Chargers’ strong closing kick carries them to victory in battle of state-ranked teams

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Caydee Kirkham’s confidence in herself is equal to her confidence in her teammates.

Wednesday night, they showed why.

Trailing state-ranked Unity by four points with four minutes remaining in regulation, the fourth-ranked Illini West girls basketball team went on a 10-2 run with four field goals coming from players not named Kirkham to cement a 56-52 victory.

Kirkham didn’t score in the fourth quarter until making two free throws with 13.4 seconds to play, but she had assists on three of the final four field goals, including making a pass from her knees after stealing the ball with 1:05 to play. Sophomore forward Josie Bryan scored a layin off that assist for a 54-52 lead.

“The confidence for each player on this team has grown tremendously,” Illini West coach Grant Surprenant said. “You can tell they are getting more comfortable, and Caydee does a great job of facilitating for them. She understands teams are going to focus on her.

“But she has trust in her teammates, and her teammates have trust in her that she’s going to make the right pass.”

The Chargers, who moved into the Class 2A state poll at No. 4 when the rankings were released Wednesday afternoon, grabbed a 40-38 lead after three quarters as Kirkham scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in that frame.

“When we needed a play tonight, Caydee delivered it,” Surprenant said. “It wasn’t just scoring. It was delivering that pass and playing good defense.”

Still, the Chargers’ advantage vanished when the Mustangs, who are No. 3 in the Class 1A state poll, scored on their first five possessions of the fourth quarter. Unity led 52-48 with 3:30 to play following Sophia Shaffer’s backdoor layup — her third basket of the quarter.

The Mustangs then turned the ball over on six consecutive possessions, losing two jump balls and dribbling a ball out of bounds while trailing 54-52 with 30 seconds to play.

Shaffer led the Mustangs (13-3) with 17 points, while Ashlynn Arnsman added 12 points and Brooklyn Stiefel scored 10. Rylee Reed had 12 points for the Chargers (17-1), while Bryan added eight.

The teams could potentially meet for a third consecutive week — Illini West beat Unity 66-51 last Thursday in the championship of the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic — as they will be on opposite sides of the bracket in next week’s CSE Lady Panther Classic.