State Basketball |
Altamont falls in OT to Illini Bluffs
NORMAL - Grace Nelson drained 32 points in Altamont's state semifinal game against Illini Bluffs Thursday. Unfortunately, the All-Stater and Lady Indians came up short in the Class 1A opener and overtime thriller, 60-48.
Nelson missed her first three-pointer but connected on her second shot in the game, cutting the Lady Indians' scoreboard deficit to two at 5-3.
Later in the first period, Tigers' Annabelle Fortin, Marissa Robertson, and Lilly Luczkowiak drop treys on successive possessions to go up 14-7.
Luczkowiak led Illini Bluff's scoring effort with a double-double, scoring 27 points and snagging eleven rebounds. Fortin finished with 12 points. Robertson's first quarter three was her only output of the game.
Altamont was on top most of the fourth quarter, leading by as many as six points, until Tigers' Chloe Eeten made a go-ahead basket on a pass from teammate Brenna Davis with 1:03 left on the clock.
Seven seconds later, Nelson was on the free-throw line. She made her first shot to tie the score at 46-all but missed the second that would have given Altamont a one-point lead with 55 seconds to go.
Bluffs called timeout with ten seconds left on the clock. Fortin attempted a three-pointer as time expired and missed, putting the game into overtime.
It was the Tigers' free-throw prowess in OT that saved the day. The team missed one shot out of ten from the charity stripe.
For Eeten, who finished the game with 11 points, it was her time to shine. The sophomore led all scorers in the frame with seven points, going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, punching Illini Bluff's ticket into the Class 1A title game.
