Published on January 21, 2026 9:15 am
Last Updated on January 21, 2026 9:16 am
BY MILLIE LANGE
Brownstown/St. Elmo and Effingham St. Anthony lived up to the No. 1 and No. 2 designations respectively in the National Trail Conference Girls Basketball Tournament as both teams came up with big-scoring victories Tuesday evening.
Brownstown/St. Elmo, the No. 1 team in the Class 1A State poll, opened the evening by trouncing South Central, 55-18.
The Bombers edged out to an 8-2 opening quarter lead then went on a tear with a 23-5 second period to push ahead 31-7 at halftime.
BSE then had a 17-7 surge in the third quarter.
Three players put in double figures for the winner. Dayana Haslett connected on six field goals and was three of four at the line for 15 while Madi Miller hit seven field goals and one of two at the line, also for 15. Addie Sasse contributed 11.
The Bombers will now face Altamont at 8 p.m. today in winner bracket play while South Central will drop into the consolation bracket and take on Dieterich at 6:30 p.m. today.
The Cougars were led by Lauren Johnson with 11 points on four field goals and three of four at the line.
In the second contest, No. 2-seeded St. Anthony was a 56-23 winner over North Clay.
St. Anthony put together a 30-8 opening half run and tallied a 24-7 third period before calling off the Bulldogs.
Nancy Ruholl scored nine of the opening quarter 15 points and put in another six in the second period. She finished with 22 on eight field goals, two from three-point range, and was four of six at the line. Ruholl also pulled down 10 rebounds and had five assists.
Lilly Gannaway added 10 points, nine coming in the third quarter and Addie Lauritzen chipped in with nine.
North Clay was led by Autumn Phillips with six points on two three-pointers. The Cardinals are back in action in the consolation bracket against Neoga at 6 p.m. Thursday.
St. Anthony will be back in play Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Cumberland.
NTC Tournament
Game Five
BSE (55)
Williams 3-3 — 9, Sasse 5-0 — 11, Ramsey 2-0 — 5, Logue 0-0 — 0, Claycomb 0-0 — 0, Haslett 0-0 — 0, Sefton 0-0 — 0, Haslett 6-3 — 15, Miller 7-1 — 15, Wollin 0-0 — 0, Landrus 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 23 FG, 7 FT.
SOUTH CENTRAL (18)
Reid 1-0 — 2, Montes 1-0 — 2, Peddicord 0-1 — 1, Feldhake 0-0 — 0, Brown 0-0 — 0, Johnson 4-3 — 11, Sullens 0-0 — 0, Hiestand 1-0 — 2, Jones 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 7 FG, 4 FT.
BSE 8 23 17 7 — 55
South Central 2 5 7 4 — 18
3-point FG — Brownstown/St. Elmo 2 (Sasse 1, Ramsey 1), South Central 0
Game Six
NORTH CLAY (23)
Romack 1-1 — 3, Phillips 0-1 — 1, Price 2-1 — 5, Sparks 0-0 — 0, Hagen 2-0 — 4, Thompson 1-0 — 2, Zink 0-1 — 1, Phillips 2-0 — 6, Fleener 0-1 — 1. TOTALS 8 FG, 5 FT.
ST. ANTHONY (56)
Grunloh 0-0 — 0, Gannaway 4-1 — 10, Hoke 0-0 — 0, Ruholl 8-4 — 22, Patel 0-0 — 0, Henning 2-0 — 4, Schultz 2-0 — 5, Vonderheide 1-0 — 2, Kollman 2-0 — 4, Laurtizen 4-1 — 9, Kelley 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 23 FG, 6 FT.
St. Anthony 15 15 24 2 — 56
North Clay 2 6 7 8 — 23
3-point FG — North Clay 2 (Phillips 2), St. Anthony 4 (Ruholl 2, Gannaway 1, Schultz 1).
Little Illini Conference Tournament
Paris, the top seed in the LIC Tournament, had to fight Robinson for a victory Tuesday evening.
The Tigers eventually won over Robinson 42-39 in overtime.
In the second game, Mount Carmel also had a close one in a 71-69 victory over Olney.
Paris and Mount Carmel will now meet for the championship Friday at 7:30 p.m. The third place game at 6 will feature Robinson against Olney.
Newton will take on Marshall Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for fifth place. Casey-Westfield and Lawrrenceville meet at 6 for seventh place.
Highland Tournament
Four games were contested at the Highland Tournament Tuesday evening.
Belleville East won over Breese Mater Dei, 53-26 while Carlyle downed Troy Triad, 55-14. Bethalto Civic Memorial defeated Centralia 59-42 and Breese Central won over O’Fallon, 55-51.
Teutopolis returns to play Thursday at 5 p.m against Lift For Life followed by Centralia taking on O’Fallon at 6:30 p.m. The winners will then advance to an 11:30 a.m. contest Saturday for fifth place.
Vandalia Tournament
Effingham returns to action tonight in the Vandalia Tournament.
The Hearts will play the first game at 6 p.m. against Hillsboro. The second contest features Salem vs. Wesclin at 7:30 p.m.
The winners advance to the championship game Saturday at 12:30 p.m. while the losers will play for third place at 1 p.m.