Highland Bulldogs sports report, Dec. 25 edition
Bowling
Highland girls bowlers have big day at Herrin Tournament
Saturday, Dec. 21, turned out to be a great day for the Highland girls bowling team.
The Bulldogs girls squad ventured south to Herrin and turned in a top-shelf performance, finishing second place in the Herrin Tournament. Molly Marshall led the HHS girls with a first-place finish and Carissa Merkle finished in second place.
Girls Basketball
Civic Memorial 51, Highland 45
In their third Mississippi Valley Conference game of the young season, the Lady Bulldogs basketball team came up a bit short against rival Civic Memorial.
Highland trailed 25-24 at the end of the first half and made a late run in the final four minutes but it was not enough, as the Lady Bulldogs fell at home to the unbeaten Eagles 51-45.
Highland 52, Normal Community 27
A day after avenging a Class 3A regional title game loss to Mater Dei, the Lady Bulldogs turned in an even better performance on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Civic Memorial Shootout in Bethalto.
Highland rolled out to a 26-11 halftime lead and pulled away for a 52-27 victory over the Normal Community High Ironmen. Bella LaPorta paced the Lady Bulldogs with 18 points and Ellie Brown added 13 points. Kirsten Taylor scored 10 points. Brown, who recently broke the 1,000 career points mark, was also named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Highland, which begins play Monday, Dec. 23, with a first-round game against Riverview Gardens, improved to 8-3.
Hockey
Vianney 14, Highland 3
Highland offensive standout Lucas Korte had his timely scoring stick working again Thursday, Dec. 19, but it was not nearly enough to get the Bulldogs hockey club into the win column.
Vianney scored four first period goals and added five goals each in the second and third periods to roll to a 14-3 Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association win over the struggling Bulldogs at East Alton Ice Arena.
Riley Flieg paced the Golden Griffins with a hat trick. Jack Breheny and Andy Hoyt chipped in two goals each. Korte, who leads the MVCHA in goals with a league-high 31, scored a hat trick to lead the HHS cause.
Highland fell to 1-10-1 with the setback.
Boys Basketball
Centralia 56, Highland 23
The Highland boys basketball team hit the road Saturday, Dec. 21, for a nonconference game at Centralia.
HHS struggled to score early and Centralia got rolling and never looked back in defeating the Bulldogs 56-23. Freshman guard Cade Altadonna paced the Bulldogs with 12 points.
Highland fell to 2-6 with the loss. After the holiday break, the Bulldogs return to action with a first-round game at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 26, at Mater Dei against the host Knights.
Wrestling
Bulldogs wrestlers finish 18th in Mascoutah Invitational
After a week off due to winter weather, the Highland wrestling team finally got back into action Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Mascoutah Invitational Tournament.
Highland turned in a solid effort in the two-day tournament, finishing 18th in the 29-team field with a total of 65 points. Top finishers in the tournament included Tanner Schranz at 120 pounds, Ben Mitchell at 145 points, and Alex Reed at 195 pounds.
Schranz had a strong performance as he placed fourth in the 120-pound class as he went 4-2 in his six tournament matches. Mitchell placed eighth in the 145-pound division, going 5-2 in his seven matches. Reed was the top scorer for HHS with 24 points, as he placed fourth in the 195-pound class with a 4-2 match slate.