
Alexis Burns hits the jumpshot with the hand in her face.
The Lady Miners had the start they were wishing for in the Carlinville Holiday Tournament. Entering the round robin bracket with the third seed, the Miners worked their way to the championship spot where they will be facing Litchfield on Saturday, December 29 at 6:30pm.
No one said it was easy, but it was a feat they knew was in their reach. Consistent rebounds and their fast pace style offense contributed to the two victories. The ladies do a tremendous job guarding their offenders and are quick to point out the threats to score. At the same time, they keep offenders off the offensive glass and prevent second chance points.
On the offensive end, the Lady Miners execute their offense and take advantage of a fast break scenario when they beat the opposite team down the court. Haylie Kirkwood and Alexis Burns do a terrific job grabbing rebounds to give the Miners second chance opportunities. And on most occasions, the girls nail their free throws when they stand at the charity line.

Molly Gray lays in the layup despite being fouled by a Staunton defender.
The girls kicked off their tournament with a victory over Staunton on Wednesday, December 26. The Miners led early, but let the Bulldogs sweep back into it by the end of the first quarter when the Miners led by just a single point: 8-7. By halftime, the Miners were able to extend their lead by 6 points, 24-17, with the help of Shelby Jarman’s four points in the second quarter.
In the second half versus the Bulldogs, the Miners broke away. The girls outscored Staunton 14 to 5 in the third quarter as Chelsea Gill had 6 of those points. Ellen Gray, Molly Gray, Shelby Jarman, and Haylie Kirkwood each put forth a basket a piece to spare some breathing room in the fourth quarter.
Luckily for the lead, the Miners held strong in the fourth quarter despite being outscored by Staunton. Sophie Fairman attempted to carry Staunton back in reach with her 10 point second half, but the rest of the team came up shy. As the Bulldogs only accounted 10 points in the fourth quarter, the Miners were victorious in the first game by a score of 46-32.
Chelsea Gill led the team with 11 points over Staunton, while Shelby Jarman contributed 10 and Haylie Kirkwood, Alexis Burns, and Ellen Gray tallied 6 points each.
After falling to Bunker Hill earlier in the season, the ladies had to beat the Minutemaids on Thursday in the semi-finals to advance to the championship. A task deemed attainable was carried out with no difficulty at all. The Minutemaids were a different team the Miners played before.
Chelsea Gill jump started the offense in the first quarter as she scored 4 of the 14 points. The Lady Miners led nearly the entire first quarter and had a 6-point lead by the end of the first eight minutes, 14-8, with the help of a late three pointer by Tyler Ross.
The ladies tacked on an additional 14 points in the second quarter which contributed to a 12 point halftime lead, 28-16. Kayli Morris and Haylie Kirkwood carried the Lady Miner tribe in the second quarter as each scored 6 points. The additional two point field goal came from Ellen Gray. Kirkwood and Morris did more than bank points, the pair tackled a combined 5 rebounds in the first half which helped the Miners to put back baskets.
After halftime, the Miners continued to pour on the points which led to a 59-44 victory over Bunker Hill. The ladies outscored the Minutemaids by only three points in the second half, but remained in control of the lead throughout the entire 16 minutes.
Haylie Kirkwood and Kayli Morris led the Lady Miners as the pair scored 12 points each. Chelsea Gill followed up the pair with 8 points while Shelby Jarman had 7.
The Lady Miners will now face the other 2-0 team in the tournament, the Litchfield Lady Panthers. The Panthers are the top seed in the Holiday Tournament and have defeated both Greenfield/Northwestern and Carlinville to get to the championship game. The championship game will be played at Carlinville High School at 6:30 in the evening.
As always, follow score updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages and catch our action shots from the game on our Facebook page.
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