Knights holds off Highland cagers late to advance in IHSA Triad Regional

The third meeting of the season between the Highland Lady Bulldogs and Triad Knights came down to simple survival. Survive and advance.

In a slowed-down defensive struggle, Triad (20-9) outscored the Lady Bulldogs 5-3 in the final four minutes to hold on for a 31-26 win in an IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at Triad High School.

Highland had good momentum coming into the semifinal after blasting Cahokia 61-13 in the first round Saturday, Feb. 12, but against the Knights, the Lady Bulldogs’ late-game scoring struggles once again hurt them as they ended their season at 8-24.

“You play them three times, you kind of know what they want to do offensively and they know what we’re trying to do offensively. It just comes down to making a few shots when you’ve got the opportunities,” Highland coach Clint Hamilton said. “They made a couple more than we did.”

Back to back 3-pointers by Maddie Hunt and Sam Hartoin gave Triad a 13-7 advantage in the final minute of the first quarter, but Lady Bulldogs center Larissa Taylor responded with a bucket to pull HHS within 13-9 as the period ended.

A baseline jumper from Taylor cut the deficit to 15-13 with 3:45 left in the first half. Triad, however, picked up its man-to-man pressure defense and responded with a 6-2 run capped by a Kendall Chigas putback bucket to take a 19-15 lead into the break.

Hamilton credited Triad’s defense with getting stops at crucial times to change the momentum in their favor.

“Credit to them, they do a good job of pressuring and taking away stuff that we want to try to do. When we did get to our second option we got good shots, but they just do a good job of pressuring and taking away what we’re trying to do,” Hamilton said.

Highland catches Triad, but falters down the stretch

After trailing all night, HHS finally caught the Knights with 6:39 left when Taylor slipped behind the defense for a backdoor basket and a 23-23 tie.

Reagan Chigas, however, answered with a bucket at the other and her sister, Kendall Chigas, added a free throw. An Avery Bohnenstiehl basket pushed the Knights lead to 28-23 lead with 4:21 left.

Abby Schultz drove the lane for two, cutting the margin to 28-26 with 2:27 remaining, but the Lady Bulldogs offense stalled after that due to turnovers and missed shots.

“That’s kind of been our bugaboo all year — the offensive end,” Hamilton said.

Taylor led the way for Highland with 10 points.

“Credit to her ... she worked her butt off and she got open and she had a really nice game. Hopefully she can build on this and the next couple of years be pretty dominant,” Hamilton said.

A look to the future

Although the season ended short of a regional championship game, Hamilton said he feels his young team definitely grew and made positive strides in the final three weeks.

“Especially the last month of the season, we played everybody tough and I think a couple of games ended up being 10 or 12 (points) or free-throws late. However, you like that for a young team and now it’s going to be ... you put yourself in those situations and how can we capitalize and win those (going forward),” Hamilton said.

“Hopefully, those kids get a year under their belt this year and get a little bit of confidence and hopefully just take that next step (next year).”

Kendall Chigas and Bohnenstiehl paced Triad with 8 points each. Grace Wilke scored 8 points.

Highland girls bowling

The Lady Bulldogs girls bowling team traveled to Collinsville on Saturday, Feb. 12, and competed for a spot in the IHSA state bowling tournament.

Despite a solid day on the lanes, HHS fell short of qualifying for state as Highland finished in sixth place with 5,464 pins behind fourth place Belleville East (5,542) and fifth place Mascoutah (5,472).

Highland Hockey

HHS hockey opened the Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association playoffs on the right foot on Monday, Feb. 14, at East Alton Ice Arena.

The Bulldogs skaters scored twice in the first two period against Vianney to take a 2-1 lead and added a pair of third period goals to knock off the Golden Griffins 4-2 in the west division playoffs. Dylan Kreke paced the Bulldogs attack with two goals and an assist.

Boys Basketball

Fresh off consecutive wins in Mississippi Valley Conference action, the Highland boys basketball team continued their winning ways Tuesday, Feb. 15, at home.

Behind a clutch 3-pointer from Jake Ottensmeier at the end of the first half for a 28-22 lead, the Bulldogs held Gibault to just 21 second half points and posted a 50-43 non-conference victory.

Ottensmeier, the Bulldogs sophomore point guard, erupted for a game-high 17 points and freshman forward Grant Fleming pumped in 10 points. Junior guard Cade Altadonna added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line.

Highland followed that win with a 48-45 Mississippi Valley Conference triumph against Waterloo on Friday, Feb. 18. The Bulldogs enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak and now will face conference foe Jerseyville at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the IHSA Cahokia Regional.

Highland is 13-16 overall and finished 6-4 in MVC action, good for third place.

This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 9:56 PM.