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 The Honeybears had home court advantage Wednesday night and knew
how to use it. "Our girls were determined not to lose on their home
court," said Coach Jamie Anderson. As hosts of the sectional title
game, the Mount Pulaski fans packed Bob Gasaway Gymnasium and their
23-1 Honeybears certainly put on a show.
Skylar Hayes opened the scoring for the Honeybears at the 3:17 mark
in the first quarter as she made the move through lane surrounded by
defenders look easy for two. Hayes quickly stole the ball the next
play for a nice layup through traffic to give the Honeybears the 4-0
lead. A free throw later by Hayes and the Honeybears had jumped out
to a 5-0 lead. Morton Blessed Sacrament had their own sharp-shooter
in Tenley Dowell. A three-pointer and a layup by Dowell allowed
Morton to tie the game at 5-5. Hayes would put the Honeybears back
on top with a layup following a nice pass from Abigail Fitzpatrick.
Dowell answered back with another three to give the first quarter
edge to Morton Blessed Sacrament 8-7. At the end of one, the scoring
was all contributed to Hayes and Dowell for their respective teams.
 In second quarter action Megan Gold got on the board with a put back
on the rebound for two and the 10-7 lead for Morton. A couple Mount
Pulaski turnovers later and Morton had extended that lead to 14-7. A
full court pass from Fitzpatrick to Hayes for two and a nice outside
jumper from Ainsley Chandler got the Honeybears back in the scoring
rhythm and made the score 14-11. Madison Thomas would hit a long two
to continue the scoring streak for Mount Pulaski as they inched
closer and only trailed 14-13 at this point. With 1:25 left in the
second quarter Callie Anderson connected for nothing but net from
the outside and the crowd went wild as the basket put the Honeybears
on top 15-14. Morton was a little shaken at this point and Hayes
took advantage and decided to go coast to coast for the layup and
give Mount Pulaski the 17-14 lead as both teams headed to the locker
rooms.
Mount Pulaski picked right back up where they left off in the third
quarter with Hayes quickly scoring two on the inbounds pass from
Fitzpatrick. A five second violation on Morton gave Mount Pulaski
another chance to score and Hayes did it again for the 21-14 Mount
Pulaski lead. Moments later it was that combination of
Hayes-Fitzpatrick that has been so dominating all season as
Fitzpatrick has the ability to find Hayes anywhere on the court and
Hayes is usually good for a bucket. In this case Hayes delivered two
more points for Mount Pulaski and the Honeybears were looking at a
23-14 lead. Tough defense by the Honeybears really rattled Morton at
times and the frustration was beginning to show with Mount Pulaski
on quite a scoring run. And they were not done yet. Anderson banked
in a three for the Honeybears right in front of the hometown crowd
and the fans jumped up in celebration. Not only did Mount Pulaski
have a commanding 26-14 lead at this time but they had also went on
a combined second and third quarter 19-0 scoring run. Gold finally
managed to make a basket for Morton late in the third quarter but
Chandler answered back with her own two points and Mount Pulaski
continued to lead 28-16. Dowell was not giving up for Morton though
and she continued to play her heart out. Her layup and three-pointer
kept the game within reach for Morton, but at the end of three it
was still Mount Pulaski with the lead, 30-22.
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Morton would score first in the fourth quarter, not once but twice,
and all of a sudden Mount Pulaski saw their lead dwindle to 30-26.
With 5: 06 remaining in the game Hayes went all the way for Mount
Pulaski with a nice layup to extend the Honeybears lead, 32-26. A
nice pass from Fitzpatrick to Hayes, who would drive baseline and
pop the jumper and get the foul, and the Honeybears were back in
command with the 35-27 lead. A technical was called on the Morton
coach at this time and Hayes went back to the free throw and managed
to sink one of the baskets for a 36-27 Honeybear lead. Dowell, who
can shoot absolutely lights out from anywhere on the court,
connected for two three-pointers and just like that, with 3:58
remaining the Honeybears lead was down to 36-33. Chandler nailed a
key jumper with 3:31 on the clock to give the Honeybears a little
breathing room at 38-33. Both teams would be scoreless until around
the 1:00 mark when Dowell drove thru the lane for two points and cut
the Honeybear lead to 38-35. A couple free throws by Hayes and
Fitzpatrick extended the Honeybears lead to 40-35 with 28.2 seconds
left in the game. Dowell would toss up a three in desperation with
20 seconds left and she would miss. Dowell quickly fouled
Fitzpatrick as Mount Pulaski had possession of the ball and that
would be the end of Dowell. She fouled out of the game, but it was a
great all-around effort and she led her team in scoring with 23
points. Meanwhile Fitzpatrick missed those free throws and Morton
had another shot but missed. Chandler got the rebound and managed to
get the ball out to Fitzpatrick, who was fouled again. This time
with 6.9 seconds on the clock Fitzpatrick made both buckets and
sealed the 42-35 victory for the Honeybears.
As time expired on Morton, Mount Pulaski was celebrating and
punching their ticket to state. Skylar Hayes, who led the Honeybears
with 26 points, quickly found her dad, Assistant Coach Steve Hayes,
on the court and jumped into his arms in jubilation. A great
father-daughter moment, especially since the very first state
championship banner hanging in the Bob Gasaway Gymnasium and looming
overhead, was one that he helped earn in 1980 as a member of the
Class B State Champion Bruins. Remember Skylar Hayes also scored her
1,000 point of her junior high career earlier this season.
In speaking with Coach Jamie Anderson after the game, he credited
the home court advantage and the fans support. "Tonight there was
just great crowd support. Everyone has been so supportive this week,
from the teachers to the students there has been a lot of
excitement." He added, "And I guess there will be a little more
excitement because we're playing Saturday."
In fact the Honeybears (23-1) have earned a chance to play Saturday
at 11:30 a.m. versus Joliet Laraway (22-1) in the IESA 8-1A State
Tournament hosted by Clinton Junior High School. The winner will
advance to Saturday night's game at 5:00 p.m. The championship and
third place game will be Thursday, December 18.
Mount Pulaski Honeybears scoring
Hayes 26
Chandler 6
Anderson 5
Fitzpatrick 3
Thomas 2
[Teena Lowery] |
