DECATUR - With senior and team leader Brooklyn Gregory out with an injury, Clinton fans wondered who would take charge in their Okaw Valley Conference tournament opener against Sullivan Saturday, Jan. 22.
The answer was freshman point guard Haley Toohill.
In her first ever conference tournament game at the high school level, Toohill poured in a career-high 26 points as the Lady Maroons advanced to the tournament semifinal with a 60-46 victory over the Redskins at St. Teresa High School.
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates, it was really a team win," Toohill said.
It was Toohill's first conference tournament game as a high schooler, a date she said was circled on her calendar for about a year.
Right off the bat, she was lights out from beyond the arc, hitting three treys in the first quarter as Clinton held an 18-13 advantage after the stanza. She added another five points in the second, giving her 17 for the half and a 29-20 lead for the Lady Maroons.
"She came out shooting the ball real well," Clinton head coach Josh Williams said. "With Brooklyn out, we need someone who can step up and score for us and this time it was Haley. It's often Haley."
"She works so hard, staying after practice at the gym, working on her shots. She just gets better and better as the season goes on."
With 33 seconds remaining in the first half, Toohill held on to the ball until the nine second mark and made a swift pass to Alicia Mitchell, who layed it in for the final points of the half, preventing Sullivan from getting a legitimate shot off at the buzzer.
Mitchell had ten points for Clinton.
"Alicia gave us some good minutes and played real well," Williams said. "We like to take it down to get the last shot (of the half). Sometimes our kids get anxious, but we are working on it and it's something we need to do when we get to the regional."
Toohill continued her dominance into the third quarter, accounting for the first four points of the second half, pushing the Clinton lead up to 13 at 33-20. But the Redskins stayed within striking distance, only trailing by eight (40-32) at the end of the quarter.
And even with Toohill out for the final few minutes after picking up her fifth foul, her teammates closed it out. Mitchell, Madi Bevins and Hannah Holt all hit key shots from the free throw line, and Clinton pulled away with the 60-46 win.
Sullivan only led at two points during the contest, hitting the game's opening basket for a quick 2-0 lead and briefly holding a 13-12 lead late in the first quarter.
Amber Miller added seven points for Clinton. Holt and Bevins each had
With the win, the Lady Maroons advanced to play Warrensburg-Latham in the tournament semifinal Monday night.
"We're going to have to rebound, and we're going to have to make shots," Williams said. "And we need to figure out their pressure, with the 1-2-2 press. If we can get through that, our guards can keep their heads up and our bigs make good cuts, we should be okay."
Photo: Haley Toohill scored 26 points in the Lady Maroons' win over Sullivan Saturday night in Decatur.
