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Logger Classic Tournament

In the Opening game, the Predators pulled out a thrilling 2 point overtime victory over the Bloomington Saints. Sam Churchill nailed a basket with under a minute to play to tie the game and Catie Costa scored on a fastbreak layup in overtime to propel the team to victory. In the second game, the Predators jumped out to a 13-9 half-time lead over Chatham, but could knock down enough shots in the second half and eventually fell 24-16. On Saturday, the team also played two game in regular league play at The Gym. They fell to the 6th grade West Central team 47-20 in the first game. However, in the second game against Petersburg, Olivia Schmidt hit a shot with 5 seconds to go to give them team a thrilling victory. On the final play, Jillian Mulvany grabbed a rebound, passed to Catie Cost who dribbled down the floor and passed to a cutting Schmidt who jumped stopped and drained a 10 footer. After a turnover Mulvany tacked on a basket for the final margin of 26-23. Bree Ann Derhake contributed to the early scoring with a pair of 3 point baskets as well. On Sunday morning in the Logger Classic, the team was challenged by a tough St. Agnes Aces team. The Predators jumped to an early 8-0 lead. Eventually, this lead was trimmed to 17-16, but the ladies never relinquished the lead as they hit numerous free throws down the stretch. The inside game provided a great rebounding advantage as Averi Gamble, Sam Churchill, and Jillian Mulvany owned the boards. The guards up front, Catie Costa and Olivia Schmidt provided great pressure, while the help-side defense of Brooklyn Crum, Ashley Brown, and Bree Ann Derhake consistently double teamed to force additional pressure. The team pulled out a hard-fought victory. In the final game, the Predators matched up against the undefeated St. Louis Majestics. The team got great play from the team. Malea Bailey added several good rebounds and a big basket to keep the team in the game early. Averi Gamble was tough inside with numerous boards and a few baskets. Sam Churchill and Jillian Mulvany dominated inside as well. With the game tied at 22 and under 30 seconds to play, the St. Louis Majestics hit a 15 footer with a girl in her face. The Predators couldn't get anything on their final possession and lost 24-22. A great game played by all. The team showed great improvement from the start of the weekend to the finish.

Athens Tournament

6th grade tournament - 2nd place

5th grade tournament - 3rd place

The Predators played in both the 5th and 6th grade divisions. In the 5th grade division, the Predators gave up a 16-2 second half to lose their opener 18-14. The team rebounded by beating Carrolton 27-16 before falling in the final game of pool play to Rochester 24-14. The team then won the third place game 27-9 behind a strong effort inside from Averi Gamble.

In the 6th grade bracket, the team opened with an impressive 32-17 win against Athens. The team was able to turn a number of turnovers into points. Catie Costa and Lexi Clark contributed to a number of the steals. Also, Ashley Clark provided a strong physical presence with her rebounding on both ends. In the second game, the team fell behind 13-0 to the Carrolton 6th graders before rallying to cut it to

6 a couple times, but eventually fell 24-11. The Lady Predators then played for second place against Petersburg. The team jumped off to a early 14-7 lead, but failed to capitalize and gave up a 14-0 run in the second half. However, after falling behind 21-14 with 2 minutes left, the Predators provided an impressive come from behind win.

Catie Costa got a steal followed by a basket and foul to cut it to 4.

Averi Gamble hit a short shot to cut it to 2. After individual free throws by Jillian Mulvany and Catie Costa, the game went to overtime.

Catie Costa hit an early lay up to put the team up by two, but Petersburg tied it with 10 seconds to go. In sudden death overtime, the two teams traded possessions before Brooklyn Crum was fouled and hit the game winning free throw to capture second place. The team controlled the boards in the tournament with Averi Gamble, Jillian Mulvany, and Sam Churchill doing the majority of the work.

Springfield AYBT Tournament May 23-24

The Lady Predators opened with LAGBL 6th graders. This was a fierce battle that was not decided until the last 20 seconds where LAGBL hit a jump shot to take a 2 point lead and then nailed a couple free throws with only seconds left. It was a tough fought 27-23 loss. In the second game, the Lady Predators played a scrappy Pleasant Plains team. After struggling early, the Lady Predators were able to get the ball inside and finish them off 32-23. In the final game, the Lady Predators played the other Predator 5th grade girls team. After trailing 11-8 half way through the 1st half, the Lady Predators finished strong outscoring the opponent 30-6 the rest of the way.

