SHELBYVILLE, IL. —
It took overtime, but the CHBC Hornets are going back to state for the third time in four years, after beating Goreville in the Salem Super-Sectional on Monday, 70-57.
"We played hard, but had a lot of turnovers," said CHBC coach Carolyn Wendte. "It was a rough game, really rough. But we held our composure that was the biggest thing and they didn't."
Goreville came into the super-sectional with a 60-point win for their sectional title. They lost last year in the super-sectional to CHBC, 57-46. They were looking to get over that hurdle this year and were determined to do it.
Goreville got an early advantage with a 13-9 run in the 1st. CHBC got churning in the 2nd and scored twice as many points as in the 1st on an 18-14 run, tying the score at the half, 27-27.
"Autumn Riley really stepped up," Coach Wendte said. "She kept us in the ball game in the 1st quarter, in the 1st half. They did a good job on Micah, but we aren't just Micah and Ava."
Riley scored 17 points in the game, a season-high, including a pair of treys and 3-of-5 at the line. She also had seven boards and three steals.
They kept up their pace in the 3rd with a 17-13 run, taking a 4-point lead, 44-40. Gorevill fought back in the 4th and forced a late CHBC turnover. But then they turned the ball over and the two teams went into overtime, 55-55.
In OT, Goreville fell apart and the Hornets pulled away in high gear towards another state appearance with a 15-2 run.
"Like I said, we held our composure," Coach Wendte said. "We hit free throws down the stretch. Micah had four fouls to start the 4th. Goreville had a couple of technicals. We had the experience, in the A&M game and against Goreville. We'd been there before. From what I saw, most of their games were blowouts. We had experience in tight ball games."
CHBC was led by Micah Jones with 25 points and 22 rebounds, Ava Paruleski with 24 points and Autumn Riley with 17 points. Goreville was led by Allison Webb with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
CHBC (26-5) will play Mt. Pulaski at 2 p.m. in the Class A state semifinals at Bloomington/Normal's ISU Redbird Arena. The winner will play for the state title on Saturday at 2 p.m. The loser will play for 3rd place at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Monday
Salem 1A Super-Sectional
CHBC 70, Goreville 57
CHBC 9- 18-17-11-15--70
G'ville 13-14-13-15-2--57
CHBC stats: Jones 25 (11 FGs, 3/6 FTs), 22 rebounds, 3 steals, 6 assists; Paruleski 24 (4-2s, 3-3 pt FGs 26. 3-Pointers: 5 (Paruleski 3, Riley 2). Team FTs 13-of-20.
Goreville stats: A. Webb 29 (9-2s, 1-3 pt FGs, 8/11 FTs), Odom 10 (4 FGs, 2/5 FTs), Pritchet 8 (1-2, 2-3 pt FGs), Darnell 7 (2-2s, 1-3 pt FGs), Sullivan 3 (FG). Team FGs 21. 3-Pointers: 5 (Pritchet 2, Webb, Darnell, Sullivan). Team FTs 10-of-19.
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