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NORMAL - The Carrollton Lady Hawks basketball team visited Illinois State University on Thursday, March 6 to kick off the IHSA state tournament.
They were the first of 16 games to take place over the weekend at CEFCU Arena (formerly Redbird Arena) taking on Cissna Park (30-6) in the first Class 1A semifinal at 9:30 a.m.
Carrollton advanced to Saturday’s state championship game after defeating the Lady Timberwolves by a score of 55-39, heading to their first state title game since 2013-14 season when they finished second.
“Super excited to be playing on Saturday,” Carrollton head coach Brian Madson said. “I’m super proud of these girls and the girls back in the locker room. This team just sticks together, fights for each other, and it’s going to be fun come Saturday.”
The Hawks will play the winner of the second semifinal between Pecatonica (30-6) and St. Edward (26-10) in the Class 1A state title game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 8.
Sometimes playing in a much larger arena than normal can cause nerves, or shooting troubles.
The Hawks didn’t seem to have any of those Thursday morning against Cissna Park.
Carrollton came out and led whistle to whistle.
The Hawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead after five points from Lauren Flowers and a basket from Blake Driskill. Back-to-back baskets from Driskill and Flowers increased the lead to 11-4, staying ahead 16-10 after the first quarter.
Carrollton then took command of the game, outsourcing the Timberwolves 21-5 in the second quarter. The Hawks closed the half on a 16-point run thanks to four three-pointers. The team shot 75 percent from beyond the arc in the first half going 6-for-8. Carrollton led 37-15 at the break.
“I thought we came out, first half, probably the hottest as far as shooting we’ve had all season,” Madson said. “The girls were super excited, super pumped up. First half, I don’t think I could have asked for a better performance.”
“I was expecting to struggle, but we came out hitting threes,” Madson continued. “It didn’t phase us, happy with our start for sure.”
The third quarter was the only one Cissna Park outscored the Hawks, by a margin of 13-6. Carrollton’s shooting touch cooled down as it went 1-for-12 from the floor in the third.
Lauryn Hamrick opened the half with two free throws for the Timberwolves before Harper Darr’s three gave the Hawks its largest lead of the game, 23 points at 40-17.
Cissna Park quickly cut that lead in half thanks to a 9-1 run to close the third quarter and make it 43-28.
“I told them relax a little bit, don’t lose what was working the first time,” Madson said on what he told his team at halftime. “I knew they’d try to make a run, but I told the girls to stay both feet on the floor, keep fighting, and just weather the storm when it comes, and our girls rallied together and came out on top.”
But not much was going Carrollton’s way in the third quarter.
“We adjusted our offense a little bit and we tried to force things,” Madson said. “Things were kind of stagnant. I thought we did have mismatches, but we tried forcing it inside. Took a couple shots that probably weren’t the best shots in the moment.”
“But I wasn’t super nervous at the time,” Madson admitted. “I was just going to let the girls fight through it, kind of a learning curve for them. Because we’re going to be in moments, we’re going to be in games, I’m sure Saturday we’ll have moments where we’ll struggle, so I want our girls to have that mental toughness to fight through those droughts.”
And they did.
The Hawks went 8-for-9 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, outscoring Cissna Park 12-11 to close out the game.
“I wasn’t worried necessarily about us offensively, because our defense has been carrying us through this postseason,” Madson said. “So, I knew going into the game their personnel and who we needed to limit and shut down, and we stepped up defensively.”
Two of those personnel for Cissna Park were Addison Lucht and Lauryn Hammick. They both led the Timberwolves with 12 points each. Josie Neukomm added nine points.
It was once again another bright outing for Lauren Flowers who led all scorers with 28 points. Driskill came off the bench and added 11 points, Darr had 10, and Abby Flowers had six.
“It was just so much fun,” Lauren Flowers said. “We knew we had to play for the crowd behind us and just get hype on the floor, and lean on each other, like we talk about everyday, we’re sisters, and leaning on each other will help the game go so much better.”
All game, while shots were dropping for the Hawks, they just weren’t for Cissna Park. They went 6-for-22 from the floor in the first quarter alone, ending the game 13-for-48 and 9-for-19 from the foul line.
The Timberwolves will play the loser between Pecatonica and St. Edward on Friday, March 7, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in the third-place game.
The Hawks, who entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the top half of the Raymond Sectional, kept their state dream alive.
“I think all season people have doubted us, having our seven losses, probably the most losses in this tournament right now, but our girls flourish in this underdog role,” Madson said. “We’ll come out Saturday and we’ll be ready to try and bring home a state title.”
A special thanks to our sponsor Carrollton Bank for supporting Riverbender.com’s coverage of Alton Redbirds and Carrollton Hawks girls basketball.
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