High School Sports
Gillespie basketball reach boys, girls title games in Carlinville
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The annual Carlinville Holiday Tournament has been kind to Gillespie basketball this year as both the boys and girls teams advanced to Wednesday’s championship games after posting victories over Bunker Hill on Tuesday evening.
Gillespie will face Litchfield in both championship affairs tonight as the Litchfield boys scooted past Carlinville 67-64 in overtime on Tuesday and Litchfield’s girls outscored Carlinville 52-35. The girls’ championship game will be played at 6:30 p.m. and the boys’ game will follow at 8:00 p.m. Both will be played in the Carlinville High School gym.
BOYS TOURNAMENT PLAY
As in the past, this year’s tournament consisted of eight teams in the boys’ division with teams broken into two pools and playing four games. The championship game will be a match-up of the two teams that win their respective pools.
Gillespie, top ranked in the red pool, was pooled with Bunker Hill, East Alton-Wood River and Mt. Olive. The green pool featured top ranked Carlinville followed by Litchfield, Staunton and Brussels.
Miners 75, EAWR 50 – The Miners closed the first day of the holiday tournament on Saturday, Dec. 26 with a marginal victory over the East Alton-Wood River Oilers. Despite the knotted 20-20 score after the first quarter, Gillespie outscored EAWR 21-9 in the second quarter and 26-11 in the third quarter before coasting in the fourth quarter. Nick Price led scorers with 24 points, Evan Price had 14, Colin Tieman had 9, and Tate Wargo and Eli Fox each scored 8 points.
Miners 74, Mt. Olive 47 – Gillespie returned on Monday for the first game of the day and didn’t have any trouble defeating Mt. Olive thanks to nine 3-pointers. The Miners had five players with double digit scoring – Evan Price finished with 19 points, Fox and Alex Myers each posted 11 each, and Wargo and Nick Price scored 10 points each.
Miners 55, Bunker Hill 47 – The Gillespie boys’ team knocked off their final pool play opponent on Tuesday evening after edging Bunker Hill 55-47. Nick Price led scorers with 15 points, all of which came from the three-point arc, Evan Price followed with 13 and Wargo scored 11.
GIRLS TOURNAMENT PLAY
The girls’ tournament is coordinated in the same fashion as the boys with eight teams divided into two pools. The championship game is reserved for the winners of each pool.
The Gillespie Lady Miners (10-3) were the top seat in the red pool followed by Nokomis, East Alton-Wood River and Bunker Hill. In the opposite green pool, Carlinville was the top seat followed by Litchfield-Lincolnwood, Staunton and Greenfield-Northwestern.
Lady Miners 62, EAWR 12 – The Lady Miners got off to a good start in the tournament on Saturday evening with a huge victory over the Oilers. Gillespie posted a 36-10 halftime lead and held EAWR to just two points in the second half while scoring another 26 points. Amanda Schmidt led with 15 points, Paige Niemeyer scored 10 and Karli Carr and Bailey Jarman each posted seven points.
Lady Miners 58, Nokomis 44 – Gillespie’s girls posted their second victory of the tournament on Monday afternoon after being led by Schmidt (18 points), Carr (16 points) and Jarman (14 points) – who combined for 48 of Gillespie’s 58 points. The Lady Miners led 14-10 after the first quarter, but outscored Nokomis 20-6 in the second quarter for a 34-16 halftime lead. Gillespie was outscored 24-28 in the second half, but held enough cushion from the first half to seal the victory.
Lady Miners 56, Bunker Hill 32 – The Lady Miners coasted through their final pool play game Tuesday evening with a large win over bottom-ranked Bunker Hill. Gillespie jumped off to a 15-9 lead after the first quarter and extended their lead 29-17 by halftime. Baskets continued to drop in the second half while the Lady Miners outscored Bunker Hill 27-15 for the 24-point victory. Paige Niemeyer led all scorers with 15 points, Schmidt followed with 10 and Carr posted 9.
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In a nail-biting showdown that will be remembered for years to come, the Gillespie Miners girls basketball team captured the South Central Conference title with a hard-fought 55-52 victory over the Pana Panthers on Thursday night, February 13. This marks Gillespie’s first conference championship since their back-to-back titles in 2001-02, when they shared the honors with Southwestern both finishing with a 9-1 conference record.
The game held at Pana High School was anything but straightforward. After a tumultuous 13-minute delay due to injuries and a technical foul controversy, the Miners rallied their spirits to secure the win. Amari Vickery led the charge with a stellar performance, scoring 21 points, while Mia Brawner added 11, Maggie Heyen contributed 10, Delaney Taylor posted 5, Sadie Sholtis scored 4, and Lainey Edwards and Corrine Fellin each had 2 points.
