The Kewanee Boiler Girls (8) hosted Farmington Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the 2A Chillicothe Regional and handily dispatched of the Farmers (11) by a score of 59-39.
With the win, Kewanee advances to the semifinals where they’ll face the No. 1 Peoria Notre Dame Lady Irish Monday at 6 p.m. at Chillicothe (IVC) High School.
KHS 59, Farmington 39
The Boiler Girls used a big 39-22 first half to propel them to the first round win over Farmington.
Kewanee junior Mya Dearing and freshman Damaris Diaz combined to score 14 points as Kewanee bolted to a 19-4 first quarter lead.
The Farmers fought back in the second quarter, but the Boiler Girls outscored them 20-18 to maintain a 17-point lead at the half.
Tejhiana Amos played a big role in the Boiler Girls’ 20-point second quarter effort. The rangy forward connected on two 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the frame. Senior guard Hannah Tiska chipped in with five points.
Sophomore forward Laney Pollitt led Farmington with eight second quarter points and senior guard Madilyn Hanlin made two threes for six points.
Amos scored a total of 14 in the first half, while Dearing and Diaz followed with nine points apiece. Hanlin tossed in nine for Farmington.
Similar to the first quarter, Kewanee pounced in the third frame and outscored the Farmers 15-5 to put the game out of reach at 54-27.
Diaz scored seven more in the second half and Tiska added four more to her nine-point effort.
Amos scored a game-high 21 points and Diaz followed with a 16-point effort. Dearing added nine in the win.
Pollitt and Hanlin led Farmington with 10 and nine points, respectively.
No. 5 Kewanee vs No. 1 Peoria (Notre Dame)
The Boiler Girls, undoubtedly, carry the moniker of “underdog” tonight as they take on the Lady Irish of Peoria Notre Dame in the semifinal game of the Chillicothe Regional.
In the David vs Goliath scenario, Kewanee (11-17) will face the top-seeded Lady Irish (27-4), who also happen to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Class 2A poll.
In addition, this season marks the first time Notre Dame has won the Big Twelve conference title outright. They did so with a pristine 10-0 record.
Coach Layne Langholf’s team is led by 5’7″ senior, Mya Wardle. The slashing, sharpshooting guard has signed a letter of intent to continue her basketball career at D1 Eastern Kentucky.
Other key players are Julia Mingus, Kaitlyn Cassidy (5’11”), Lexi Baer (6’0) and Emy Wardle.
(As a side note): For basketball enthusiasts, the name Wardle may be a familiar one. Mya and Emy’s dad, Brian, was a basåketball standout at Marquette. He also happens to be the men’s basketball coach at Bradley University.
Kewanee and PND share two common opponents this season in St. Bede (24-7) and Elmwood (22-7). The Lady Irish beat St Bede, 85-20, and Elmwood, 67-31.
The Boiler Girls lost to both teams. The score of the Elmwood game was 47-21 and the score against St. Bede was 64-29.
The winner of the Kewanee and PND game will play for the Chillicothe Regional title Friday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the Sherrard (4) and Chillicothe (5) game. That game will follow the KHS/PND game at 7:30 p.m.
