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BETHALTO – Points were hard to come by in a defensive struggle at Civic Memorial High School Thursday night. Unbeaten CM was held to its second-lowest points total this season. But it was still enough to dispatch Highland, remain undefeated and take a leg up in the Mississippi Valley Conference race.
“It was a grind,” CM coach Jonathan Denney said of the Eagles 42-32 home victory. “Both defenses really played well. I thought we did a good job and they really took us out of some of our offensive plays.”
“A lot of people like the up-and-down-the-court game,” Denney said. “But for the basketball purest who likes defense, this was a great battle between two defenses.”
It took CM almost half a quarter to get on the scoreboard. A few missed layups and foul shots didn’t help. But Highland couldn’t manage much offense either and the Eagles held a 12-6 lead after one period.
“We really missed some free throws and some bunnies early,” Denney said of the Eagles who were only 2 of 10 from the foul line in the first half. “Sometimes, I think it’s better not to even practice them. I was just worried that the misses were gonna cost us later.”
Anna Hall led the Eagles with 14 points, but picked up her third foul before halftime and her fourth early in the second half. While Hall was relegated to the bench, Highland mounted a comeback and cut the lead to three.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, now we’re gonna get what we deserve for all those early misses,’” Denney said. “But I thought Jackie Woelfel and Maura Niemeier really came in and did a great job while we were without Hall. They played great defense, got some rebounds and helped with some big points.”
After three quarters, CM led 29-24. Niemeier and Courtland Tyus combined for eight points in the final period and CM finished off the Bulldogs by shooting 7 of 10 from the foul line down the stretch.
The win moved CM to 14-0 on the season and 4-0 in the MVC. Highland is now 10-3 and 3-1 in the conference. The two teams will stage a rematch in January in Highland.
“Historically, the team that wins this first game sets itself up for at least a share of the conference title,” Denney said. “But we can’t think about that. We have a lot of basketball to play. We need to focus on our Christmas tournament in Bloomington where we’ll play some of the best teams in the state.
“When we meet again, they’ll be ready for us,” Denney said. “They’ll have some different looks for us and they’ll try to take away some more things. They’ll be out to get us on January 10.”
Along with Hall’s 14, Tyus scored 12. Niemeier added six and Woelfel scored five off the bench. Highland was led by Taylor with 10 points off the bench. Mae Riffel added nine and Bella LaPorta scored 6.Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
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