Published on January 20, 2026 8:30 am
Last Updated on January 20, 2026 8:33 am
The National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament opened play with four games Monday evening.
In the first game, South Central was a 36-22 winner over Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City.
CHBC moved into an 8-7 opening quarter lead but went scoreless in the second period as the Cougars took a 17-8 halftime lead. South Central then had a 19-14 second half.
Maddie Peddicord and Lauren Johnson led the winners with eight points each. Both players hit four field goals each.
CHBC was led by Lena Bowlin and Harper Lilly with nine each. Bowlin put in four baskets and a free throw while Lilly hit four baskets, one a three-pointer.
In the second contest, North Clay was a 49-42 winner over Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg.
The Cardinals moved into a 22-17 first half lead. Windsor/Stew-Stras came back with an 18-9 third quarter run to lead 35-31 going into the final period where the Cardinals put on an 18-7 run for the victory.
Emersyn Thompson led the way with 13 points, hitting three field goals and seven of eight at the line while Violet Price added 12.
Kendra Hayes led the Hatchets with 13 points on four field goals and five of five at the line.
Altamont then edged Dieterich 33-29. The Indians ran out to a 16-3 opening half lead but Dieterich battled back with a 25-12 second half to knot the score at 28-28 sending the game into overtime.
In the OT period, Altamont got back on track with with a 5-1 edge for the victory. Ella Nelson led the way with 11 points, hitting four field goals, three from beyond the arc.
Dieterich was led by Callie Faller with 13 points on six field goals, one a three-pointer.
In the final game of the evening, Cumberland ran out to a big lead and ended with a 67-42 win over Neoga.
The Pirates led 43-16 at halftime. Jude Miller had a big-scoring contest with 33 points on 12 field goals, two from beyond the arc, and seven of 13 at the line. Also in double figures was Raegan Jones with 12.
Neoga was led by Chloe Frankie with 10 points on three field goals, one a three-pointer and three of three at the line.
The tournament continues today as top-seeded Brownstown/St. Elmo meets South Central at 6 p.m. followed by No. 2 St. Anthony facing North Clay at 7:30.
NTC Tournament
Game One
CHBC (22)
Bowlin 4-1 — 9, Lilly 4-0 — 9, Stuckemeyer 2-0 — 4, Ruddeck 0-0 — 0, Wakefield 0-0 — 0, Sarver 0-0 — 0, Rauch 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 10 FG, 1 FT.
SOUTH CENTRAL (36)
Reid 3-0 — 7, Montes 3-0 — 7, Peddicord 4-0 — 8, Feldhake 3-0 — 6, Brown 0-0 — 0, Allen 0-0 — 0, Johnson 4-0 — 8, Sullens 0-0 — 0, Hiestand 0-0 — 0, Jones 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 17 FG, 0 FT.
CHBC 8 0 7 7 — 22
South Central 7 10 8 11 — 36
3-point FG — Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City 1 (Lilly 1), South Central 2 (Reid 1, Montes 1).
Game Two
WSS (42)
Longwell 1-2 — 4, Carey 0-1 — 1, Holland 2-0 — 4, Hayes 4-5 — 13, Walker 0-0 — 0, Johnson 4-2 — 12, VonBehrens 4-0 — 8. TOTALS 15 FG, 8 FT.
NORTH CLAY (49)
Romack 0-0 — 0, Price 5-0 — 12, Hagen 3-0 — 6, Thompson 3-7 — 13, Zink 1-2 — 4, Phililps 3-0 — 9, Fleener 1-3 — 5. TOTALS 16 FG, 12 FT.
Windsor/Stew-Stras 6 11 18 7 — 42
North Clay 13 9 9 18 — 49
3-point FG — Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg 4 (Johnson 4), North Clay 5 (Phililps 3, Price 2).
Game Three
Overtime
ALTAMONT (33)
Kuenstler 2-4 — 8, Nelson 4-0 — 11, Ruholl 3-1 — 7, Niermann 1-0 — 2, Schnarre 0-1 — 1, Long 1-0 — 2, Higgs 1-0 — 2, Buchanan 0-0 — 0, Schultz 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 12 FG, 6 FT.
DIETERICH (29)
L. Goebel 3-2 — 9, Iffert 0-0 — 0, Miller 1-3 — 5, Ca. Faller 6-0 — 13, Russell 0-0 — 0, Cl. Faller 0-2 — 2, Funneman 0-0 — 0, Stortzum 0-0 — 0, Boerngen 0-0 — 0, Huber 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 10 FG, 7 FT.
Altamont 6 10 5 7 5 — 33
Dieterich 0 3 12 13 1 — 29
3-point FG — Altamont 3 (Nelson 3), Dieterich 2 (L. Goebel 1, Ca. Faller 1).
Game Four
CUMBERLAND (67)
Leitch 0-0 — 0, Russell 0-0 — 0, Miller 12-7 — 33, Tolen 1-1 — 3, Carr 3-1 — 9, Jones 4-0 — 12, Miles 0-0 — 0, Dittamore 5-0 — 10. TOTALS 25 FG, 9 FT.
NEOGA (42)
E. Frankie 0-0 — 0, Hartke 3-2 — 9, Moran 2-1 — 5, M. Frankie 0-1 — 1, C. Frankie 3-3 — 10, Wiessing 3-1 — 8, McKay 0-1 — 1, Balligner 3-0 — 6, Coy 1-0 — 2. TOTALS 15 FG, 9 FT.
Cumberland 18 25 24 0 — 67
Neoga 7 9 16 10 — 42
3-point FG — Cumberland 8 (Jones 4, Carr 2, Miller 2), Neoga 3 (Hartke 1, C. Frankie 1, Wiessing 1).