Historic M-S girls’ basketball season comes to an end
By Fred Kroner
The best girls’ basketball season in Mahomet-Seymour history came to an end on Monday (Feb. 28) one win short of a state tournament berth.
A second-half Bulldog rally wasn’t enough to pull out a victory in the Highland Class 3A super-sectional game against Bethalto Civic Memorial, which captured a 53-48 victory.
The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak for coach Garret Risley’s Bulldog team.
M-S trailed, 26-13, at halftime but had pulled within a 36-32 count after three quarters.
Three Bulldogs hit third-quarter three-pointers to spark the comeback bid: Abigail Bunting, Cayla Koerner and Durbin Thomas.
Ivie Juarez led M-S with 16 points. Koerner totaled nine points, Nichole Taylor dropped in eight points, Thomas recorded seven points, Savannah Orgeron ended with five points and Bunting had three points.
M-S (30-5) was consistent throughout the season and ended as one of the top eight teams in Class 3A. The team’s record during November and December was 15-3. The team’s record during January and February was 15-2.
Koerner led – or shared – the team-lead in scoring in 24 games. Juarez set the pace in 10 games, Taylor and Chloe Pruitt in two games each and Orgeron and Thomas in one game apiece.
Koerner hit a team-high 14.9 points per game. The Bulldogs’ other top scorers were Juarez (10.3), Orgeron (9.2), Taylor (7.6), Thomas (5.1) and Pruitt (4.0).
Koerner hit the most three-pointers (61), followed by Orgeron (36) and Thomas (33). Alayna DeWitt hit the highest percentage of her baskets from three-point range. She had 22 field goals and 19 were three-pointers.
The team leaders in minutes played were Thomas (768), who led the team with 71 assists, Koerner (729) and defensive stopper Bunting (717).
Juarez led the team in rebounding (5.6), followed by Taylor (4.3) and Bunting (3.0).
The most accurate free throw shooters among squad members who had an average of at least one attempt per game were Orgeron (75.6 percent), Koerner (63.4 percent) and Pruitt (61.2 percent).
The Bulldog seniors were Sydney Esker, Juarez, Koerner, Anna Lagacy and Taylor.
The M-S girls’ basketball program had success at the younger levels as well.
The junior varsity team was 11-9 thanks to wins in six of their last seven games. The freshmen team was 11-4.
“The junior varsity team was made up of two sophomores and 11 freshmen for the entirety of the season,” Risley said, “oftentimes playing teams not only made of primarily sophomore girls, but juniors and freshman as well.”
The team’s 11 freshmen not only played the JV schedule, but also the freshmen schedule and overall took to the court 35 times.
“While leaning on the leadership that the two sophomores (Lauren Burr and Sidney Young) provided as well as the ‘No Excuses’ mentality that JV coach Cameron Zindars and freshmen coach Billie Dallas bring inherently, the girls at the lower levels were not only able to survive this season, but made huge strides at the end,” Risley added.
The freshmen players were Grace Binkley, Chloe Bundren, Selah Campion, Kara Carney, Ellie Dallas, Adaline Eisenmann, Kelsie Fuoss, Emma Frazier, Reese Gallier, Addie Lagacy, and Kylie Waldinger.
