Mustangs survive Rockets’ upset bid by pulling out regional semifinal victory in double overtime

PAYSON, Ill. — On paper, the Mendon Unity girls basketball team looked to be a definitive favorite.

On the court, it proved to be a different — or at least more difficult — story.

While the No. 3-seeded Mustangs ultimately prevailed in their Class 1A Payson Regional semifinal matchup against No. 8 Rushville-Industry, they needed two overtimes to do so Monday night.

“My heart rate’s definitely up,” Unity coach Cole Thompson said shortly after surviving his club’s 55-51 victory in front of a crowd of around 160.

The Mustangs (15-17) scored seven straight points late in the second overtime to turn back the Rockets. It was the fourth time this season Unity has defeated Rushville-Industry (10-20).

That streak might very well have ended if not for a game-tying 3-point field goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in the first overtime. Unity freshman guard Michaela Voth supplied the long-range effort, part of her career-best 17 points. Thirteen of those points came in the second half.

“I was shaking when I went to take that shot,” Voth said. “I was not expecting it to go in.”

Voth eventually capped her night with a field goal that helped trigger the Mustangs’ 7-0 burst in the second overtime.

That 7-0 run lifted Unity from a one-point deficit (49-48) to a six-point lead (55-49) over the course of the closing two minutes.

“Once we got the lead, we had the momentum,” said Voth, whose 3-pointer was one of just three Unity managed during the 40 minutes of game time.

Voth’s big field goal was made possible after a steal by fellow freshman Morgan Arnsman. Following the theft, Arnsman found Voth, who buried the game-tying jumper.

“That was a huge deal,” Thompson said.

Voth’s strong showing mirrored that of her teammates, according to Thompson. He said the Mustangs never wavered, despite not being able to hold a 31-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We tried to tell them that going into overtime it was a fresh game, it was 0-0,” Thompson said. “The girls kept their confidence.”

Unity now faces No. 2 seed Havana (21-10) at 6 p.m. Thursday for the regional championship. The Mustangs’ last regional title came in 2022. 

Havana crushed No. 10 Sciota West Prairie 72-17 in Monday’s other regional semifinal, outscoring the Cyclones (6-25) in the second half 31-4.

Unity’s inability to never completely separate itself from Rushville-Industry until the waning moments of the game was partially its own undoing. The Mustangs made just 7 of 21 free throws in the second half, and 8 of 29 for the game. For the most part, however, Unity was able to offset that problem with a strong showing on the boards. The Mustangs outrebounded the Rockets 49-34, led by junior Kodi Duke who hauled in 15, including five in the overtimes.

“My offense was a little off tonight,” said Duke, who scored just four second-quarter points. “But I know if my offense is off, then I must focus in on (other things).”

Duke was happy about the way Unity handled the late-game pressure.

“I don’t think we ever lost our composure,” she said. 

Thompson agreed.

“We had a lot of girls step forward tonight,” he said.

And that was no accident.

Thompson said the season-long game plan has been to develop a lineup where all five girls on the floor are capable of scoring 10 or more points, so on any given night an opponent cannot suffocate the Unity offense by shutting down one or two key performers.

“It’s all coming together,” Thompson said.

Arnsman was Unity’s other double-figure scorer with 11 points. Chloe Shaffer added nine pointe and Saylor Barry added eight.

Backing up Duke on the boards were Arnsman with nine and Barry with eight.

Kate Stambaugh’s 17-point, 8-rebound performance paced Rushville-Industry. Michaelle Sewika contributed seven rebounds and five blocked shots.