Last night, Unity's lone senior scored 11 second half points against Pontiac. Despite Chloee Reed's best effort and that of the entire team to pull off a come from behind victory, the Rockets' girls basketball team dropped their conference road game against the Indians, 43-34.
Pontiac was paced by Addison Masding, who scored her 1,000th career point two days earlier against Bloomington Central Catholic. The senior started the game with 12 first half points, six in each quarter, forcing Unity to claw their way back from an early deficit. Combined with Tristina Henry's 12-point contribution, the pair was responsible for 29 of their team's 43 points after the final buzzer.
"We outscored them in the 2nd half," said Unity head coach Dave Ellars. He plans to focus on shooting in upcoming practices and is confident his team will continue to improve with practice. The additional focus on shooting will be beneficial moving forward. "With Covid, kids weren’t allow to shoot as much during the summer or our normal contact days."
Reed went on to finish the Illini Prairie Conference contest with a 14 point effort thanks to her four three pointers.
"Chloee is a good leader," said Ellars, who counts on her experience to guide less experienced players. "She has been involved in close games and learned last year what it takes to win."
While she only contributed three points in the loss, Taylor Henry was huge in the paint for Unity on Thursday. The junior forward hauled in a team-high nine rebounds.
"Taylor is a winner, does all the things that aren’t in the scorebook," Ellars explained. "Most of the time the girl she guards is 4-5 inches taller, she has a big heart and is always up for the challenge."
Unity also received point contributions from Katy Moore with six points along with Lauren Miller and Erika Steinman, who provided four points apiece. Maddie Reed and Taylor Henry rounded out the Rockets' effort with 3 points each as the Rockets drop to 1-2 on the season.
Unity will host Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, better known as ALAH on Saturday morning. The JV game is scheduled to start at 9:30am followed by varsity getting underway at 10:30am.
All things considered, Ellars said his program is excited with the opportunity to play right now. With the constant uncertainities as Illinois athletics navigate the pandemic. "We treat every day as it could be our last game."
For a little more than 19 minutes of clock time, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls' basketball team's undefeated record was in jeapordy. Entering the game with a three-game win streak to start the season, the Spartans were, by all accounts, the pre-game favorite against the 1 win - 3 loss visiting Unity Rockets.
Taylor Wells takes aim during a free throw attempt in SJO's post-season game against Villa Grove-Heritage in 2020. Wells posted her first double-double of the year against the Rockets.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With nearly half of the third quarter gone and a 19-17 score in the Rockets favor on the main scoreboard mounted on the gym's north wall, a three-point shot from Ella Armstrong gave SJO their first lead of the contest. The Spartans relenquished it briefly after Unity's Alysson England answered with field goal but regained the advantage with yet another trey from Armstrong on the way to a 47-29 Illini Prairie Conference win last Thursday.
For nearly two quarters Unity out-hustled and out-muscled their host. The three guards, Maddie Reed, Chloee Reed and Lauren Miller were busy bees forcing turnovers and ball control issues for SJO. Miller and Chloee Reed paired up, were credited with five steals.
"The girls came to play tonight," said Rockets' head coach Dave Ellars. "We had a couple days off due to the weather and I believe it helped our legs."
Unity played a solid first half preventing St. Joseph-Ogden from getting any offensive traction. Except for a 6-6 tie midway into the first quarter, the Rockets had the favored Spartans on the rope and kept them there until halftime.
"We did not play well in the first half," said SJO head coach Kevin Taylor concerning how his team started the game. "We were standing around too much against their zone and not moving the ball."
Taylor said he made a simple adjustment in his game plan for the second half.
"We switched up our offense to get more movement and we made an effort to get the ball inside where we had a big advantage in size," he said. "Our post play made really good decisions in the second half. Several times when we went to the post, they kicked it back out for an open shot."
We learned we can compete. I believe we will learn from this game.
The midgame tweak worked and allowed Armstrong score on three baskets for eight points pushing a four point deficit on the Rockets. Ashlyn Lannert extended the lead to nine points on a bucket and trey.
"SJO made a couple of adjustments and they made a few shots," Ellars said, explaining the shift in the game's momentum. "Due to SJO's size we wanted to try to help (our players) inside. She (Armstrong) made some shots in the second half."
