The Sentinel

Unity suffers loss at home in defensive battle to Cissna Park

TOLONO - The Unity Rockets girls basketball team fell short in a 36-25 loss to the visiting Cissna Park Timberwolves on Tuesday night, as offensive struggles and strong defensive pressure from the Timberwolves denied the team a home win in the non-conference contest at the Rocket Center.

Unity started strong, leading 9-8 after the first quarter, thanks to early contributions from Lauren Haas and Claire Meharry. Haas tallied four points in the opening period, while Meharry added five. However, Cissna Park adjusted in the second quarter, taking a 17-12 halftime lead behind the steady play of Lauryn Hamrick and Addison Lucht.

The Timberwolves maintained control in the second half, outscoring Unity 19-13 over the final two quarters. Hamrick led all scorers with 11 points, going 5-for-8 from the free-throw line. Lucht chipped in nine points, including an efficient 5-for-6 performance at the stripe.

Meharry finished with a team-high nine points for Unity, while Haas added seven, converting 33% of her attempts. The Rockets struggled offensively, shooting just 25% (10-for-40) from the field and 50% from the free-throw line.

The loss drops Unity to 4-3 on the season, marking their second consecutive defeat. The Rockets will look to rebound Wednesday night when they host Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (ALAH) at the Rocket Center. Cissna Park improves to 5-1 with the win, continuing their strong start.

Prep Hoops |
Wednesday Basketball Scores

Boys' Basketball

Charleston 55 - Watseka 30
Charleston's Tyler Oakley needed just three quarters of play to score 18 points during the team's second pool game at the annual Toyota of Danville Classic at St. Joseph-Odgen High School. Luke Bonsetter drained three treys to finish with 16 points.

Payton Schaumburg and Quinn Starkey paced the Warriors with six points each. Watseka is back on the hardwood Friday night at 6:30 against Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (ALAH).

The Trojans will play in the following game looking to beat the host St. Joseph-Ogden, also 2-0 in tournament play, to punch their ticket into the title game on Saturday.

Bishop McNamara 65 - Paxton-Buckley-Loda 42
The Fightin' Irish continued to dominate the competition at the Toyota of Danville Classic. Cole Czako scored 17 points and Wille Felton added another 10 points in the win over the PBL. A win Friday night over Cissna Park will put Bishop McNamara in their first-ever tournament championship appearance.

The Panthers, who will play in Saturday's third-place game, had a solid first-half performances from Robert Boyd-Meents and Tyler Cole with 11 points each. Carson Goss and Ethan Williams bolstered the scoring effort, combining for 16 points, each each.

Cissna Park 69 - Oakwood 68
The Timberwolves rallied back from a 56-49 third-quarter deficit to beat the Comets by one at the Toyota of Danville Classic. Dierks Neukomm went for 5-for-6 from the free throw line on his way to a tournement-high 30 points. Teammate Seth Walder nearly duplicated the feat, finishing with 29 points.

Carson Dudley led the Comets with four quarters of scoring, finishing with 23 points. Jackson Dudley came up with key shots all in all four periods to contribute 15 points in the loss. Brandt Hobick also finished in double figures with 13 points.

Neukomm, Walder and Cissna Park play again on Saturday in the 5th place game against the winner of Friday night's showdown between ALAH and Watseka. Oakwood gets a day of rest to prepare for Saturday's 7th place contest against the loser between the Warriors and the Knights, starting at 1 PM.

Springfield 64 - Central 50
Sophomore Daniel Sago and Senior Chris Bush scored 12 points each in the Maroons' loss at Combes Gym. Central (4-2).

Attention Coaches: Help us keep area basketball, wrestling, and competitive dance fans informed! Email us your team's game and match results for the Prep Sports Notebook. Please send us a clear photo of the scorebook or link to game results at sports@oursentinel.com.