Chester Grade School Lady Jr. Jackets play for Regional basketball title

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Chester Grade School lady Jr. Jackets Basketball Team made it to the Championship game of the 2010 Regional Basketball Tournament at Unity Point School in Carbondale, but fell short in the title game against Pinckneyville, 35-24.

In the opening round the Jr. Jackets played hosts, Unity Point, winning a very close contest against the Carbondale foe, 25-24, putting them in the Championship game facing conference foe, Pinckneyville.

Against Unity Point, Wednesday, January 13, the Jackets used a 4-0 first-quarter shut of Unity Point to set the tone of the game. Aziah McBurney popped a field goal and Alexandria Fedderke sank both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation to give CGS their 4-0 lead.

In the second quarter the Lady Jackets kept up the pace outscoring Unity Point 8-7 to take a five-point, 12-7 lead into the locker room at the half. During that stretch McBurney knocked down three field goals for six points and Maddie Conner connected on a jumper to give Chester their eight points.

Coach Stumpe encouraged the girls to play hard and maintain their momentum after the intermission. Stumpe preached defense and called for god shot selection in the second half to secure thee win.

McKenzi Rucker came alive in the third quarter making a field goal for two points as did Amanda Easton who had been silent the first half. Katie Roth sank a free throw and Sarah Bindel sank a free throw to round out the third-quarter offense.

The third quarter was successful as the Jr. Jackets held Unity Point to only two more points and the Jackets added another six points to the scoreboard. Chester enjoyed a nine-point lead, 18-9, heading into the fourth quarter.

Unity Point knew it was their last chance to stay alive and opened the fourth quarter with a bang and hit the court running. After it was all over Unity Point had laid a 15-7 run on the Jr. Jackets and came within one point of overtaking Chester in their quest to make it to the Regional; finals.

In the fourth period Alexandria Fedderke kept the Lady Jr. Jacket alive scoring six points. McKenzi Rucker made a free throw to give CGS their seventh point. Unity Point's Goodale was a monster in the final run on the Jackets scoring eight points by herself.

Hiller and Moore added two points and Sweeny made a field goal and a free throw as Unity Point came within one point of a win over the Jackets. Stumpe and her Lady J. Jackets held on for the victory, 25-24 and advanced to the Regional Championship game. With the win CGS improved to 5-15 on the season.

For the night Aziah McBurney and Alexandria Fedderke paced the Jackets with eight points apiece. McKenzi Rucker added three and Maddie Conner and Amanda Easton each scored on a field goal for two points apiece. Katie Roth and Sarah Bindel each connected on free throws to round out the Jacket offense.

The next night, Thursday, January 14, the Lady Jr. Jackets took on Pinckneyville for the 2010 Regional Championship. Earlier in the season the Jr. Jackets lost both times to Pinckneyville in conference play and once in the Pinckneyville 204 Tournament.

In the first week of the regular season Pinckneyville defeated the Jr. Jackets, 31-16 at the 204 Tournament and a week later they won, 37-18, at Pinckneyville Public. Just three weeks later the Kittens beat CGS on their home court, 48-17.

It is typically difficult to beat the same team even twice in the same season, let alone three times, so Coach Stumpe and her Lady Jr. Jackets were hoping to carry their momentum from the opening round of the Regional into the Championship game and win against Pinckneyville.

Pinckneyville jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter. Alexandria Fedderke scored two-points on a field goal and Sarah Bindel hit a free throw giving CGS their three points. In the second period McKenzi Rucker popped a field goal and Fedderke sank another while Amanda Easton sank the front end of a one-and-one. Chester added five points in the second quarter.

Unfortunately Pinckneyville added eight points. Doerflein connected for two field goals while Stein did likewise. Pinckneyville led, 18-8, heading into the locker room at the break.

Following the halftime intermission Pinckneyville came out determined to add to their 10-point lead and accomplished that goal putting up 11 points in the third quarter. The Jackets could only muster four more points on a field goal by Aziah McBurney and two free throws by Katie Roth. Pinckneyville led, 29-12 after three quarters of play.

It was do-or-die time for the Lady Jr. Jackets in the fourth quarter. CGS hoped to put together a huge run on the Kittens just like Unity Point had done to them the night before, but in spite of a nice, 12-6 run, Chester could not crawl out of the hold they had dug earlier in the game.

Chloe Wallace made a nice contribution to the Jacket's point total with three field goals for six points. Sarah Bindel sank a field goal for two points as did Amanda Easton and Alexandria Fedderke. Pinckneyville was held to only six points. D. Bruns knocked down one basket while Meyer hit two field goals.

For the game Katie Roth led the Jackets with eight points. Alexandria Fedderke followed with six points. Sarah Bindel and Amanda Easton added three points apiece and Aziah McBurney and McKenzi Rucker scored two points apiece on field goals. Pinckneyville was led by Meyer who scored 13 points followed by Doerflein (8), Stein (6), De. Bruns (6) and Do Bruns (2).

After Chester's great, exciting come-back run in the fourth quarter the Jackets still trailed by 11 points and lost their bid for a 2010 Regional Championship, 35-24. Chester ended their season with a record of 5-16 overall and 2-9 in the conference.

With the loss the Jr. Jackets ended their 2009-2010 season and said farewell to 8th graders, Aziah McBurney, Katie Roth, Maddie Conner, Sarah Bindel, Alexandria Fedderke, Amanda Easton, Lindsey McCormick, Katie Brunkhorst, Maddie Lemon and Autumn Phillips.

Coach Stumpe was proud of her girls for improving throughout the season and for never giving up even under adversity. "The squad was quick and played hard defense throughout the year. They never gave up and always maintained a decent attitude. I hope they all continue to play basketball for the CHS Lady Yellow Jackets next year," noted Stumpe.