UPDATES

Logger Classic (2nd Place - 4-1 in the tournament) The Predators finished 2nd for the 3rd straight year. The team opened with a 39-33 win over the St. Louis North Stars. The Predators kept the lead between 5 and 10 the whole game, but couldn't put it away until late. In the second game, the team faced MBA Select out of South Bend. In what was great game and a truly exciting finish, the Predators pulled out a 45-43 come from behind win. The Predators trailed by 8 with 2 minutes left, but Chante Stonewall eventually hit the game winner with 6 seconds left to win it. She finished with 28. In game 3, the Predators played hard nosed defense and limited the Collinsville Kahoks to very few second opportunities in a 30-12 win. In game 4, the Predators sealed up the pool title with a 51-23 win over Highland. The team had balanced scoring and was able to get ready for the championship game. In the finals, the team met the other MBA Select team from South Bend. This one finished 10th last year in AAU. In a game that went back and forth, the Lady Predators fell 2 points short in a truly great game. The 38-36 game was matched with great play from both teams.

End of Year Gym Tournament (1st Place - 5-3 in the league and 3-0 in the tournament) The Springfield Predators concluded the winter session at The Gym by winning the 7th/8th grade tournament. The team started with a solid performance against the Slammers. The defense really took over the game while the team was able to get enough offense to eventually win handily. After an opening round win, the Predators faced a tough Peoria Diamond JEMS team that always provides stiff competition. After a hard fought game, the team pulled out a 4 point victory. In the championship game, the Predators played the always tough Taylorville squad. The Predators jumped to an early lead and was able to extend the lead through good defense and great shooting. Eventually, the Predators won 47-26 to take the title

St. Louis Tournament of Champions (1-2 Overall) Coming off a 3rd place finish last year, the Predators were hoping to do the same or better this year. However, the team did not play very well on Friday night and lost by 7 to the St. Louis Rockets. The team bounced back on Saturday with a good 14 point win over the Memphis Super Champs. In the final game of pool play, the Kansas City Della Lamb Running Angels were just too much and handed the Predators a 20 point loss.

Summer Break Shootout May 20-22 (2-2 Overall)

The Predators finished the weekend 2-2. The Predators opened with the always difficult Plains Redbirds. The team fought valiantly, but fell 26-20. They took on a tough 8th grade SW Jets team to open up play Saturday. After struggling to score for much of the game, the girls caught fire in the last 10 minutes and cut an 18 point deficit to 6 before finally falling 40-30. In the loss, Elecia Thies tossed in 12 while Lexie Clark added 9. In the 3rd game, the Predators bounced back with a 42-10 victory over the Blue Demons where the Predators dominated throughout. In the fourth game, the Predators jumped to an 18-3 halftime lead and finished off the 7th grade SW Jets 37-12 behind balanced scoring again.

Springfield AYBT May 28-29 (3-2 overall)

The Springfield 7th grade Predators ran into a tough 8th grade Predators team to open play. The youngsters trailed by only 4 at the half and kept it within 5-6 most of the second half including cutting it to 26-22 with under two minutes to play. However, the 8th grade team pulled away with a couple baskets and free throws at the end to claim a 36-25 win over the 7th graders. In game 2, the Predators fought the 7AAA State Champs and came away with a 35-24 win. Tosha Curtis tossed in 13 while Jillian Mulvany added 7. In the 3rd game, the Predators won 43-21 over the Razzle Dazzle 8th graders from Bloomington/Normal. Jillian Mulvany added 10 in the win while Bree Ann Derhake tossed in 7. The 4th game was a heartbreaker as the Predators dropped a 32-31 game to PGSL-8th. The Predators trailed by as many as 14 and 10 most of the game. However, a late surge pulled the Predators ahead with the ball in the final 20 seconds, but a turnover, not grabbing a loose ball and a rebound, and then fouling in the last 20 seconds caught up to the team as PGSL capitalized with the final 4 points to win 32-31. Nine Predators scored in the game. In the final game, the Predators again started slow but finished with a flurry as they knocked off the always scrappy Plains Cardinal 7th grade team. Tosha Curtis threw in 14, Elecia Thies 11, and Derhake 7.

Bloomington AYBT June 4-5 (5-0 Overall)

This weekend was all about getting more time. The Predators came out with five wins without really being challenged. In the opener, we knocked off the Plains Redbirds 60-22 behind great passing and teamwork. Jillian Mulvany paced the team with 15, Chante Stonewall added 14, and Emily Nordsiek 10. In game 2, the team beat the Central Illinois Elite 54-15. Brooklyn Crum was the leading scorer with 9, while Chante Stonewall, Ashley Brown, and Jillian Mulvany added 8 a piece. In the 3rd game, the Predators won 67-14 agains the Champaign Krush. Chante Stonewall scored a game high 19. Lexie Clark added 13 while Ashley Bronw tossed in 10. Lauren Briney also chipped in with 7 first half points. The fourth game finished similarly as the Predators beat Freed 48-16. Chante Stonewall led the way with 13 and Jillian Mulvany added 10. In the final game, the Predators beat the Lincoln Dynamite 63-19. The team had balanced scoring with Lexie Clark having 14, Chante Stonewall 12, Janaiya Jones 10, Jillian Mulvany 9, and Lauren Briney 8.

