Chester girls basketball Back-to-back wins give Lady Jackets momentum for regionals
The 2019-2020 Chester High School Lady Jacket Basketball Team closed out its regular season last week with back-to-back wins, defeating Trico 65-56, Feb. 6 and avenging an earlier season loss to Vienna by winning 58-28 on Feb. 8.
The team went into Tuesday's regionals at 25-5 overall and 7-3 in the Black Diamond Conference West Division.
"I am very proud of these girls," said Coach Pat Knowles. "They played hard and finished the season with 25 wins and just five losses.
"If we play like we can play, the girls have the power and skill to win the regional, but we will have to play our best," he added.
The last home game was Senior Night, honoring Lady Jackets Trinity Brown, Audrey Hopper, Ally Rowold, and Destiny Williams.
CHS 65; Trico 56
"We played a hard game and grinded it out," said Coach Pat Knowles. "The girls never gave up and kept playing hard even though Trico never really went away. I am glad to leave with a win
The first quarter was very close and competitive with two ties and four lead changes. But once Chester outscored the Pioneers, 10-5 to close the quarter and the Jackets led, 18-13, they never lost the lead again.
The second quarter started with Reese Chandler's three-pointer. Each team traded baskets until Chester achieved its biggest lead of the game, 33-21 with 1:15 to play in the half. Trico went on a 4-0 run to end the half and to trail, 33-25, but Chester enjoyed an 8-point lead going into the locker room at the break.
The second half was still a battle with Trico refusing to go away, but the Lady Jackets never let the lead get smaller than six points, 35-29 at 5:38. An 8-0 run put CHS up by 14 points, 43-29 with 4:18 to play in the third period. During that 8-0 run Kendall Williams got a steal and scored a fast layup and Destiny Williams made back-to-back fast-break layups. Josie Kattenbraker topped-off the run with a basket at the 4:18 mark to extend the Chester lead to 14 points, 43-29. The rest of the quarter Trico was able to get within 10-points, 43-33 at 3:44, but the Yellow Jackets would finish the period on a 10-6 run to lead by 14 points, 53-39.
The Lady Pioneers refused to throw in the towel down the stretch and outscored Chester, 17-12 in the fourth quarter to keep things interesting. Still, Trico could never bridge the gap enough to take over the game. The Lady Pioneers actually outscored the Lady Jackets, 13-8 down the stretch, and 17-12 in the quarter. Even a last second three pointer by Trico's Megan Wetting was not enough to save the day, however, as Chester still led by nine points, 65-56, at the final buzzer.
In the win, the Lady Jackets were led by Destiny Williams who scored 19 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed one rebound, recorded seven steals and had a pair of deflections. Kendall Williams added 15 points, grabbed a rebound, dished two assists, had four steals, and recorded five deflections.
CHS 58; Vienna 28
It was Senior Day at CHS and four Lady Jackets were honored at halftime. The players and their parents came to center court to receive flowers, balloons and a 3-Point Shot Promotion T-shirt in recognition for their service.
Honored were Trinity Brown and her parents, Jon and Jenny Brown; Audrey Hopper and her grandparents, John and Sue Berner; Ally Rowold and her parents, Dave and Linda Rowold; and Destiny Williams and her parents, Ron and Amy Williams.
Chester Head Coach Pat Knowles started his seniors and the first half was very close and competitive. Vienna ended the first quarter outscoring Chester, 6-2, but the Jackets led, 10-9 after one period.
The second quarter continued to be as competitive as the first. Chester rolled to a 6-0 lead to kick off the period and extend their lead to 16-9 at 2:51. Vienna followed with a 7-2 run of their own to finish the half. Chester held on to a slim, 18-16 lead.
After the popcorn break the Lady Jackets came back to play hard ball. Destiny Williams started a 21-5 run to take an 18-point lead, 39-21 after three quarters of play. During that run Destiny Williams scored two points, Kendall Williams scored six, Reese Chandler added two, Trinity Brown popped a three-pointer, Alyssa Seymour contributed six points and Kaylin Absher hit a field goal Vienna's Bri Penrod added the Eagle's five points by herself on a field goal and a trey.
The Yellow Jacket train could not be stopped in the final 8:00 as the Jackets outscored the Lady Eagles, 19-7 to win the game, 58-28.
In the win, the Lady Jackets were led by Destiny Williams with 14 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, nine assists, six steals, one deflection and one blocked shot. Alyssa Seymour was second in scoring with 10 points. She also grabbed five rebounds, dished out one assist, had three steals, and deflected one Vienna pass. Trinity Brown followed with nine points and also led the team in rebounds with 11 and recorded three assists and one blocked shot. Kendall Williams scored eight points, had one rebound, one assist, one steal, and a pair of deflections.