By FRED KRONER
Both the seventh- and eighth-grade Mahomet-Seymour Junior High girls’ basketball teams bounced back from two losses on Saturday (Oct. 21) to post back-to-back wins to start the new week.
The eighth-graders won at Rantoul Eater, 30-6, on Monday (Oct. 23) and then handled Mattoon, 33-18, on Tuesday (Oct. 24) in Mahomet.
The Bulldogs’ defense kept Eater without a field goal until the final quarter.
Penelope Bird led the way with 12 points at Eater. Audra Martin hit five points and Charlotte Sinclair netted three points. Scoring two points apiece were Faith Benedict, Marley Cloward, Lily Freiman, Nora Huang and Penelope Porter.
Against Mattoon, Sinclair posted 13 points and Bird tallied 11 points. Teammates who made two points apiece were Cloward, Freiman, Katie Hunter and Martin. Kennedy Ashby connected on one free throw.
On Saturday (Oct. 21), M-S dropped decisions in a round-robin tournament at Taylorville, losing to the host school 25-20 and to Teutopolis, 27-16.
Against Teutopolis, Bird tossed in 10 points. Cloward contributed four points and Sinclair had two points.
Against Taylorville, Freiman and Martin shared the team lead with six points apiece. Sinclair totaled four points. Adding two points apiece were Bird and Cloward.
M-S was held to five first-half points against Taylorville, but battled back in the second half, pulling within two points with a chance to tie before falling short.
The eighth-graders have a 15-4 overall record.
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The Bulldogs seventh-graders whipped Rantoul Eater, 33-2, and then topped Mattoon, 33-17, to start the week.
M-S built a 23-0 lead after one quarter and didn’t allow a point until the fourth quarter.
Kennedy Lee tossed in a game-high 12 points against Eater. Cambria Clark contributed nine points. Olivia Banister hit four points. Finishing with two points each were Emma Baker, Layla Koroyanis and Bailey Tarter. Kendal Schonauer made a free throw.
Against Mattoon, Clark’s 12 points were the team’s best. Baker ended with seven points, Lee scored six points and Banister notched four points. Kara Benway and Tarter each totaled two points.
On Saturday (Oct. 21), the seventh-grade Bulldogs lost to both Teutopolis, 48-18, and Taylorville, 33-31, in a round-robin tournament at Taylorville.
Against Teutopolis, Baker (five points) and Lee (four points) were the top M-S scorers. Nora Robinson tallied three points. Clark, Schonauer and Tarter each contributed two points.
Against Taylorville, Clark set the pace with 12 points. Lee reached double figures with a 10-point performance. Baker made seven points. Phoebe Graham had the Bulldogs’ other two points.
The Bulldogs stormed back from an 11-point second-half deficit and created a 31-31 late-game tie before Taylorville made two free throws to secure the win.
The seventh-graders have a 15-4 overall record.
Both M-S squads return to action on Monday (Oct. 30) at Normal Parkside.