Ellars was trying to keep the ball out of the hands of Taylor Wells. Wells finished the game with 12 rebounds and four assists.
"Taylor did a good job tonight using her size. She controlled the lane tonight with her defense and rebounding," Taylor said. "She also had several plays on offense where she found an open teammate when she was doubled-team in the post."
While she contributed just four points, Payton Jacob's presence on the court was crucial for the Spartans.
"Jacob always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. She had several key plays when we needed it tonight," he said about the junior starter. "There were a couple of key offensive rebounds and put backs that stood out to me."
St. Joseph-Ogden's top three scorers were Lannert and Wells with ten points apiece and Armstrong, whose four treys produced a game-high 16 points.
The Rockets offense was compiled by four players. Chloee Reed led the team with 10 points, England added in eight, Miller five and Maddie Reed chipped in three points. Miller led the team in rebounding with four. Miller and Chloee Reed had three apiece.
The loss withstanding, Ellars was happy with the way the team played.
"We learned we can compete," he said about his team. "I believe we will learn from this game. I was extremely pleased with our effort."
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It takes a gritty team to gut check and turnaround a game in the last 11 minutes, especially when you trailed the first two-thirds of it. On the floor, on the bench or in practice, it also takes a group of dedicated fourth-year players willing to do the little things.
"If this team has any mental toughness it is because of the seniors," Taylor said. "Whether they played a lot of mins or just a few, they all are doing a great job trying to lead this team and are doing all the little things that go unnoticed by most.
I can't thank them enough for what they are doing. They were a big part of why we were able to comeback and have that big swing in the score."
St. Joseph-Ogden's Nolan Grindley tries to reel in a loose ball in the Spartans' home game against Teutopolis on March 5.
As teams head into the final week of prep basketball, The Sentinel contacted our four area coaches to get their thoughts on probably the shortest high school basketball season in the history of Illinois as it winds down to a close this weekend. Restricted fan access, wearing masks while playing and other health mandates is likely a season student-athletes and coaches won't forget.
Sentinel: This is the last week of the basketball season. What are your thoughts going into it?
Dave Ellars, Unity girls head coach: "Glad we got to play. The girls gave outstanding effort, win or lose. They are a great bunch of girls and glad I have the opportunity to coach them this year."
Kiel Duval, St. Joseph-Ogden boys head coach: "I hope our guys finish strong. It has been tough knowing there is not a post season. I've been proud of the guys daily approach. They have grown as a team. I just wish we could have had them for an entire year."
Kevin Taylor, St. Joseph-Ogden girls head coach: "It’s hard to believe the season is almost over. It has gone really fast. Overall I’m glad the girls got a chance to play But we would like to finish as strong as we can. Even with no postseason I feel it’s important to have a good finish."
Matt Reed, Unity boys head coach: "I'm just relieved that we got the entire season in. We didn't miss any games. We had a few kids get quarantined, but no one was tremendously sick, so that was a blessing."
Sentinel: How well did you and the team handle the COVID protocols? Of all the things required, what was the hardest to adapt?
Ellars: "I think we handled it very well, we were didn’t have any cases. The hardest thing is playing and coaching with a mask. Not having any fans at most away games was tough on the kids."
Taylor: "No question the girls have done an amazing job dealing with all the covid protocols. It is very difficult to play in a mask and try to maintain social distancing. But they have done the best they could."
Matt Reed: "The kids adapted very well. The biggest issue with all teams was the kids wearing the masks properly. Its hard to tell a kid to constantly pull up their mask when they are playing as hard as they can, but that was the mandate."
Sentinel: What did you learn personally coaching basketball this season and what has been the most memorable moment so far?
Matt Reed: "Our team has really improved from the beginning of the season. We have had a chance to win every game since our game with St. Joe. We competed well in that game, beat PBL and Olympia, then lost two straight games by 2 points."
Ellars: "Kids are willing to adjust so they can play. Senior night, In January I never thought we would have a season."
Taylor: "This year, seeing the emotional struggle of the pandemic and seeing how it has affected everyone. The thing I had the chance to realize is how important the team atmosphere is. Seeing everyone go through tough times but In the end how the girls have come together and develop that team bond and support each other has been a really good thing to see as a coach."
