Gordon, Lovelace help O’Fallon down Highland, clinch rare 3-peat at Mascoutah tourney
MASCOUTAH O’Fallon senior guard Kayla Gordon didn’t allow a sore right elbow to slow her down in the title game of the Mascoutah Girls Invitational Tournament on Saturday.
Gordon held Highland senior Ellie Brown to just two points and helped curtail a late Bulldogs rally with a key 3-point play as O’Fallon defeated the Bulldogs 45-40 for the championship at Mascoutah High School.
Not at full strength after landing hard on her elbow in the Panthers’ semi-final over Belleville West on Friday, the 5-5 Gordon combined with the 5-11 Tyana Lovelace for 31 points as O’Fallon became just the fourth team to win the Mascoutah title three straight years.
But as she has down throughout her career as a Panther, Gordon came up big when her team needed her the most. Beaten by O’Fallon in the title game a year ago, Highland cut a 14-point deficit to 35-33 midway in the fourth quarter.
But Gordon scored on a drive to the basket, was fouled and converted the 3-point play to increase the Panthers advantage back to 38-33.
Highland junior Bella LaPorta scored with just over two minutes left as the Panthers lead was cut to 38-37. But junior Amelia Bell tallied on an offensive rebound and the Panthers made enough free throws down the stretch to win the championship
“My elbow was sore. But I was going to play no matter what,” Gordon said. “We let a big lead get away from us there and after they (Highland) cut the lead to two points, I knew I had to make a play to help my team. We couldn’t let them get the momentum.”
After the final buzzer and following the trophy presentation, O’Fallon players could be heard chanting ‘’3-peat, 3-peat” in their dressing room.
The Panthers join host Mascoutah (1985-87), Belleville West (1988-90) and Central (1999-2001) as schools to win three straight times at Mascoutah.
“O’Fallon had never won the title here until three years ago. This is my third year and now we’ve won three straight,” O’Fallon coach Nick Knolhoff said. “Players graduate but tradition lives on. I couldn’t be any more proud of this basketball team.
“Highland is a very good basketball team.They put pressure on us in the second half and it seemed like we went from playing to win to playing not to lose. But I told the girls that we bent, but we didn’t break.”
Lovelace led O’Fallon (13-2) with 17 points and Gordon added 14. LaPorta and junior Liv Wilke combined for 27 points for Highland (11-4).
O’Fallon, led by Lovelace, held a 21-12 lead at halftime. That advantage ballooned to 29-15 late in the third quarter. Highland, getting a 3-point jumper from Wilke and four points from Megan Kronk closed to within 29-22 entering the fourth period.
But Highland could never get over the top to take the lead.
“I’m very proud of the way the girls kept battling and how they gave themselves a chance to win the game after being down. But you can’t fall behind a team like O’Fallon by as much as we did.,” Bulldogs coach Clint Hamilton said. “We fought back but we used a lot of energy to do so..
“They (O’Fallon) did a good job on Ellie Brown. She is one of the keys for our team.”
Lovelace added six rebounds and helped O’Fallon hold its own in the post.
“She (Lovelace) didn’t play a lot last year but she has really stepped up for us. She had a great tournament for us,’’ Knolhoff said. “She and Amelia (Bell) run the floor well and give us what I think are two of the top post players in the area.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 2:05 AM.