Decatur AYBT Tournament June 6-7

The team played against teams that were a year older. The team held their own though. The team played a talented Clinton team to a 24-20 loss. The team then bounced back against the Bloomington Heat (a team that beat the Lady Predators 5 times last season) winning 26-20. The second day of the tournament was well played but resulted in 3 losses. The first loss was to Taylorville 20-17. The team battled back and ended up missing a desperate 3 pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game. In game 2, the team played the Future Starz. The team battled well, but fell 26-18. In the final game of the tournament, the Lady Predators played the Bloomington Knockouts who were 4-0 in the tournament with no games closer than 32 points. The Lady Predators stuck around for a while, but the Knockouts pulled away to a 32-14 win.

Indianapolis AYBT Tournament June 27-28

The Lady Predators clicked most of the weekend with mixed 5th and 6th grade competition. The team opened against Kokomo, Indiana. The team played extremely well passing the ball to open players, looking down the floor, and playing solid defense. The Lady Predators jumped to a 28-1 halftime lead and finished it off 51-7. All nine players contributed in the scoring led by Averi Gamble with 14 and Jillian Mulvany, Catie Costa, and Sam Churchill contributing 8 each. In game two, the Lady Predators played Team Elite Orange from Indianapolis. The team started off a little slow, but prevailed 47-16. Again all nine players scored: Averi Gamble 10, Sam Churchill 8, Jillian Mulvany 7, Ashley Brown 4, Brooklyn Crum 4, Malea Bailey 4, Olivia Schmidt 4, Bree Ann Derhake 3, Catie Costa 3. In game 3, the team was only up 17-12 with 10 minutes left, but had a tremendous last 10 minutes to pull away with a 44-19 victory. The play was balanced as the guards forced pressure while the inside players cleaned up the defensive glass and scored at will in the final minutes. In game 4, the team played CMC Gold 7. The game was tied at 6 when Bree Ann Derhake nailed 3 consecutive 3 pointers (4 for the game - 14 points overall) to put the team up. The team then pulled away with an easy 49-20 victory. In the final game, the team played the Fieldhouse Blizzards from Indianapolis. The Lady Predators struggled to an 18-14 lead with 2:00 left in the first half, but the lightning quick 6th graders from Indy went on a 23-0 run over the final 2 minutes of the first half and first 6 minutes of the second half. The final margin was 48-28 in a game the Lady Predators would like to have back. Overall, a great weekend as the Lady Predators notched a 4-1 mark - their best five game AYBT tournament mark in 2 years.

Decatur AYBT Tournament July 11-12

The Lady Predators opened against Mrs. Freeman's Lady Predators team. After a sluggish start, Jillian Mulvany and Averi Gamble tossed in 16 first half points to stake the team to a 20-9 lead. The second half went much as the end of the first half with the Lady Predators pulling away 39-19.

In a thrilling game 2, Averi Gamble scored the go ahead basket with about 45 seconds to go to give the Lady Predators a 32-31 come from behind win. The Lady Predators scored the final 6 points of the game to pull it out against a quality CAM Raiders team that had one of the best players we've seen this year. Averi Gamble scored 10, Jillian Mulvany 8, Sam Churchill 7, Ashley Brown, Olivia Schmidt, and Brooklyn Crum 2 each with Lexi Clark adding 1.

Game 3 went well as the Predators jumped out to a 16-8 half-time lead and then started the second half with a 13-0 run to eventually win 35-14 against the 6th grade Champaign Blues. The Lady Predators split with Champaign last season winning by 2 in overtime and losing by 2 in the national tournament. Averi Gamble scored 10, Jillian Mulvany 9, Lexi Clark 6, Sam Churchill 4, and Olivia Schmidt, Ashley Brown, and Brooklyn Crum with 2 each.

