East Peoria, Ill. - First round play got underway for the 41st Annual Cougar Holiday Tournament on Wednesday, with the tenth-ranked ICC Cougars hosting #1 Kirkwood, #3 CCBC Essex, #6 Lake Land, #13 Bryant & Stratton, (RV) Black Hawk, and South Suburban. It wasn't for a lack of offense, as the winning team among the three games played averaged just shy of 80 points per game.
#6 LAKE LAND 79, (RV) BLACK HAWK 73
Lake Land led by 10 points (25-15) after the first quarter, and got up to their biggest lead at 13 points just a few minutes into the second quarter. Black Hawk would counter, out-scoring the Lakers by margins of four and three points in the second and third quarters. Ultimately, the combination of seven made three-pointers and going 24-31 at the free throw line was enough to secure a first-round victory for the nation's sixth-ranked team.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
Lake Land:
Katelyn Littleton | 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Isabella Hardiek | 13 points
Ali Watson | 10 points
Olivia Niemerg | 9 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists
Black Hawk:
Khloe Damm | 16 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists
Me'Kiyah Harris | 15 points, 2 steals
Kylee Parker | 13 points
Laney Parker | 8 points, 3 steals
#1 KIRKWOOD 64, SOUTH SUBURBAN 42
South Suburban got the first basket of the game. It would ultimately be their only lead. Alas, despite the top-ranked Eagles being ahead 24-9 after a quarter of play, the rest of the game did not play out as such. The Bulldogs turned up the defense in the second quarter, shriking Kirkwood's offensive output by 13 points (24 to 11). South Suburban, however, would still trail 35-14 at halftime. With the game not quite out of reach just yet, the Bulldogs tried to pull back within a competitive point spread, and when the second half stands alone, they did just that, with the Eagles edging them 29-28 in the second half.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
Kirkwood:
Demetria Prewitt | 13 points
Tasia Jordan | 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Emily Dreckman | 6 points, 4 assists, 2 steals
Naya Haymon | 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
South Suburban:
Samya Gardner | 19 points, 4 rebounds
Rachel Robinson | 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
#3 CCBC ESSEX 96, #13 BRYANT & STRATTON 60
If you blinked, you may have missed a couple possessions already, with the 2022 Final Four rematch turning out 156 combined points. The Knights charged out to a 32-17 first quarter lead. CCBC Essex would use a at times crippling defense to hold the Bobcats to eight second quarter points and a 57-25 halftime lead. It seemed like the Knights were well on their way to another triple-digit game. In fact, Faith Blackstone would lead the efforts, having nearly scored all of her tournament-high 26 points by the halftime break. It likely would've been north of 30 points had the sophomore not fouled out early in the second half. With the Knights running away with it half way through, the second half saw the reserves begin to see more playing time, and the Bobcats would play within a 39-35 spread in the final two quarters, including out-scoring the Knights 14-13 in the third quarter.
NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
CCBC Essex:
Faith Blackstone | 26 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Cassandra Hawthorne | 18 points, 9 rebounds
Tiffany Hammond | 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Tyler Gray | 10 points, 6 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assist
Ashley Dickey | 6 points, 8 assists, 4 steals
Bryant & Stratton:
Lacyia Hill | 19 points (6 3-pointers), 2 assists, 1 rebound
Teya Maas | 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Kylie Lemberger | 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
Myisha Malone | 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
#10 ICC - INTRASQUAD SCRIMMAGE:
Rounding out the night was a unique opportunity for the host Cougars. Having not played since a narrow 12-point home loss to D1 #21 Moberly Area 14 days prior, #10 ICC took the floor against themselves in an intraquad scrimmage on Wednesday. The 12-player roster allowed two six-player teams. With the obvious note of both sides knowing each other as well as anybody, it would be a highly competitive 20 minutes of basketball (shortened for scrimmage's sake).
SHE SAID IT - QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KARRIE REDEKER:
On what she saw out of the scrimmage:
"I thought we had good energy. Sometimes, when you just do an intrasquad scrimmage after a long day of basketball, you maybe wouldn't be too fired up, but I thought we got everything out of that we needed."
On how the team's defense particularly stood out against each other, and how that plays into tomorrow's Semifinal vs. #3 CCBC Essex:
"They can score it in a lot of different ways. We're going to have to be ready to play right from the beginning. Defense will definitely be the key."
TROJANS BEGIN THE TREK TO EAST PEORIA
Fans perhaps came across an update to the tournament, that due to travel difficulties, alterations were made to the tournament field. Although unable to make the trip Wednesday, the North Iowa Area Trojans, an ICC Holiday Tournament participant in the past, has been gracious enough to step up and make the five-hour trip from Mason City, Iowa to Ramsey Gym, participating in games both Thursday and Friday. The Trojans are (9-3) on the season and will go into Thursday's game on a four-game win streak.
SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29TH
Consolation Semifinal | 10AM | (RV) Black Hawk Braves vs. South Suburban Bulldogs
Championship Semifinal | 12PM | #1 Kirkwood Eagles vs. #6 Lake Land Lakers
Championship Semifinal | 2PM | #3 CCBC Essex Knights vs. #10 ICC Cougars
Consolation Semifinal | 4PM | #13 Bryant & Stratton Bobcats vs. North Iowa Area Trojans
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAMES
WATCH LIVE (all games)
LISTEN LIVE (ICC - CCBC Essex ONLY)
QUARTERLY SCORING UPDATES
