Julia Beccue, Caroline Huff, Ashton Wakeman and Alec Hayes were recognized on Senior Night in Mt. Pulaski just before taking the court versus Illini Central. The Cougars won 54-36 over the Lady Toppers.

Lady Toppers come up short on Senior Night

[February 06, 2015]  MOUNT PULASKI - The Lady Toppers came up short Thursday night on Senior Night at the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium, falling to Illini Central 54-36.

Senior Alec Hayes made sure the Lady Toppers were on the scoreboard first with a three pointer that drew a loud opening applause from the purple and gold crowd.

Illini Central was able to take an early 4-3 lead but senior Ashton Wakeman's two free throws gave the lead back to Mount Pulaski, 5-4. However, Mount Pulaski could not stop senior Bailey Paskach, who had all eight first quarter points for the Cougars. Mount Pulaski senior Julia Beccue drained her first three of the game with 1:20 on the clock and that was good for a 10-8 Lady Topper lead at the end of one quarter of play.

The Cougars drew first blood in the second quarter with Selena Bradshaw quickly tying the game at 10-10 and teammate Dakota Schmeiderer hit the first of her many threes to put Illini Central up 13-10. Lilly Pickett's two points off the offensive rebound edged Mount Pulaski closer 13-12 but Paskach and Schmeiderer were just getting started for the Cougars. Paskach connected for a three at the 4:10 mark to put Illini Central up 16-12. Two free throws by Alyssa Bridge made the score 16-14 but soon after that Schmeiderer ran off five points for the Cougars and the 21-14 lead belonged to the black and gold team. BreAnna Rentmeister's nice jumper in the lane closed the gap to 21-16 but it would be Bre Whittaker banking in a three at the other end to keep pace as the Cougars continued to lead, 24-16. Just before the half came to a close, though Mount Pulaski got a defensive rebound from Rentmeister who in turn found Hayes halfway down the court and Hayes managed to send a nice pass to Pickett, who closed out the first half scoring with a nice bucket under the basket.

Mount Pulaski had managed to put together a good first half on Senior Night, even though the Cougars were still in the lead, 24-18.

The third quarter was all about the Cougars' Schmeiderer and Paskach, who combined to score all 15 Illini Central points here. The closest Mount Pulaski was able to get was 29-26 with 4:44 on the clock, that's when Beccue hit another three from far away to spark the Lady Toppers for a brief moment. But the moment was brief and by the time the third quarter buzzer sounded, Illini Central was on top 39-26, thanks to a 10-0 run by the dynamic duo in black and gold.

The Mount Pulaski seniors were not about to give up on Senior Night however, as Hayes and Beccue each hit threes, but for every three they scored, Illini Central also scored. As Senior Night came to a close and a few tears were shed, it was Illini Central who walked away with the 54-36 victory.

It was a combination of the Cougars' sophomore center Dakota Schmeiderer and senior forward Bailey Paskach who stole the show in Mount Pulaski by scoring 23 and 21 points respectively. Schmeiderer had five threes on the evening as she shot lights out for four quarters.

Mount Pulaski's Julia Beccue and Alec Hayes also had their share of threes, but unfortunately on this night they, and fellow seniors Ashton Wakeman and Caroline Huff came up a little short.

Junior Lilly Pickett led Mount Pulaski with 10 points and senior Julia Beccue chipped in nine points.
 

Regionals start next week for the Lady Toppers.

Mount Pulaski scoring:
Pickett 10
Beccue 9
Rentmeister 7
Hayes 6
Wakeman 2
Bridge 2

Illini Central scoring

Schmeiderer 23
Paskach 21
Bradshaw 7
Whittaker 3

[Teena Lowery]