Niekamp’s 3-point shooting provides spark as Panthers erase 12-point second-half deficit

WAVERLY, Ill. — When practice is finished, Lexi Niekamp isn’t.

A freshman guard on the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team, Niekamp typically heads home after practice and puts herself through another tedious workout inside the indoor shooting facility on her family’s property.

“Every night I’m in there shooting,” Niekamp said.

Same shots, same rhythm, same amount.

“It’s 250 threes each night,” Niekamp said.

And that’s every night?

“Well,” she said with a slight smile. “Almost every night.”

So when she caught the ball in the right corner and set herself to launch a 3-point attempt to give CSE the lead over Pleasant Plains in Thursday night’s Class 2A Waverly Sectional championship, she thought of all those hours practicing.

Same shot, same rhythm, same everything.

“It felt like one of the threes I shoot in my shop,” she said.

It looked like one, too. Niekamp’s shot hit the side of the rim, bounced up and dropped through the net for a 29-28 lead with 5:40 remaining in regulation. It was one of four 3-pointers she made in the second half and overtime, powering the Panthers to a 51-44 victory and their second straight sectional crown.

CSE (30-3) will take on Nashville (31-3) at 6 p.m. Monday in the Class 2A Vandalia Super-sectional where the Hornettes eliminated the Panthers last season 41-32.

Niekamp wasn’t on that team, but she’s well aware of the history and is determined to held the Panthers earn their first trip to the state tournament since 2017.

“It means we are one step closer to our goal,” said Niekamp, who scored 18 points.

It took contributions from different sources to make it happen. Niekamp’s shooting and defense played a significant role it helping CSE overcome a 12-point deficit in the third quarter, as did the length, rebounding and defense of senior Amanda Stephens.

An all-state volleyball player, Stephens came off the bench in the second half to provide a spark.

“She was a difference maker,” CSE coach Matt Long said.

So was Niekamp.

“She played like a veteran,” Long said.

It’s because she shot it with confidence.

“We tell her when she’s open she needs to shoot it,” CSE senior guard Karly Peters said. “That’s her role on this team. She went and did her job.”