Chargers, Panthers prepare for showdown No. 3 with regional championship at stake

CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Illini West girls basketball team dispelled the adage “it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season” once already.

Thursday night, the Chargers have to do it again to keep their season alive.

This one will be as tough as the earlier chore.

Illini West, seeded second in its sub-sectional, advanced to the Class 2A Camp Point Regional championship game with a 47-14 whitewashing of Beardstown and will face third-seeded Central-Southeastern for the regional title at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Panthers advanced with a 45-28 victory over Petersburg PORTA.

The Chargers and Panthers met twice during the regular season with Illini West winning 51-36 on December 6 and 48-32 on January 13 in the semifinals of the CSE Classic.

Illini West, which beat Unity three times in the regular season, carved its way into round three with a strong start. Reagan Reed’s 3-pointer midway through the first quarter made it 9-0 and she scored seven consecutive points for the Charges as they built an 11-point lead by the end of the first quarter. The lead ballooned to 21-4 with six minutes remaining in the first half and was 30-7 at halftime.

Reed finished with 16 points and Caydee Kirkham added nine as the Chargers, ranked third in the final Class 2A state poll, improved to 29-2.

In the nightcap, Central-Southeastern was its typical dominant defensive self while also controlling tempo. The Panthers held the Bluejays to 11 first-half points and finished off the victory by allowing just six points in the fourth quarter.

Lauren Miller had a pair of three-point plays in the first half and finished with 12 points for the Panthers, who improved to 21-10.