Wilke’s late surge pushes Highland past Civic Memorial for sectional crown
Highland’s Liv Wilke picked a great time to help the Lady Bulldogs keep their postseason run alive.
Wilke, a junior reserve guard who usually provides quality minutes off the bench, scored five big points in the first minute of the fourth quarter Thursday to push the Lady Bulldogs to a 48-34 victory against Mississippi Valley Conference rival Civic Memorial in the Class 3A sectional championship game at Effingham High School.
Surging Highland (27-7), which has won 11 of its last 12 games, will take on Springfield Lanphier in the Springfield Super-Sectional at 7 p.m. Monday at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Thanks to a 16-5 start, HHS built at 20-13 lead at the half, but in the third quarter, Civic Memorial came roaring back. Behind some timely scoring from Anna Hall, the Eagles grabbed a one-point lead late in the third quarter.
“In the third quarter, we really struggled to score,” Highland coach Clint Hamilton said.
Holding a tenuous 26-25 lead to start the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs got the game-deciding surge from Wilke, as the junior keyed a 9-2 run to start the quarter with a clutch three-ball and a layup.
“Liv came in the fourth quarter and hit a big three that put us up by four and then the very next possession she got a back door layup, so she scored a big five points to start the fourth quarter to extend our lead back out,” Hamilton said. “That was a huge momentum shift for us to kind of pull away in the fourth (quarter).”
Ellie Brown, who scored a team-high 16 points, and Bella LaPorta, who scored 14 points, also scored to help HHS extend its lead to eight points midway through the fourth quarter. Wilke finished the night with eight points.
“After that little spurt she (Liv) had, we did a great job of getting stops and then they had to foul us and we were 14 for 16 in the fourth quarter for free-throws,” Hamilton said. “We did the little thing right, playing defense, winning the 50/50 balls, and making free-throws ... tonight we did a great job of doing all three of those.”
Gearing up for super sectional
Now the Lady Bulldogs will turn their attention to Springfield Lanphier with a chance at their first trip to the state tournament since 2016.
“Monday we’ll play for the super (Sectional) against Springfield Lanphier and hopefully get our chance to punch our ticket up to Bloomington — that’s been the goal the whole year, so we’re one step away from it,” Hamilton said.