The Lady Ghosts’ Feb. 2 home game against Peoria Christian was not only a chance to hone their skills for the impending Regional; it was an opportunity to honor the team’s three seniors.
“It’s really exciting to be a senior on this team,” Allison Schultz said. “This year has been a really exciting year, especially for me to be a starter.”
Before Illinois Valley Central beat the Chargers, 41-21, the team honored seniors Laci Peterson, Kelsey Brooke and Schultz.
“My years here have been important to me,” Schultz said. “It’s been hard sticking with it at times, especially because I wasn’t starting my freshman and sophomore year. But the work I put in to get to where I am has been important.”
When the game started, the Chargers knocked down a three pointer to take an early lead.
IVC bounced back and took a 5-2 lead off a short-range two-point shot from junior Ellen Pearson.
“We had good production from our inside scorers,” coach Paul Mercer said.
Sophomore Emma Hoerr then shot in a pull-up jumper that put the Ghosts up, 7-4.
Despite smart plays by IVC, the Charger defense was able to keep the Ghosts from falling into an offensive rhythm, but IVC still held an 8-7 lead after the first quarter.
The defensive intensity for the Ghosts reached a new level in the third quarter when they shut the Chargers out for eight minutes.
“We controlled the tempo and held them scoreless for the entire second quarter,” Mercer said.
The full-court press of IVC, as well as the speedy perimeter defense that caused turnovers, kept the Chargers off the scoreboard.
“We preach all the time to figure out how they are going to beat us and where the passing lanes are and to then shut those down,” Mercer said.
Peterson put the Ghosts on the board by making a low-post hook shot, and a free throw by Hoerr put IVC up, 17-7, at halftime.
After having their best defensive quarter of the game, the Ghosts turned around and had their best offensive quarter in the third.
Peterson continued to use her height to dominate defenders in the low post, and Brooke used her ball handling skills to distribute passes to open teammates.
The Chargers were again unable to find their offensive rhythm, and IVC held a commanding 34-11 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Chargers began to put points up in the fourth, but the Ghosts scored enough to close out the win.
“The three seniors all add a unique part to the team,” Mercer said. “Kelsey is your quarterback in that she runs the team and sets the pace. Laci is your power and inside player, and Allison is the shooter from the outside. All three are integrated together and work well together.”
The Ghosts then took on Spring Valley Hall on the road Thursday and outright clinched their first North Central Illinois Conference championship.
“Every year it’s a goal to win the conference, we have been finishing second or so,” Mercer said.
“It’s quite an achievement for the team to win their first conference championship.”
The game started tight when both teams matched each other’s starting intensity.
Brooke established herself early when she distributed the ball to open teammates to set them up with the best possible shots.
Although the Ghost defense played strong, the Red Devils were able to overcome it with timely shots and smooth ball handling to challenge the Ghosts.
“We started strong and scored the first 12 points, but then we kind of went to sleep,” Mercer said.
Peterson’s low-post dominance helped the Ghosts to keep the Red Devils from overcoming them, and IVC took a 29-26 lead into halftime.
When the teams took the floor for the second half, the momentum was all with the Ghosts.
Pearson helped IVC to go on a 17-6 run by taking the ball to the hoop and keeping defenders on their toes by knocking down outside shots.
Hoerr snatched rebounds for the Ghosts on defense and kept the Red Devils from having too many second-chance scoring opportunities.
IVC held a 46-32 lead heading into the final quarter.
Schultz continued to do what she had been doing all year by sending home long-range shots to help the Ghosts maintain their lead.
“I think that was our ultimate game of everybody getting the ball and everybody scoring,” Mercer said.
IVC’s defensive pressure did not falter and continued to wreak havoc on Hall to close out the 61-39 victory.
“We get along really well as a team and we work really good together,” Schultz said. “We each have something that we can contribute to the team. Some of us are able to play different positions so that helps, plus our speed and teamwork really help us.”
Before the Ghosts celebrated the seniors and closed the conference season, they took down Limestone Feb. 1.
IVC’s defense used low-post play by Peterson and perimeter defense by Schultz to shut out Limestone for the first quarter.
IVC put up points when junior Stephany Johnson charged the ball to the hoop, as well as took mid-range shots.
Limestone’s offense woke up in the second quarter and ran over the Ghost defense, making almost every shot attempted.
IVC’s offense, on the other hand, faltered in the second and the Ghosts were behind, 18-17, at halftime.
The Rocket offense continued to soar in the third quarter, but the Ghosts managed to stay within striking distance.
In the final quarter, IVC’s defense shut down the Rockets by creating turnovers off pressure and dominant low-post play.
Offensively, Brooke used her speed to blow by defenders to take the ball to the hoop, as well as sink shots from near the perimeter.
Schultz’s long-range shooting helped IVC to overcome Limestone, 44-35.
“Allison made two threes that got us down by one and then we took the lead,” Mercer said.
The Ghosts played last night in the first round of the Eureka Regional.
“We’re going to have to continually restrict unforced turnovers and limit our opponents’ second chance points by rebound,” Mercer said.
