advanced to State.
A one point game at the end of the first, Nashville held a narrow 8-7 lead. The Jr. Hornettes got a bit of breathing room in the second quarter, as they outscored Okawville 8-3 to take a 16-10 lead into the break.
The second half, saw Okawville make their run. Okawville outscored Nashville 6-5 in the third to cut the Jr. Hornettes lead to five with one quarter to play. In the fourth, Nashville scored just one point, but that is all the Jr. Hornettes would need as Nashville defeated Okawville 22-21.
Nashville was led by Cole, who finished with nine points in the win. Kollbaum added six points, while Finke chipped in four points. Baylie Newman scored two points in the win, and Emme Paszkiewicz scored one point for the Jr. Hornettes.
