Forreston and Oregon compete at Dixon Tourney
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The Forreston High School and Oregon High School girls basketball teams faced some strong competition during the annual Dixon Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28-29.
Forreston finished in fourth place and Oregon finished in eighth place.
The Lady Cardinals opened up the tournament with a bye and faced host Dixon in the second round. Forreston used a strong third quarter to turn a three point halftime lead into a 17 point advantage, and went on to win by 25, 49-24.
The Lady Cards found themselves in a heated battle early on Dec. 28 against Dixon, and after one period the teams were still knotted up. The Lady Cards came out of the second quarter with a slim lead, and went into the break leading by a score of 19-16.
The third period was when Forreston took over. They turned up the heat on both ends of the court, holding the Duchesses to just six points while scoring 20 of their own, and with one frame left they led by 17, 39-22.
They continued to widen the gap in the fourth, and went on to post a 25 point victory, 49-24.
Leading the scoring attack for the Lady Cards were Rachel Walton with 15 points, Ketarah DeVries finished with 11, Mykil Baker and Anna Drake each chipped in six, Emily Korf had five, and Morgan Heinz and Hannah Curry each had three.
The win moved the Lady Cards into the quarterfinals against eventual champion United Township. Forreston was defeated by a score of 50-30 on Dec. 29.
United Township outscored the Lady Cards by three in the first quarter and six in the second, and with two periods complete the Lady Cards were staring at a nine point deficit, 20-11.
The second half was more of the same as Forreston watched United Township add six to their lead in the third and five more in the fourth, and United Township moved into the championship game with a 20 point victory over Forreston, 50-30.
The Lady Cards were paced by Drake with 10 points, Korf and Walton each added six, DeVries, Baker, and Hannah Curry all finished with two; and Heinz and Maggie Curry rounded out the scoring with one apiece.
Forreston played Geneseo in the third place game on Dec. 29 and came out on the losing end of a tight four quarter battle as Geneseo escaped with a three point victory, 53-50.
The 1-2 record during the tournament and fourth place finish moved Forreston to 13-6 on the season, and they are 5-1 in the Upstate Illini Conference.
The teams went back and forth in the first half, but it was Geneseo that gained the early lead. They came out of the first with a one point lead, and they were able to add three to that lead in the second as the Lady Cards were down by four at the break, 22-18.
The third quarter was a high-scoring period for both teams as they combined for 37 points in the frame, but Geneseo was able to add a single point to their lead going into the fourth, 41-36.
The teams had another competitive period in the fourth, but in the end Forreston just couldn’t overcome their slim deficit. They kept things close throughout the final period, but they came up just short as they dropped the game by three, 53-50.
Leading the scoring attack for the Lady Cards were DeVries with 13 points, Hannah Curry chipped in 12, Drake finished with eight, Walton added six, Korf had five, Maggie Curry finished with four, and Heinz rounded out the scoring with two.
Oregon takes eighth place
Oregon lost its opening game to Dunlap Dec. 27 when the Lady Hawks found themselves down early and trailed 17-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams matched each other in the second quarter each scoring 13 points, but Oregon was still down five at the half, 30-25.
The Lady Hawks had turnover troubles in the third as Dunlap outscored them 12-7 to pull ahead by 10.
Oregon outscored Dunlap in the final quarter the Lady Hawks fell by a score of 53-46.
Leading the scoring attack for Oregon were Sam Lambrigtsen with 18 points. Lexi Smith had nine, Jordan Pontnack and Devyn Absher each chipped in five, Bree Tourtillott had four, McKaylee Better added three, and Maisie Mahoney rounded out the scoring with two.
It was an exciting finish in the Lady Hawks' next match-up against Rochelle later on Dec. 27 and the game went down to the wire before Oregon sealed the victory.
Oregon had a solid first quarter as they gained a four point lead, 18-14, and they added a pair of points to that advantage going into the half, 30-24.
Rochelle cut into their halftime deficit in the third, outscoring the Lady Hawks 14-10 in the frame, but Oregon still led by two with one period to play. The Lady Hawks held on late, hitting all eight of their freethrows in the fourth, and won the game by six points, 56-50.
Leading the Lady Hawks were Lambrigtsen with 18 points, Tourtillott and Smith each added eight, Mahoney and Pontnack each had five, Averi Sanders and Absher both chipped in four, and Beeter and Kate Groenhagen rounded out the scoring with two apiece.
The win moved Oregon into a game against Boylan on Dec. 28, but this time it was Boylan that gained the early lead on their way to the win.
The Lady Titans came out of the gates quickly, scoring 19 points in the opening period, and that allowed them to build up a seven point lead after the first. The second was more of the same as Oregon was outscored 18-14, and the Lady Titans went into the break leading by 11, 37-26.
Both teams found scoring difficult in the third period, but Boylan still was able to add four points to their lead. The teams went back and forth in the final quarter, but the Lady Hawks couldn't overcome their large deficit as they fell by a score of 60-43.
The Oregon offense was paced by Tourtillott with seven points, Lambrigtsen, Beeter, Absher, and Smith all chipped in six; Mahoney finished with five, Pontnack had three, and Cassidy Dilbeck and Sanders rounded out the scoring with two apiece.
The Lady Hawks matched-up against Stockton early on Dec. 29, and a strong first quarter put them up by nine, 11-2. The second quarter went the other way as Stockton cut into their large deficit, and the Lady Hawks led by just one at the break, 19-18.
Oregon turned up the heat on both ends of the court in the third period of the game, outscoring the Lady Blackhawks 15-7 in the frame, and carried a nine point lead into the fourth. They added a pair to their advantage in the final period, and they cruised to the 11 point victory, 48-37.
The Lady Hawks scoring attack was led by Beeter with 16 points, Lambrigtsen added 14, Pontnack finished with eight, Tourtillott had four, and Mahoney, Absher, and Sanders rounded out the scoring with two apiece.
The win moved Oregon into the seventh place game against Dixon later on Dec. 29.
The teams came out of the gates slowly in the first half, but it allowed the Lady Hawks to gain a small lead early. They outscored Dixon 8-5 in the first, and after both teams scored nine in the second the Lady Hawks went into the half leading by three, 17-14.
The Duchesses more than doubled their scoring output from the first half in the third, and they used that opportunity to erase their deficit and take a 12 point lead into the final frame. They continued to pull away in the final period, and they knocked off Oregon by a score of 50-28.
The Lady Hawks offense was led by Pontnack with eight points, Lambrigtsen finished with six, Beeter had five, Absher added four, Mahoney finished with three, and Shelby Hunter chipped in two.
