Clinton Too(hill) much for Sullivan

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.

Bison fall to Lake Michigan Catholic

NEW BUFFALO - The New Buffalo Bison boys basketball team continued their struggling season, falling to arch-rival Lake Michigan Catholic, 38-34 Monday night at Slater Gym in New Buffalo.

The Bison play hard, especially star player Jordan Stover. But the shots just weren't falling and after leading until the middle of the second quarter, a four minute scoreless stretch gave LMC the 18-17 lead at halftime.

The Bison missed free throws in the game's final minutes, preventing them from coming back and winning. Kurtis Hatfield led the Bison in scoring with seven points.

New Buffalo already has one win on the season, and the loss to LMC simply lowered their Red Arrow Conference record to 1-1. It will be interesting to see how they fare against conference favorites Eau Claire and Covert. Hopefully they play better than they did the other night against LMC.

Photo: New Buffalo's Kyle Levine puts up a shot against a Lake Michigan Catholic defender.

Hillcrest hangs on; advances to title

NORMAL - Shooting 37 percent from the field, losing the rebounding game and making only four of 17 free throw attempts is hardly the way Hillcrest mapped out a victory in the IHSA Class 3A Girls Basketball state semifinal against Oswego. But despite their imperfections, at no point did it look like the Hawks would lose this game. The Hawks broke away from a 7-7 tie at the end of the first quarter to eliminate the Panthers, 54-45. 

In a game filled with mistakes, Hillcrest's Yolanda De La Torre showed why she was the clutchest player on the court. De La Torre hit nine of her 13 shot attempts for a team-high 18 points. She grabbed eight rebounds as well. 

The first quarter had the feel of a heavyweight battle. Neither team lit up the scoreboard, but a close game was expected since the two state semifinalists had only five combined losses up to this point. 

But the better team proved themselves in the second. The Hawks outscored Oswego 20-7 in the frame, taking advantage of multiple Panther turnovers. 

What looked to be a possible blowout became somewhat interesting as Oswego outscored Hillcrest 20-15 in the third quarter. 

The game became more interesting as Oswego continued their gradual comeback into the fourth quarter. The Panthers cut their deficit to five points at 43-38 with just over three minutes remaining on a Paige harmon basket and foul. Harmon missed the free throw. 

But before she got to the line to complete the possible three-point play, Oswego head coach Chad Pohlmann called a timeout, in effect icing his own shooter and ending the momentum his team had built up leading to that point. 

Hillcrest missed a number of free throws down the stretch, keeping Oswego in the game. But the Panthers could never take advantage, turning the ball over in key situations.

A steal and lay-up drive by Hillcrest's Uniquah Hampton with 1 minute, 46 seconds remaining gave the Hawks an eight-point lead and all but ended the competitive portion of the contest. 

It may not have been their best game of the season, but the loud Hillcrest crowd that was on hand will take it. They will meet up with Lombard (Montini) in the 3A state championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. 

Photo: Hillcrest's Yolanda De La Torre (42) came through in the clutch for the Hawks.