Game 4 was against Pleasant Plains. The team struggled shooting the ball, but had enough to hold on to a 23-15 win. Plains was scrappy and played tough nosed defense. Averi Gamble lead the way with 8 while Olivia Schmidt chipped in 5, Sam Churchill 4, Jillian Mulvany 3, Ashley Brown 2, and Bree Ann Derhake 1.

The Lady Predators mailed in game 5. The team did not play anywhere near there potential and lost a heartbreaking 21-20 game in overtime. Averi Gamble tied the game with a basket with 2 seconds left, but the Lady Predators couldn't manage any offense in overtime and fell In spite of the poor final game, the team played great team offense as they passed the ball around the perimeter well as well as feeding both the low and high post. In addition, the team looked down the floor and connected well in transition. The team has improved greatly as the season has progressed as they look towards the national tournament in Bloomington.

National Tournament - Bloomington, Illinois July 18-21

Game 1 - Predators 38 Washington CGS 8 The Lady Predators jumped on this one early as they opened a 16-0 lead in the first 5 minutes and then a 22-4 halftime lead. The game went much the same way in the second half as the final was 38-8. Averi Gamble lead the way with 10 while Ashley Brown and Sam Churchill added 8 each. Jillian Mulvany added 6, Lexi Clark 4, and Olivia Schmidt 2. Everyone played well in this one as Catie Costa handled the ball well, Malea Bailey added several rebounds and passed well, and Brooklyn Crum had a number of assists.
Game 2 - Predators 40 Bloomington Lady Shockers 10 The Predators jumped to a big lead in this one also. By halftime it was 22-2 and finished 40-10. Jillian Mulvany lead the way with a number of steals and a team high 16 points. Also scoring were Sam Churchill 6, Bree Ann Derhake 5, Ashley Brown 4, Lexi Clark 4, Averi Gamble 2, Catie Costa 2, and Brooklyn Crum 1. The team pressed with a high degree of success as they were able to control the tempo of the game. The Lady Shockers ended up winning the girls lower division championship - so a good win for the Predators.
Game 3 - Predators 23 Athens Lady Warriors 9 This game was a lot more slow paced as Athens played a quality 2-3 zone and was fairly patient on offense. The Predators struggled to a 12-7 halftime lead, but with quality defense only one second half basket. The Lady Predators missed numerous opportunities to extend the lead as the ball would not go in the basket from in the paint. The team converted 7 of 13 free throws and won 23-9. Sam Churchill and Averi Gamble lead the way with 6 each, Jillian Mulvany tossed in 5 while Lexi Clarrk added 4 and Olivia Schmidt 2. The win also avenged an earlier season loss at Athens where the team couldn't throw one in the ocean.
Game 4 - Predators 29 Peoria JEMS 18 This game was a battle from the beginning. The JEMS came right at the Predators with quick guard play picking up the guards from baseline to baseline. The Predators struggled to finish on the fast break early, but got going at the end of the first half and throughout the second. Catie Costa was able to throw over the top of the press to Jillian Mulvany who converted several lay ups and free throws after being fouled on the way to the basket. The game was still only 13-10 at the half, but the team was able to run the offense effectively in the second half and extended the lead to a final of 29-18. Mulvany lead the way with 11. Olivia Schmidt hit a couple of jump shots and a basket and foul for 7. Lexi Clark and Averi Gamble added 4. Bree Ann Derhake added a basket and Sam Churchill hit a free throw. The team play on defense was tremendous as they forced the JEMS to stay outside the paint as they couldn't penetrate.
Game 5 - Predators 35 Pekin Hustle 21 The one was over before it started as the Predators jumped up 16-0 before backing off and winning 35-21. The Predators worked on reversing the ball, running offense, and trying to work on some mid-range jump shots the last 35 minutes of the game. Sam Churchill got the team off to the big start with 5 baskets in the first 5 minutes for a game high 10 points. Also contributing to the scoring was Olivia Schmidt with 7, Lexi Clark and Jillian Mulvany with 6, Malea Bailey with 4, and Averi Gamble with 2.
