ROXANA - For the fifth straight year, Jonathan Denney's squad of driven young ladies from Civic Memorial High School have taken home the Class 3A Regional Championship crown.
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The Lady Eagles defeated Triad High School's team 66-43 Thursday night at the Class 3A Roxana Regional Championship.
For the third and final time this season, the Knights and Eagles faced off in a solid match full of solid defense, undeniable skill and out-of-this world energy.
"I thought Coach Harris and her kids really played well," Denney said. "Our girls kept it together and our supporting cast was awesome. That's what we're going to have in the postseason. Teams are going to focus on offensive leaders."
Denney's example happened right out of the gate in the first as Triad froze Allie Troeckler and Kaylee Eaton in their tracks on offense. The scores remained closely matched with these two dynamos stuck behind constant two to three-person defense. Unsung heroes Alaira and Kourtland Tyus maintained the Eagles' scoring, but the teams were tied at 15 points at the buzzer.
In the second, the Tyus sisters kept up the great work on offense and pushed the score over the top courtesy of three key three-pointers. Eaton and Troeckler were also able to break free from the defense, scoring four points combined in the second. At half, the score was 31-21 in the Eagles' favor.
A switch seemed to flip in the energy of CM's offense, racking on nine points in the first minute and five seconds of the third courtesy of Alaira Tyus, Troeckler and Eaton.
The team regained their offensive composure into the fourth and ended the game with a 23-point lead at the final buzzer. The Eagles defeated the Knights 66-43.
Alaira Tyus served as the night's point-leader with 21 added while Kaylee Eaton scored 16, 14 of which occurred in the second half; Kourtland Tyus contributed 13 and although the Triad defense kept Allie at bay most of the evening, she landed 12 points; Hannah Schmidt locked in three points while Tori Pfeifer scored one.
Molly Suess led the Knights in scoring with 17 points; Ali Barisch locked in eight points while Hannah Johnson scored six; Morgan Chigas and Heather Rood both brought in five each and Caleigh Miller scored two points in the fourth quarter.
At 6 p.m. next Tuesday, CM will head to the Waterloo Sectional to face Murphysboro. At 7:30 p.m. that evening, Carterville will compete against Highland. Should CM defeat Murphysboro and the Bulldogs take down Carterville, the two Mississippi Valley Conference competitors will face off for the fourth time this year (CM won two of the matches by 12 and five points respectively, but fell in the last 51-48 on the Bulldogs' home court).
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