Southwestern's girls celebrate season to remember after the second-place state finish Saturday night. (Photos courtesy of Michael Weaver)

GERMANTOWN HILLS - Southwestern’s eighth-grade girls concluded a season to remember forever with a valiant effort against Teutopolis in the IESA-8-3A Girls Basketball Championship on Thursday at Teutopolis.

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Southwestern lost 28-23 in a close game to the end and head coach Steve Wooley and company were nothing but proud of the strong effort and season. The coach and girls also look with anticipation for the future at Southwestern High School.

Addie Green, one of the stars throughout the year, paced Southwestern with 11 points. Morgan Durham had 4 points, Whitney Keith added 3 points, while Hannah Nixon and Cami Bolin had 2 points and Laura Lei Hewitt had 1 point.

Grace Tegeler topped T-Town with 9 points, while teammate Isabella Hardiek scored 8 points, making 6 of 7 free-throw attempts, critical in the win.

Southwestern’s head girls coach Steve Wooley said his girls fell behind in the first half 8-4 and 16-7 at the half and had some problems shooting in the first half, but came back strong in the second half.

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“We don’t see a lot of man-to-man defenses during the season,” he said. “I thought we attacked it better in the second half. We made a run and put ourselves in position. I am not disappointed in the girls at all and I look forward to working with them in the future at Southwestern High School.”

Green, an extremely gifted eighth-grader, said she wanted to win, but was very satisfied to place second in the state.

“Finishing second is good, too,” she said. “I want to thank my teammates for the environment they created on the court through the season.” She added she is excited about playing in high school.

Nixon agreed: “I am looking forward now to high school play.”

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