Game 6 - Predators 31 Rebel Rage 8 The Predators struggled early as it was only 3-2 after the first 8 minutes. Brooklyn Crum picked up a couple quick steals, added a basket and an assist as the team then finished the half with a 18-5 lead. The game ended 31-8 as the team was able to work on some half court offense and straight man defense. Scoring was balanced with Sam Churchill 7, Jillian Mulvany 6, Bree Ann Derhake and Averi Gamble 4 each, Catie Costa and Brooklyn Crum 3, and Ashley Brown and Lexi Clark adding 2.
Semi-finals - Predators-Crum 23 Predators-Freeman 21 In what amounted to a battle, the Freeman Predators proved a worthy opponent. Jillian Mulvany opened the scoring with 3 quick baskets. However, the team went ice cold and turned the ball over numerous times as the opponent got us out of playing our game. The Freeman Predators scored the next 9 to take an 11-6 lead. Brooklyn Crum hit a free thrown and Catie Costa and Sam Churchill added baskets to keep the team within 2 at 13-11 at the half. The second half opened with an Olivia Schmidt basket to tie it at 13, but the Freeman-Predators continued to put the pressure on as they took a 16-13 lead. Jillian Mulvany hit one of two free throws to cut it to 16-14 with just over six minutes left. It stayed this way until just over the 2:00 mark when the Freeman Predators hit another basket to open a 4 point lead. This is when the Predators pulled it out. Jillian Mulvany tossed in a basket to cut it to 2. Then Oliva Schmidt picked up a steal and the game tieing basket at 20. The Predators missed a golden opportunity to take the lead as they got a rebound but eventually turned the ball over and eventually committed a foul. The Freeman Predators hit 1 free throw to go up 21-20 with just over 30 seconds left. Jillian Mulvany was then fouled. She knocked in a pair of free throws for a 22-21 lead. After a couple jump balls, Sam Churchill got a rebound and was fouled with 6 seconds left. Sam hit one of two free throws to go up 23-21. The Freeman Predators got one more shot as a desperation 3-point attempt was just off the mark. The Freeman Predators definitely deserved to win as they outplayed us. However, we did just enough things right in the last 2 minutes to pull out a victory from the jaws of defeat. Laurn Briney who played with us in the Athens Tournament earlier in the year was tremendous for the Freeman Predators as she grabbed 15-20 rebounds and controlled the glass in this game.
Championship Game - Predators 30 Peoria JEMS 22 In a rematch of an earlier meeting, the Peoria JEMS won their way out of the other side of the bracket with a pair of close victories. The game was back and forth early. Peoria jumped to an early 9-6 lead with 6 minutes left in the first half. Then the Predators took control. They closed the half with a 10-0 run as Averi Gamble tossed in several baskets. Averi had 8 first half points while Oliva Schmidt added 3, Catie Costa 2, Sam Churchill 2, and Brooklyn Crum 1. The second half was fairly even as the teams pretty much traded baskets throughout. Averi Gamble added two more buckets for a game high 12. Jillian Mulvany was perfect from the free throw line (4-4) and added a basket for 6. Sam Churchill had 4, Oliva Schmidt 3, Bree Ann Derhake 2, Catie Costa 2, and Brooklyn Crum 1. The team was able to run off almost the last 1:30 as Catie, Lexi, and Brooklyn dribbled and passed the ball around. Sam and Jillian popped out to relieve pressure. The JEMS had a hard time catching up with the team. The team did a good job of rebounding as Averi Gamble, Sam Churchill, Ashley Brown, and Jillian Mulvany grabbed a number of rebounds. The guards did an outstanding job as keeping the JEMS in front and contained their speed. A great victory as the team finished the tournament 8-0 to finish 27-20 this season.
Overall 27-20 The team improved tremendously from January to July. There was the occasional step backwards, but overall the team progressed in leaps and bounds. The team ended up winning 16 of their last 18 games.
6th grade girls league 1-7
6th grade girls tournament 1-1
Logger Classic 2-2 lost championship 24-22 to St. Louis Majestics
Athens Tournament 4-3
Second Place in 6th grade
Third Place in 5th grade brackets So 8-13 in winter portion
Springfield AYBT 2-1
Decatur AYBT 1-4
Indianapolis AYBT 4-1
Decatur AYBT 4-1
National Tournament 8-0
National 5th Grade Champions

We did not lose to a fifth grade team since March.