By JEFF LAMPE
For The Weekly Post
ELMWOOD – Prep girls basketball has evolved into a rough-and-tumble sport, with physical play and plenty of fouls a feature of most games.
This year’s Elmwood girls team appears to be well-suited for the rigors of that brand of basketball.
Even after dropping a 43-27 decision to visiting Canton on Monday, the Lady Trojans (4-1) have started fast despite graduating three starters and learning a new system under first-year coach Kevin Faulkner.
Deep, fast and physical, Elmwood capped a 4-0 record at its Thanksgiving tournament last Friday with a 49-38 win over Tremont. That followed a 42-40 win over a Kewanee Wethersfield team that is among the Lincoln Trail Conference favorites.
In both games, the Lady Trojans featured balanced scoring and physical play on defense and offense.
“We’re going to take the Mid-Illini (Conference) approach,” Faulkner said. “We’re going to get in your face. We’re going to guard you. We’re going to push it down the floor as fast as we can.”
Elmwood did that consistently on Friday and the rewards showed up as the game progressed. Trailing Tremont 8-6 after one quarter, the Lady Trojans forced 18 turnovers in the middle two quarters against a Lady Turks team that looked weary on offense.
“We understand what we’ve got to do now. We’re understanding how to switch on the press,” Faulkner said of his team. “We’re understanding where our roles are now.”
That seemed to be true in the title game, which Faulkner said was one of Elmwood’s best outings this season. By halftime, the Lady Trojans led 15-14 and after three quarters the lead was 36-21.
Tremont made a run early in the fourth quarter to get within 42-36, but a pair of layups by Chloe Howerton ended that comeback.
Howerton finished the Tremont game with 14 points and Andrea Glenn tallied 13. Glenn was honored afterward as a selection to the six-player all-tournament team that included Savanna Jost and Lilly Elston of Tremont and Lana Scott of Wethersfield.
Elmwood’s scoring has trended toward more balance after the first tourney game, a 43-22 win over Midwest Central-Delavan.
“Andrea led off the tournament with 24 points and she was the hot hand so we kept feeding her,” Faulkner said. “But the last few games we had Andrea and Tinley (Lemmerman) and Brooke Allen right around the nine-point range. That’s our goal, to get everybody come in and score their points.”
And Faulkner does mean everybody, as all 13 girls dressed for Friday’s game played – all but one before the fourth quarter.
Elmwood is home today (Dec. 5) vs. ROWVA-Williamsfield.
• Brimfield – The Lady Indians (4-2) placed fourth at Elmwood after falling to Wethersfield on Friday in the third-place game, 57-34.
Ava Heinz scored 10 points to lead Brimfield and had eight rebounds and seven blocks. She was an all-tournament pick after averaging 19.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 blocks in four tourney games. Layni Linthicum had eight points against Wethersfield.
Brimfield lost on Nov 27 to second-place finisher Tremont, 55-46, despite 28 points by Heinz. Linthicum tallied eight points and had seven rebounds and Maddie Rust dished out eight assists.
Heinz had 21 points, nine rebounds and six steals in three quarters on Monday in a 57-15 win at Peoria Heights. Josie Wiewel added 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Linthicum scored nine.
Brimfield is off until a Dec. 9 game in Aledo vs. Mercer County.
• Princeville – The Lady Princes (1-6) earned their first win last Friday at the Elmwood tourney, topping Midwest Central-Delavan, 47-39.
All-tournament team member Sahara Streitmatter scored 15 points in the win, while Reagan Calder and Addison Buckley tallied seven apiece.
Princeville dropped its last tournament game, to Kewanee, 39-35. Streitmatter scored 11, while Calder and Buckley tallied eight apiece.
The Lady Princes lost to North Fulton on Monday, 37-34, making a game of it with a 20-9 rally in the fourth quarter. Streitmatter led with 15 points. Buckley tallied eight and Paisley Schock added seven points and 12 rebounds.
Princeville is at Farmington on Saturday.
• ROWVA-Williamsfield – The Lady Cougars (2-2) returned to action Monday after a nine-day layoff, topping Farmington, 43-24.
“Our defensive pressure caused Farmington a lot of issues,” R-W Coach Jeff Hannam said. “We were able to get out in transition and score some easy buckets.”
That included a 17-0 run in the second quarter.
Erin Welch scored 11 points to lead a balanced R-W attack, which also got eight points from Riley Smith and seven apiece from Ella Rigg and Megyn Erlacher.
R-W is at Elmwood today and returns home vs. Illini Bluffs on Saturday.
• Farmington – The Lady Farmers (1-5) lost at R-W on Monday, 43-24, and dropped a 59-26 decision to East Peoria at home on Nov. 27. Abby Ackers scored nine points to lead Farmington at R-W.
The Lady Farmers host Princeville on Saturday.
12-19-24
12-20-24
More Photos
