Lady Jackets' season ends at Class 2A regional
A very exciting and successful Chester High School Lady Jacket basketball season came to an end Saturday, Feb. 12, when Chester traveled to Belleville for the first round of the 2022 IHSA Class 2A regional tournament.
The Chester girls, seeded No. 10, faced Belleville Althoff Catholic, No. 9. CHS came into the game with an overall record of 14-15 and a Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division record of 4-6.
"Coming into today's game I realize that our girls do not usually play well on Saturdays and that we don't play well in the early morning or afternoon games," said head coach Clint Cowan before the game, referring to the 1 p.m. start.
"Likewise we know that Belleville Althoff Catholic has a full roster that is quick and plays well together. We have our seven girls that play hard and never give up, but we just came off of a really emotional and hard-fought Senior Night game the day before yesterday and we haven't really had time to rest and recuperate."
Althoff 67, Chester 36
The regional game started off very competitively with four lead changes and one tie. Chester drew first blood in the opening 15 seconds when Kailyn Absher connected for 2 points. Althoff answered 15 seconds later.
Alyssa Seymour hit a shot at 6:54 to retake the lead, 4-2. Ten seconds later Jazzi Merideth committed the first foul of the game and Althoff made 1 to make it 4-3. At the 6:00 mark Althoff scored a bucket to take the Crusaders' first lead of the game, 5-4.
After a Chester turnover, Althoff scored again. In the next minute Chester would turn the ball over two more times and commit the second foul of the game, leading coach Cowan to call a timeout.
The Jackets then blocked a shot and took a charge from Althoff. The ball went back to Chester and Alyssa Seymour connected on 1-of-2 free throws to bring the Jackets within two points, 7-5.
Althoff and Chester traded baskets during the next two minutes. Chester used a 5-0 run to retake the lead, 12-11, on another Seymour basket and a 3-pointer by Camrynn Howie. On Althoff's next possession the Crusaders went up 13-12.
Rylie Conley committed her first foul of the game at 1:53, and Althoff made 1-of-2 free throws to extend the lead, then scored again to make it 16-12. At the 1:00 mark, the Crusaders turned the ball over and Seymour took advantage, closing the gap to 16-14.
With just 26 seconds left in the first, Althoff struck again to extend their lead to 18-14. With the clock ticking down, and just 8 seconds to play, Chester's Conley drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter down by just 1 point, 18-17.
In that exciting, action-packed quarter, Seymour led the Jackets with 9 points. Howie and Conley each hit 3-pointers, and Absher knocked down a bucket.
The second quarter started just like the first ended with both teams scoring right away. The Crusaders then exploded for a huge 13-0 run in the next 4:30 to take a 14-point lead, 33-19, with 3:10 to play in the first half.
Chester's Rylie Conley broke the curse by draining a 3-pointer. In the closing two minutes, Chester held Althoff to just two free throws, but the Crusaders allowed just 1 point on a Chester free throw by Emma Diskey.
At halftime, Althoff led by 14 points, 37-23.
Throughout the entire first half Belleville Althoff played with confidence, aggressiveness, and quickness. The YellowJackets, on the other hand were tentative and played with caution and hesitancy. Althoff had fresh legs in the game all of the time, while Chester had to manage with just five starters and two young players on the bench.
After the halftime break, the Lady Jackets came out and played with a bit more confidence and drive.
Belleville scored first at the 7:30 mark to lead 39-23, before Absher headed to the line to make 1. Althoff scored again to lead 41-24. Seymour answered with a bucket, and Althoff returned the favor, making it 43-26.
Merideth committed a foul at 4:34. Belleville missed the first free throw but made the second to extend their lead to 44-26. Chester missed their next shot and Althoff scored off the opportunity.
Althoff turned the ball over on their next possession, and committed a foul, leading the Althoff coach to call a timeout. During the next minute, Chester scored 3 points on Absher free throws to pulled within 17 points, 46-29.
To finish the quarter, Althoff went on a 6-5 run. Conley hit a 3 at 1:59 to bring the Jackets within 16, but Belleville answered with two buckets to make it 52-32.
Seymour was fouled in the act of shooting at the buzzer. With nobody else on the court, she shot two free throws after the buzzer and made both. The quarter ended with Althoff up 52-34.
A much-drained Lady Jacket squad took the court to start the fourth quarter. The result was a 15-2 Althoff run to finish the game. Chester's Seymour scored the only 2 points for the Jackets.
Althoff won 67-36 to advance to the regional semifinals.
Chester's Seymour scored 13 points and led the team in rebounds with 13. Conley had 9 points and Absher added 8. Howie recorded 3 points and dished out seven assists. Emma Diskey rounded out the scoring with 3 points.
"This was a tough game for us. We couldn't get anything going and we couldn't stop them defensively," Cowan said. "Hats off to Althoff. They have one heck of a team."
Looking back on the season, Cowan said this is one he won't soon forget. "This group of seven girls worked hard the entire season. We had ups and downs, but we got through it."
He noted that seniors Seymour and Absher will be missed, and wished them the best in the future. But he is also looking forward to his second year as head coach.
"We have a solid group of girls returning and it looks like we are going to have decent numbers next year," Cowan said. "This season has been a great run and I truly believe we have started building the foundation for a program that can be respected throughout the state."