Highland defeats Nashville, advances to title game at Mascoutah tourney

Highland senior point guard Ellie Bown and her teammates came into the 2019 Mascoutah Invitational Tournament wanting another crack at winning the championship after finishing second to O’Fallon last December.

On Friday night, Brown and her Lady Bulldogs teammates made sure their ticket was punched for the title game.

Thanks to a strong defensive effort and balanced scoring, Highland dispatched Nashville for a 44-31 semifinal win to set up a return trip to the tournament final game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against O’Fallon.

O’Fallon (12-2) blasted Belleville West 60-36 in the other semifinal earlier in the evening.

“We’re excited to play them again,” Brown said. “It was just a bad taste in our mouth last year. Obviously we’re playing for another championship, so we’ll come out (ready).”

In a tight and slow first quarter, Highland (11-3) managed to grab an 11-8 lead. Fueled by a 9-1 run, kickstarted by the Lady Bulldogs’ relentless press, Highland took control with a 20-9 margin with 3:32 left in the first half.

A Bella LaPorta bucket and two free throws along with a pair of Kisten Taylorfoul shots helped drive the surge for HHS.

Four players scored seven or more points as the Lady Bulldogs’ balance gave the Hornets major problems. Brown and LaPorta scored 10 points each while Taylor and Megan Kronk added seven points apiece.

“That’s kind of what I told the girls going into the beginning of the season,” Highland coach Clint Hamilton said. “We’ve got six or seven kids that any given night can get hot and that’s big for us.”

Early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs began to pull away as Brown drilled a 3-pointer and LaPorta knocked down a pair of foul shots to make it 40-25.

Alyssa Cole led Nashville (10-2) with 12 points. Rylee Leuchtefeld had 9 points.

Brown said since the Lady Bulldogs 45-44 win over Mater Dei on Dec. 20, the team seems to have found its stride and playing well.

“I think we’re definitely clicking together as a team,” said Brown.

This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 1:34 AM.