Monmouth AYBT in June 18 (1-2 Overall)

The Predators ended played very shorthanded this weekend. With only six girls playing, it made for a very short bench. The Predators opened by played the PGSL-9th grade team. The team trailed 17-14 at the half and eventually fell 34-31. The girls battled valiantly, but just couldn't ever get the lead in the game. Janaiya Jones lead the way with 10 points and all six girls contributed to the scoring in the game. In the second game, the girls avenged an earlier season one point loss to the PGSL-8th grade team. The ladies jumped to a 26-18 halftime lead and eventually pulled it out 45-39. The Jillian Mulvany paced the team in scoring with 12 while Lexie Clark added 11. Brooklyn Crum and Lauren Briney each has seven while Catie Costa and Janaiya Jones added four. In game three, the girls played an 8th grade Lady Knights team from Davenport, Iowa. The girls came up short 36-21.

East Side League, East Peoria - June (4-0 Overall)

The girls played the Heart of Illinois-Black team in game 1. The team jumped to an early lead and won 60-22. In game two, the Peoria Diamond Jems and were victorious in a close game. The girls held on to a 51-43 victory. In the third game, the team played the Heart of Illinois 8th grade Silver team. The again jumped to an early lead and eventually won 42-25. In the final game against Limestone, the girls were sloppy early but eventually cruised to a 50-22 win.

Pekin AYBT July 9-10 (4-1 Overall)

After a couple weeks off, the girls jumped right back into it. They jumped to a 32-11 halftime lead and eventually won 50-25 against the Blue Streak 8th grade team from Bloomington. Nine girls scored lead by Elecia Thies with 9 and Lexie Clark, Tosha Curtis, and Chante Stonewall with 8 each. In the middle game of day 1, the girls avenged their earlier loss in June to the PGSL-9th grade team. This time opening a large 25-10 halftime lead and eventually winning 41-31. Again nine girls were in the scoring column as Chante Stonewall lead the way with 8 while Ashley Brown, Tosha Curtis, and Emily Nordsiek each had 6. The final game of the day, the team played the LC Dynamite 8th grade team. The girls played poorly in the first half but held a 12-8 lead. They then outscored the Dynamite 27-15 in the second half for a 39-23 victory. Elecia Thies paced the scoring with 11, Tosha Curtis 9, Chante Stonewall 8, and Ashley Brown 6. To open Sunday, play the girls knocked off the Razzle Dazzle-8th from Normal. They extended an 18-8 first half lead to a 41-17 win. Jillian Mulvany had 11, Elecia Thies 8, and Ashley Brown and Emily Nordsiek 6 each. In the final game matching 4-0 teams, the girls ran into the Lady Knights-8th graders from Iowa again. The girls did not fair any better losing 52-32. Elecia Thies topped the scoring with 9, Jillian Mulvany 6, Ashley Brown and Brooklyn Crum with 5, Janaiya Jones with 4 and Lexie Clark with 3.

Summer Splash Shootout - Davenport, Iowa - July 16 (3-0 Overall)

The girls made their first appearance in an Iowa tournament now leaving only Kentucky as a bordering state we haven't played in. The girls opened with the Iowa Barnstormers from the Cedar Rapids area. The girls played a great first half handling a tough press and were up at the half 12-10 despite a 1-9 free throw effort in the half. In the second half the girls broke a 19-19 tie with about a minute left as Janaiya Jones hit a big bucket and Jillian Mulvany nailed 4-5 free throws to give the girls an impressive 25-19 win in the opener. Janaiya Jones was huge with numerous rebounds and 9 points. Jillian Mulvany grabbed a bunch more rebounds and ended with 8 points. In the second game, the girls trudged through an opening 16-8 halftime lead, but were much more inspired in the second half and eventually won 34-17 agains the Illinois and Iowa Stunners. Lexie Clark had double figures with 14 including 6-6 from the charity stripe. Bree Ann Derhake had a big first half and ended with 8. Jillian Mulvany had 7 with Lauren Briney tossed in 3. In the final game matching the two undefeated teams, the girls played the Moline-8th grade team. The girls trailed 10-7 at the half and 18-15 with about 3 minutes left before nodding in up at 18 and then eventually winning 20-19. Janaiya Jones was tremendous again on the glass and ended with 7 points. Jillian Mulvany was very present on the defensive end and ended with 4. Lauren Briney, Bree Ann Derhake, Emily Nordsiek, and Catie Costa all had 2 each. None bigger than Catie's rebound basket late in the game to tie the game at 18. The girls finished 3-0 in their tune up for Nationals.