From the opening tip, it was clear that Pana was not going to roll over easily. The Panthers held leads at the end of the first two quarters, 15-14 and 28-26, showcasing their tenacity. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Pana had edged ahead 44-42, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.
However, the game took a chaotic turn in the fourth quarter when a collision between Vickery and teammate Sloane Brawner resulted in both players going down with injuries. Sloane was not able to return the game but Vickery did. The Miners also lost both Delaney Taylor and Sadie Sholtis to fouls and Gillespie was assessed a technical foul under controversial circumstances which tied the game at 49. But Heyen carried the weight through the fourth quarter recording 6 of her 10 points in the final quarter of play.
Despite the setbacks, the Miners displayed remarkable teamwork resilience under the leadership of Nikki and Matt Brawner. With the SCC championship secured and the regular season concluded with a 22-8 overall record and 9-0 conference record, the Miners now shift their focus to the upcoming regional which is being hosted in Gillespie.
Gillespie hosts Alton Marquette on Monday, Feb. 17 for the regional semi-finals after Alton Marquette knocked East-Alton Wood River, 36-29, to face the Miners. The winner advances to the regional championship that will be played on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in Gillespie versus the winner of Staunton/Roxana.
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On December 16, Gillespie played against Southwestern and dominated on the court. They secured an impressive 41-25 win.
Gillespie’s Amari Vickery played a crucial role in their offense in the first period, contributing 5 out of their 10 points. Sloane Brawner demonstrated range from behind the three-point line, extending their lead as they moved into the second period. Southwestern was able to muster up 7 points against Gillespie.
The defense really held strong in the second period of the game. It was a low-scoring affair, with only a total of 11 points scored by both teams. Gillespie managed to score 8 points, while Southwestern scored 3. Darr from Southwestern scored their only 3 points by shooting from beyond the arc. Vickery contributed 6 points for Gillespie, while Sadie Sholtis added two more to the scoreboard. Gillespie held the lead going into halftime with a score of 18 to 10.
After halftime, Gillespie’s Mia Brawner came out refreshed and had a strong offensive performance, scoring 9 out of Gillespie’s 11 points in the third period, while Maggie Heyen contributed the other two points. Southwestern managed to put up 8 points in an attempt to set the stage for a comeback against Gillespie. After three periods of play, Southwestern trailed behind with a score of 29 to 18.
Gillespie secured their victory during the fourth period by outscoring Southwestern 12 to 7. Vickery continued to impress with her offensive performance, contributing 6 points to extend their lead. Brawner also added 4 more points to her total for the game, while S. Brawner contributed an additional 2 points. Despite Stormer from Southwestern successfully scoring from behind the three-point line, it wasn’t enough to give them the lead.
Vickery and Brawner were the key players for Gillespie’s offense. Vickery scored a total of 17 points, while Brawner contributed 15 points to the team’s total.
Gillespie took home another win with a final score of 41 to 25.
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Gillespie stepped onto the court against Auburn on December 9th and came out on top, clinching a hard-fought 71-65 win.
Gillespie started off hot, racing to an early lead in the first period. By the end of the period, the scoreboard read 17-15 in their favor. Auburn’s relentless defense sent Gillespie to the free throw line a total of five times in the opening period. Gillespie capitalized on those opportunities, converting 5-of-10 attempts as a team.
The star of the show, however, was Amari Vickery, who shone brightly from the charity stripe, sinking an impressive 4-of-6 free throws. Vickery’s impact didn’t stop there – managing to find the net for an additional goal during the period, further cementing her status as a dominant force in Gillespie’s offense. Mia Brawner and Sadie Sholtis proved to be a dynamic duo, combining for 8 points to bolster Gillespie’s scoring efforts in the first period.
Auburn attempted to make a comeback during the second period, besting Gillespie 16 to 15. Addison Whatley was the driving force behind Auburn’s offense, pouring in 8 of their 16 points. Maggie Heyen, Delaney Taylor, and Sloane Brawner were the forces behind Gillespie’s offensive surge in the second period. Heyen poured in 7 points, while Taylor and S. Brawner demonstrated their shooting range from beyond the arc.
Gillespie clung to their narrow one-point lead as the teams headed into the second half of the nail-biter.
Gillespie’s M. Brawner took over the second half, pouring in 15 points to overwhelm Auburn. Vickery’s offensive onslaught kept on rolling, as she added 9 more points to Gillespie’s tally. Heyen, Sholtis, Taylor, and S. Brawner all contributed to their winning effort.
When the final buzzer sounded, Gillespie emerged victorious, 71-65.
