Highland girls win in consolation quarterfinals, but get eliminated in next game

Three days after getting blasted by Alton 59-36 in the first round of the 35th annual Highland Tournament, the last thing the Highland Lady Bulldogs wanted was to go 0-2 in their own event.

Highland senior guard Grace Wilke did her part to make sure HHS was not an early exit from the field. Wilke shook off a quiet first half and erupted for 10 second-half points and the 14th-seeded Lady Bulldogs used a late third-quarter run to propel themselves to a 51-36 victory over Taylorville in the consolation quarterfinals Tuesday, Jan. 18, at Highland High School.

The win was huge for HHS as it snapped a six-game losing streak and marked the club’s highest-scoring game of the season to date. More importantly, the triumph was also the first home victory in what has been a challenging season for Highland.

“We won one game at Mascoutah and we played three (there), so we’re trying to get into the consolation championship here,” Wilke said. “We were ready to win at home and it was our first home win. It feels good (to get it).”

Highland started out strong early offensively as senior point guard Abby Huelsmann nailed a pair of 3-pointers, helping the Lady Bulldogs surge to a 12-4 lead.

A pair of Abby Schultz free throws pushed the margin to 19-11 with 4:25 left in the second quarter but buckets from Kyleigh Heimaness and Mazie Fleming cut the lead to 19-15 with just over a minute left in the second quarter.

After a Larissa Taylor bucket for HHS, Fleming dropped in another layup in the closing seconds to cut the Lady Bulldogs advantage to 21-17 at intermission.

The Lady Bulldogs, however, came out roaring to start the third quarter. Taylor knocked down a jumper to kickstart a 10-2 run capped by a pair of Wilke free throws which stretched the Lady Bulldogs lead to 31-21 with 3:41 remaining in the period.

Wilke, who scored only two points in the first half, broke loose for 10 second-half points to lead the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.

“My mentality (changed after the first half),” Wilke said. “I wanted to win and wanted to get myself involved, so the halftime mentality changed (for me).”

‘That’s the difference right there’

Highland coach Clint Hamilton was happy with Wilke’s second-half surge and the strong floor play of Huelsmann, who added 11 points.

“She made a nice 3-point shot in transition that kind of got her going and we got the ball in the middle to her against their zone. And when she’s confident, she can score against the best of them,” Hamilton said of Wilke.

“Abby Huelsmann did a great job of taking care of the pressure and she has all year long.”

Seeing the team break the 40-point mark for the sixth time all season also pleased Hamilton. The output also was the third time HHS scored 50+ in a game this season.

“That’s the difference right there,” he said. “We hold another team to 30 and we finally score the ball a little bit, and even if we score 40 we win the game. The biggest thing the last few days of practice has been ‘if you’re in the middle of the zone, I don’t care if it’s a bad shot, just look to score first.’ We’ve been too passive all year waiting for somebody else to take the shot.”

Unfortunately, Highland could not sustain the momentum and lost 25-20 to Nashville in the consolation semifinals Wednesday, Jan. 19, to fall to 6-20.

Highland boys and girls bowling

On Monday, Jan. 17, the Highland boys bowling team started their postseason off on the right foot thanks to a strong showing in the IHSA Triad Bowling Regional in Troy.

HHS placed fourth overall and qualified for the upcoming sectional tournament in Alton. Jacob Gilomen led the Bulldogs keglers with a high game of 299.

In girls bowling, the Lady Bulldogs won the Cross-Town Classic with a first place showing at Poplar Junction Lanes in Highland. Tiffany Hediger topped the club by finishing in first place overall. Carissa Merkle finished in third place individually and led the club with high game.

Highland hockey

The Highland hockey team returned to the ice Tuesday, Jan. 18, with forgettable results.

Granite City exploded for six first period goals and added four more in the second period as the Warriors saddled the Bulldogs with a 12-0 loss in Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association action at Granite City Ice Rink.

Lawson Kimble paced Granite City with five goals. Dylan Giffhorn took the loss in goal for HHS. The Bulldogs then lost to Freeburg-Waterloo 13-4 on Thursday, Jan. 20 at Granite City Ice Rink.

Highland is now 10-10-2 on the season and in second place of the MVCHA West Division.

Highland wrestling

The matmen lost to Litchfield 50-6 and Vandalia 72-3 in a tri-match at Vandalia on Thursday, Jan. 20.

This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 1:17 AM.