Belleville West is headed back to the Highland title game

Belleville West sophomore guard Chamya Darough scored a game-high 30 points, while junior forward Sydney Thurwalker added 25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds Friday as the Maroons defeated the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes 64-54 in a semifinal game at the Scott Credit Union Girls Basketball Tournament.

West (15-7) jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter and led 33-20 at halftime over the 21-2 Wooden Shoes, who were ranked third in the Class 2A poll.

With senior Jamie Sandschafer scoring eight of her 14 points, the Wooden Shoes cut the Maroons lead to eight points twice in the second half, but they could never get closer as the Maroons moved into the title game for the fourth time in five years.

The 2015 champions and runner-up to Breese Central in both 2013 and 2014, the Maroons will take on top-seeded Highland for the title at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Highland has not won its own tournament since 1987, the first year of the event.

“When the tournament started we wanted to be in the title game on Saturday afternoon,” West coach Seth Garrett said. “We are right where we want to be.”

Key sequence

Thurwalker scored eight of her 25 points to get the Maroons out to the 15-5 lead after one quarter, before Darough tallied 10 of her 14 first-half points in the second quarter.

“Teutopolis is a very good basketball team. I’m just not sure they’ve played against a team like us that has the quickness and athleticism that we do,” Garrett said.

Key performers

Thurwalker and Darough not only led West in scoring, but when the Wooden Shoes closed to within eight points late in the fourth quarter, the Maroons duo combined to make 5 of 8 free throws to help clinch the win.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Belleville West is headed back to the Highland title game."