MT. ZION -- Brittney Spears' Oops! I did it again might have to be the Unity girls basketball team's new theme song. Earlier this week Lauren Miller hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give Unity
a 45-44 win over Bloomington Central Catholic.
On Friday, sophomore Katey Moore dropped in a buzzer-beater of her own to give the Rockets a 45-43 non-conference win on the road at Mt. Zion.
Despite three Lady Braves players finishing with double figures, Unity's unrelenting defensive effort and tenacity proved to be a better asset in yet another thrilling finish.
In his all of his years coaching high school basketball, head coach Dave Ellars has never won two games in the same seven-day stretch with a shot as time expired. His team improved to 18 wins against five losses after the victory.
"We won Monday, lost on Thursday, won on Friday," Ellars said. "The girls I have are winners, played on the 4th place state softball, ran on state championship cross country team, went to state track, played on Volleyball team that won 30 matches. We have a lot of confidence that if we get behind we can come back."
Raegen Stringer led Unity's scoring effort with 12 points. Maddie Reed also finished with double digits piling on another 11 points. The pair contributed three assists apiece.
Meanwhile, Moore and senior Taylor Henry hauled in a combined total of 21 rebounds. Moore, who also had three blocks and the same number of steals in the contest, recorded 10 of those boards. Henry led the effort with 11 rebounds and two steals in addition to her nine-point finish.
Unity's Lauren Miller was also active in the paint, pulling down four rebounds and poaching two steals. She finished with six points and three assists against the Lady Braves.
Denver Anderson led the Braves with 12 points, Bracie Barnes added another 11, and Karsyn Sloan rounded out her team's top three contributors with 10 points.
Unity returns to their conference schedule to host Pontiac tomorrow evening at the Rocket Center. The JV contest starts at 5:30pm and the varsity game is slated to start directly after.
Prairie Central capitalized on five three-pointers in the second quarter to surge past the Unity in their Illini Prairie Conference game back on February 20. The Rockets taking another loss on the chin, lost at home, 55-33.
Taylor Henry led the team with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the weekender. Head coach Dave Ellars said she continues build on her role has a future team leader.
"Taylor is a winner; she will do what ever it takes for the team," he said. "She sees the floor well and does a great job of reading the defense."
Meanwhile, the team lone senior, Chloee Reed, finished with a team-high 12 points. She packaged one steal, three boards and two assists as best she could to help keep the game competitive as possible.
Another Unity player showing signs of making great strides in contributing to the team effort is freshman Katey Moore. Despite having to train in a crazy pandemic restricted year, she has made steady improvement as first year varsity player for the Rockets.
"Katey is very athletic and is always working on ways to improve," Ellars said. His plebe player scored 7 points and added the same number of boards to her Saturday afternoon stats. "As a freshman she is learning the speed of the game at the varsity level and has adjusted."
Erika Steinman, who had one steal and credited with two rebounds, was the only other Unity player to make a scoring contribution with four points.
The visiting Hawks were paced by Mariya Sisco's four treys and 16 points outing. Sister Chloe Sisco was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and good for 12 points. Senior Natalie Graf chipped another six points to round out the team's top three scorers.
Box Score
Prairie Central
19
15
13
8
- 55
Unity
12
4
8
9
- 33
Unity
C. Reed 3 (2) 0-0 -- 12,
England 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Miller 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Stringer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Steinman 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4,
B. Henry 0 (0) 0-2 -- 0,
M. Reed 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Moore 3 (0) 1-2 -- 7,
Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
T. Henry 4 (0) 2-5 -- 10,
Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.
TOLONO -- Looking at a 15-point deficit with 5:15 left to go in the third quarter against an aggressive Bloomington Central Catholic team, the Unity girls' basketball team was going to have to wait a few days for that 18th win of the season. The Saints almost had the door shut until the Rockets clawed their way back into the game to trail by two with 1:05 left to play in the game.
Forty seconds later, Unity got possession of the ball on a rebound after Central Catholic missed a free throw and called time out. The last 21 seconds of the game are worth watching over and over.
After getting the ball past the half-court line, a couple of passes put the ball in the hands of Unity's Lauren Miller at the top of the key. Miller dribbled past three BCC defenders for a layup under the basket and missed. Teammate Raegan Stringer chases down the rebound and tosses the ball back to Miller.
