SIJHSAA Girls Basketball: T/SB is state tourney-bound !

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Tamaroa/St. Bruno improved its girls basketball record to 22-5 Monday night, claiming the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association (SIJHSAA) Class S Region III Regional title.

The Lady Indians defeated host Ashley (Grade School) 40-29 in the

regional finals and now advance to the state's elite eight.

Friday night at 6:15 at Rend Lake College, T/SB plays Region VI winner Bartelso (Grade School) in the quarterfinals. The complete state pairings can be found on today's scoreboard page.

"We played hard and played well and I so proud of these girls," T/SB coach Jimmy Harris said. "We are playing well right now. We are clicking and peaking at the right time."

The Lady Indians built a 10-point lead and made the margin stand against Ashley as Jordan Koenegstein posted game-high totals in points (18) and rebounds (eight). Bailey Nippe and Dalis Hubler both added six points with Nippe and Kayla Harris each pulling down seven rebounds.

Nippe had team-best totals in assists (10) and steals (four).

"I hope can keep playing well at state," Harris added.

K'Lee Novak was the top Ashley scorer with 13 points. Amber Williams netted nine.

In the semifinals last Friday night, T/SB defeated rival Pinckneyvillle (#204) for the fifth time this season. The final score was 39-36.

Nippe (15 points) and Koenegstein (11 points, nine rebounds, four assists) leading the way. Haley Szczepanski recorded five steals.

Alyssa Hirsch (14) and Megan Bagley (eight) topped #204.

he win over #204 was the second in eight days. On Jan. 7, T/SB pulled off a 41-31 victory.

Four days later, T/SB secured a 20-win regular season by winning over DeSoto, 23-15.

The seventh graders also won, ending their year with a 6-10 record.

#204 began regional play by winning over Grand Prairie/Hoyleton, 48-33.

Hirsch (13), Maddie Jones (12) and Bagley (nine) were points leaders.