BASKETBALL: DHS girls defeat Trico to start triple-header
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[It was an unusual day for DHS Basketball on Saturday. Three basketball games were held in Anders Gym at DuQuoin High School. That normally would not be unusual or different except the first one was a Varsity Girls Basketball Game followed by a Junior Varsity Boys Game and then the Varsity Boys played. All three DHS teams took on Trico. The Girls started the evening at 5:00 defeating Trico 62-42.
Two of the DuQuoin players are on the disabled list. Both Ashley Ward and Cassidy Rice are recovering from injuries sustained in earlier games this week. But that did not stop the Indians from giving the Pioneers a taste of defeat. DuQuoin led at the end of the first quarter 19-6, and at the half 40-16. After the third quarter the Indians were up 54-29, and the final score was 62-42.
DuQuoin's leading scorer was Jessica Hirsch with 27 points. That included four-three pointers. Rebekah Maddox chipped in 7 points, Bailie Caldwell 6, Hailey Stewart 6, Katrina Whitley 4, Curry Emling 4, Taylor King 3, Steffanie Gates 3, and Shelby Presley 2. In all, nine Indians scored during the game. DuQuoin's record is now 11-9 and 2-4 in the Conference.
Trico's record falls to 5-13. The leading scorer for Trico was Beth Daniels with 19 points. Ashley Modglin had 9 points, Rebecca Dilday 6, Kourtney Bunselmeyer 4, Katelyn Theis 2, and Jordan Lodge 2. The Pioneer Head Coach is Steve Vogt, who is assisted by Neal Schaber.
Coach Shawn File commented that "the turning point for us was when the Trico Coach called timeout at 4:31 in the first quarter. We went from a zone to a man to man defense. We made that switch and their girls did not handle the pressure very well."
"Jessica Hirsch had another good night. We made some adjustments in the second half to get the ball into our post players--Maddox and Presley. We brought in our freshmen. They play with a lot of energy. Four freshmen played in the first half. They really helped us out. We needed them to step up. They all played quality minutes."
DuQuoin plays next week in the Carbondale Tournament. The first game is Monday night at 7:00 with Carbondale. The team is assured of playing at least two games in the tournament.
The three game format with the Girls playing the early game seemed to be very successful. The Girls played in front of their largest audience ever, and by the time the Boys Junior Varsity game started, the gym was packed, and that game ended up being "standing room only." Many fans enjoyed all three games and the two overtimes in the Varsity Boys game. It was a good night for DuQuoin High School basketball. A night worth repeating.