Miller and every fan in the Rocket Center watched the ball after she launched it from in front of the Rockets' bench back in three-point territory. As the ball passed through the net, the backboard lit up. And then the final buzzer sounded. The junior guard was then mobbed and deservingly while head coach Dave Ellars celebrated with three victory hops, arms high above his head. The junior guard had just sealed the Unity's come-from-behind effort with the double-U, 45-44.
Dropping in 14 points for the night, Taylor Henry was the Rockets' leading scorer. The senior also had four rebounds and was credited with three steals.
Katey Moore, who had a solid night defensively, also finished the game in double figures with 12 points. The talented sophomore nabbed five boards and slapped down four shots in addition to her two assists and a team-high four steals.
Raegan Stringer and Maddie Reed rounded out the top three scorers for Unity with six points apiece. Stringer, whose rebound and pass helped make the game-winning shot possible, contributed four rebs and four assists to the comeback effort. Reed's six-point effort was from two 3-point shots converted in the third period.
The Rockets play their next two games on the road this week. Thursday, the team travels to Prairie Central for a conference match with the Hawks. Twenty-four hours later, Unity is back on the road again, this time to Mt. Zion.
Box Score
Final: Unity 45 - Central Catholic 44
1
2
3
4
F
Unity
7
10
15
13
45
Central Catholic
8
16
17
3
44
Unity --
Ray 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Miller 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5,
Steinman 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2,
Stringer 3 (0) 0-0 -- 6,
Moore 5 (0) 2-3 -- 12,
Reed 0 (2) 0-0 -- 6,
Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
T. Henry 5 (0) 4-6 -- 14,
Chandler 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
B. Henry 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.
Central Catholic --
M. Uhren 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2,
Evans 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,
Becker 3 (0) 1-4 -- 7,
S. Shanks 0 (1) 4-4 -- 7,
Schnierle 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5,
C Uhren 0 (0) 2-4 -- 2,
L. Shanks 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2,
L. Emm 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2,
E. Stenger 5 (2) 1-3 -- 17,
I. Metzdorff 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.
Unity's Lauren Miller blocks a shot from St. Joseph-Ogden's Ashlyn Lannert during the first half of their Illini Prairie Conference game on Saturday. With home court advantage, the Spartans won the contest 49-27 to clinch the Illini Prairie Conference title. Miller finished the game with six points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Rockets.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity head coach Dave Ellars reminds his players to keep their arms up during second quarter play against the Spartans.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Keep the ball away from Unity's Erika Steinman, Addison Frick secures a loose ball for the Spartans during the first half of the game. The sophomore guard finished the game with six points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
SJO's Ella Armstrong goes after the ball for a steal from Rockets' Addison Ray. Armstrong finished with a game-high 12 points for the Spartans. Ray, who went of 0-2 from the free throw line, contributed one field goal in Unity's loss and finished with a hard-fought five rebounds.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Katey Moore hauls in a offensive rebound for the Rockets. The senior guard chipped in six of the team's 27 points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden senior Ashlyn Lannert tries to put a shot up over Unity's Katey Moore during the fourth quarter. Lannert finished the night with two points drained back in the first quarter of the contest.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Spartans' Ella Armstrong puts up a fourth-quarter shot on Unity's Lauren Miller. Armstrong, a senior, was the only player to score in all four quarters of the game on Saturday.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Rocket's Addison Ray looks to make a pass after coming up with a loose ball in the fourth quarter. Unity dropped to 20-8 overall and 6-3 in conference play after the loss to the Spartans. Ray and the Rockets hope to correct their three-game skid against 18-10 Monticello tonight at 7pm.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Kaytlyn Baker drives past Unity's Erika Steinman into the paint. Baker came off the bench late in the final quarter contributing a free throw to the Spartan's cause. The St. Joseph-Ogden girls team is back in action tonight against the Panthers of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (11-16) in their final IPC game of the season.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity senior Gracie Renfrow congratulates SJO players and staff on their win on Saturday.
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Prairie Central capitalized on five three-pointers in the second quarter to surge past the Unity in their Illini Prairie Conference game back on February 20. The Rockets taking another loss on the chin, lost at home, 55-33.
