Rylee Jarman (left) and Amanda Schmidt (right) double team Southwestern’s guard.
The girls’ basketball season is moving along at a swift pace. The conference race has already come to a close and the regional tournament starts this evening with Gillespie (15-11) pairing off against Staunton in Carlinville at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to the semi-finals on Wednesday against Carlinville at 7:30 p.m.
After finishing the first half of their season with a 6-7 record, the Miners have been hot in 2017 as they enter regionals with a 9-4 record from the last five weeks. After winning three of their four games in the Macoupin County Tournament to start the New Year and placing third, Gillespie has picked up three wins against Nokomis, Pana and Southwestern along with losses to Greenville and Litchfield.
If previous pairings versus Staunton this season are any indication, the Miners should easily dismantle the Bulldogs on Monday evening in the team’s fourth matchup this season to advance to the semi-finals. Gillespie has played Staunton once in the regular season where they won 69-28 and twice in tournament pairings – the first time in the Carlinville Holiday Tournament where they won 75-21 and the most recent time in the Macoupin County Tournament when they beat Staunton 65-17.
Likewise, the Miners have also played Carlinville three times this season and Wednesday’s potential matchup would be the team’s fourth time seeing each other. Gillespie is 1-2 against the Cavaliers this season losing to them early in the season 37-38, then beating them in the Carlinville Holiday Tournament Championship 44-39 to win third place and most recently losing to them 44-46 in the Macoupin County Tournament where the loss denied their chance at the tournament championship.
The Miners are entering regionals with a 1-game winning streak after defeating Southwestern 50-24 in Gillespie’s Senior Night on Thursday evening. Paige Niemeyer and Karli Carr each posted 14 points in the team’s victory while Amanda Schmidt followed with 13 points.