The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Andrew Postle, The Quill
Following their 7th Grade State Championship run a year ago, the La Harpe-Dallas City Eagles 8th graders made it back-to-back championships, defeating Normal Epiphany in the semifinals and Oakland Lake Crest in the final in Assumption last week. Though the Eagles' offense struggled at times, their defense, rebounding, and fight got them to the top once again.
Semifinal: Eagles 29, Normal Epiphany 26
In a rematch of last year’s 7th grade semifinal game, the Eagles found themselves in a dogfight with the Knights of Normal Epiphany Wednesday, December 17.
The Knights jumped out early to a 5-0 lead, but an Aly Wibbell 3 and a couple of inside buckets by Journey Miller gave the Eagles a 7-5 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
The 2nd quarter began much like the first ended, with another Journey Miller bucket, but another 5-0 run by the Knights pushed them back in front 10-9.
Kinley Thompson ended the run with an inside score off a feed from Alex Miller to give the Eagles the lead. Journey Miller added another inside score, but the Knights tied the game at 13 with their 3rd three of the half.
The Knights would take the lead again before buckets by Journey Miller and Alex Miller pushed the Eagles back in front 17-15 at the half.
Aly Wibbell opened the scoring in the 2nd half to give the Eagles a 19-15 lead. The Knights answered with an 11-4 run to end the 3rd quarter, however, as the Eagles trailed 26-23 heading into the 4th quarter.
In the 4th quarter, the Eagles' defense clamped down, giving up zero points. A big 3-point play by Alex Miller tied the game, and the Eagles took a 28-26 lead on an Aly Wibbell bucket.
Aly Wibbell knocked down another free throw late, and that would be enough as the Eagles advanced to the finals.
Rebounding and defense were what pushed the Eagles over the top. The Eagles out rebounded the Knights 20-7, and their defense made life difficult, especially in the 4th quarter. Both coaches praised Payton Doss’s defensive efforts late in the game on the Knights' leading scorer.
“I don’t believe that we would be in the State Championship game if Payton hadn’t locked (Cynthia Cruz-Bucio) down,” shared Coach Jacki Wibbell.
Aly Wibbell stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Journey Miller ended the night with 10 points and 6 rebounds as well. Alex Miller poured in 7 points off the bench.
Final: Eagles 35, Oakland Lake Crest 27
The La Harpe and Dallas City faithful did not disappoint, as many made the 3-hour journey to Assumption to loudly cheer on the Eagles Thursday, December 18th.
Both teams struggled to score from the field early, but the Eagles' defense and offensive rebounding gave them an early advantage.
Journey Miller scored on a pair of putbacks, and Reagan Pindell added an inside basket to give the Eagles a 6-2 lead. However, both of LH-DC's post players quickly picked up foul trouble.
Journey Miller picked up her 2nd foul at the 1:30 mark in the first quarter. After Thompson scored to push the lead to 8-3, she picked up her second foul with 1:07 left in the first. The Eagles were able to hold a 4-point advantage as they headed to the 2nd quarter 9-5.
Coach Dave Clover would roll the dice and bring both the bigs back in with 3:36 left in the first half and the Eagles clinging to a 2-point lead.
Maci Wibbell pushed the Eagles' advantage to 5 (14-9) with a huge 3 at the 2:30 mark in the 2nd quarter. “She made a huge three pointer,” said Coach Clover. “We needed it at the time she made it because we were struggling... That jump-started us.”
After the Titans split a pair of free throws, Aly Wibbell extended the lead to 6 with a 2-point jumper. Pindell found Aly Wibbell again for another 15-foot jumper to give the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 18-10, which the Eagles carried into the break.
The Titans opened the scoring in the 2nd half by splitting a pair of free throws. However, Journey Miller continued to be a force inside, scoring 4 quick points to push the Eagles' lead to 11 (22-11). “Journey is a dominator on the inside,” said Clover. “She was the best player at the state tournament.”
The Titans would not go away quietly as they hit a 3-pointer and made 3 of 4 free throws to cut the Eagles' lead to just 5 points with 2:49 left in the 3rd.
Aly Wibbell knocked down a big three to push the lead back to 8, but the Titans answered right back with a corner 3 to keep the game tight.
A pair of fast-break layups, first by Alex Miller, followed by Journey Miller, pushed the Eagles' lead back out to 9 (29-20).
The foul trouble that had been plaguing Journey all night finally caught up with her as her night came to an end late in the 3rd quarter after picking up her 5th foul.
Thompson ended the 3rd quarter on a high note as her fast-break layup right before the horn pushed the Eagles' lead to 10 heading into the final frame (31-21).
The Titans turned up the pressure on the defensive end to cause a little trouble for the Eagles, but they were able to make enough plays on both sides of the ball to keep the Titans at arm's length and secure the IESA 8-1A Championship.
Journey Miller led in scoring with 10 points. She finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with 9. Aly Wibbell finished the night with 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. Alex Miller added 5 points.
“Aly (Wibbell) and Alex (Miller) controlled the ball for us all year long,” said Clover. “No one could stop them with the ball, and both are exceptional rebounders.”
Maci Wibbell had 5 big first-half points, and Kinley Thompson contributed 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.
“Every time we have needed (Thompson), all year long, she has stepped up,” mentioned Clover. “She took over in style. I don’t know why she can’t do that all the time,” Clover said with a laugh.
The Eagles completed the season at 25-2 with another state title. The four 8th graders wrapped up their junior high careers with an outstanding 60-8 record. Both Coach Clover and Wibbell are proud of what these young women have accomplished and are excited for what is next.
“There is so much to be proud of and so much to look forward to,” said Clover. “We are an Eagle family forever now. It was a great season and a great two years, and we have one more to win next year.”
“I don’t believe we have tapped into all their talent,” explained Coach Wibbell. “We have some girls that can play some ball… I am super excited to do this again next year.”
(L to R): Coach Dave Clover, Jamie Heath, Madi McCarter, Alex Miller, Maci Wibbell, Kinley Thompson, Scorekeeper Bill Collins, Aly Wibbell, Journey Miller, Reagan Pindell, Alyssa Marsden, Payton Doss, Coach Jacki Wibbell.