The Hilltop continues to belong to the Lady Hilltoppers of Schlarman after a 62-36 disposal of Eastland in Saturday afternoon in the Class 1A Girls High School Basketball Championship at Redbird Arena in Normal. Anaya Peoples led the way with 19 points with Capria Brown adding 17 and Janiah Newell tagging for 16. Sydney Gourard had the remaining 10 points scored as Schlarman capitalized on 23 Eastland turnovers in the contest to rout the #4 team in the state.
Schlarman jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on a 3 pointer by Peoples and a bucket by Newell before Eastland’s Meredith Janssen hit a layup 2 minutes into the 1st period to bring the lead within three. That would be the closest the score would be the remainder of the afternoon as the Lady Toppers went on a torrid 13-0 run and led after the 1st period by a score of 20-5.
[The Lady Hilltoppers are escorted into town Saturday night after claiming the Class 1A State Title.]
Eastland would outscore Schlarman 13-11 in the 2nd period, getting within 13 points of the reigning State Champions by the half, but the high powered Schlarman attack proved too difficult to overcome as they created more separation by the 4th period, holding Eastland’s leading scorer Erin Henze to just 5 points. Karlie Krogman lead the Cougar scoring with 10 points as Eastland (31-5) ends the season with a difficult loss after narrowly defeating Tri-County with a victory in the last seconds of the semifinal on Friday for a berth in the championship.
[The Lady Hilltoppers got a rousing welcome home Saturday night at their school. [**Note: You can click on the photos to enlarge them.]
Schlarman (33-2), joins Hinckley-Big River (2009, 2010) and Freeport Aquin (2012, 2013) as the only repeat champions in Girls Class 1A Basketball.
Schlarman vs Lewistown recap: February 22, 2019
The Schlarman Academy Girls Basketball team is one step away from the hilltop again in Class 1A playofffs after a 58-41 victory over Lewistown Friday afternoon at Redbird Arena in Normal. The Lady Toppers were lead in scoring by Capria Brown with 23 points. Anaya Peoples added 18 points and McKaylee Allen came off the bench for 11 points with 5 of 6 shooting from the free throw line. Schlarman (32-2) was down after one period of play 12-9, but led by 6 at the intermission, thanks in part to great paint play by Brown who had 10 2nd period points. A dominant second half by the Toppers built an eventual lead of 20, as Lewistown (31-2) had no answer for the Topper attack. First team All-Stater Anna Heffren was held to just 11 points and the Lady Indians were lead in scoring by Sydney Shaeffer with 15 points. Lewistown will face Tri-County for 3rd place at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday at Redbird Arena. The 1A Championship will follow with Schlarman facing Eastland for the title at 1 p.m. We will have carry the broadcast online presented by Bryant Industries at VermilionCountyFirst.com and will join the action in progress at the conclusion of the Fighting Illini Men’s Basketball game on 1490 WDAN.
