Mahomet-Seymour places second at Mattoon Tournament
By Fred Kroner
Mahomet-Seymour’s girls’ basketball team finished second in the three-day Mattoon Tournament.
The Bulldogs lost to Mattoon on Wednesday (Dec. 29) in the title game, 48-43.
M-S fell behind by nine points after the first quarter, 17-8, then battled its way back into contention against the Green Wave.
Ivie Juarez collected a team-high 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Cayla Koerner tossed in 12 points and had three steals. Nichole Taylor captured a team-high 10 rebounds and scored five points.
Juarez, Koerner and Taylor were all named to the all-tournament team.
Savannah Orgeron added seven points. Orgeron and Juarez each hit seven second-half points to spark the Bulldogs’ comeback bid.
The Bulldogs split their games on Tuesday (Dec. 28), dropping a hard-fought 52-49 decision to the host Green Wave before topping Galesburg 39-34 in the semifinals.
Against Mattoon, in the final game of pool play competition, Taylor put up 19 points and seven rebounds. Durbin Thomas hit 11 points to go with two steals.
Other team leaders included Juarez with seven points, seven rebounds and four steals, Koerner with seven points and three steals, and Abigail Bunting with six rebounds.
M-S recovered from a 27-25 halftime deficit against Mattoon and took a 38-36 lead into the fourth quarter. Taylor made nine of her points during the third-quarter run.
Against Galesburg, Juarez and Koerner each tallied 11 points. Koerner also had seven rebounds and three steals.
Orgeron scored all seven of her points in a third-quarter spree when the Bulldogs turned a 19-17 halftime deficit into a 30-25 lead entering the last eight minutes.
Orgeron also cleared four rebounds.
Taylor made six points and blocked two shots. Bunting also blocked two shots. Thomas had matching totals of four points and four rebounds.
The Bulldogs won twice on Opening Day of the Mattoon Girls’ Basketball Tournament on Monday (Dec. 27).
M-S topped the Teutopolis Junior Varsity, 55-35, after T-Town’s JV replaced Champaign Central in the tourney. The Bulldogs overpowered Decatur Eisenhower 74-11.
Against T-Town’s JV, Koerner recorded her fourth 20-point game of the season, netting 23 points to go with a game-high six steals.
Juarez contributed 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Orgeron added nine points. Taylor hit five points and Bunting grabbed six rebounds.
M-S and the T-Town JV were tied, 12-12, after one quarter before the Bulldogs pulled into a 25-16 lead at intermission. Koerner sparked the second-quarter spree with five points.
Against Eisenhower, Juarez led the way with 17 points and six rebounds. Koerner hit 14 points and Orgeron followed with 10 points.
Alayna DeWitt, who has hit 13 of her first 16 baskets this season from three-point range, drilled three three-pointers on the way to a season-high nine points.
Chloe Pruitt pulled down four rebounds while Bunting and Thomas each collected three steals.
M-S (15-3) returns to action on Wednesday (Jan. 5) at home against Lincoln. The following week, the Bulldogs will get another rematch with Mattoon (Tuesday, Jan. 11) in the M-S gymnasium.
