Central-Southeastern climbs out of 16-point hole, forces 39 turnovers by Deer Creek-Mackinaw in OT victory

Central-Southeastern's Lauren Miller goes between two Deer Creek-Mackinaw players for a shot during Saturday's high school girls basketball game at the Midwest Athletic Center in Jacksonville. | Photo courtesy of Mike Pritchard

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Central-Southeastern girls coach Matt Long was singing “What a Long, Strange Trip it’s Been” as he entered his victorious locker room at the Midwest Athletic Center on Saturday night. His teenage players probably didn’t know the song or the artist the lyric was from (“Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead), but the result…

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Photo Gallery: CSE captures third gold ball in school history

Central-Southeastern's Brilyn Lantz looks at the official after battling Galena's Nevaeh Hauber for a loose ball during Saturday afternoon's championship game in the small school girls bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic at the Shirk Center. | David Adam photo

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to hand Galena its first loss in a 45-40 victory in the championship game in the small school girls bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the action from the game.

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CSE notches record-tying 30th victory in 62-26 sectional semifinal blowout of Staunton

Central-Southeastern's Tori Fessler, right, defends Staunton's Ele Feldmann during Tuesday night's Class 2A girls basketball sectional semifinal game at Pleasant Plains High School. | David Adam

PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — Well, that didn’t take very long. Central-Southeastern had all but secured a Class 2A girls basketball sectional semifinal victory over Staunton before some patrons had found their seats Tuesday night at Pleasant Plains High School. CSE scored the first 18 points of the game, which quickly turned the contest into a…

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CSE survives another nail-biter, upsets No. 2-ranked PORTA on its home floor to win regional

Central-Southeastern's Lauren Miller, left, and Brilyn Lantz celebrate after the buzzer sounded to end Thursday night's Class 2A girls basketball regional championship game in Petersburg, Ill. | Photo courtesy of Mike Pritchard

PETERSBURG, Ill. — Matt Long admittedly ran the full gamut of emotions Thursday night. “I felt like I went from about being ready to black out to relaxing on a yacht,” said Long, the girls basketball coach at Central-Southeastern. More than 15 minutes after CSE’s 31-28 nail-biting victory in the Class 2A regional championship over…

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Photo gallery: Central-Southeastern rallies in fourth quarter to capture regional crown

Tori Fessler accepts the regional championship plaque after Central-Southeastern's victory over Petersburg PORTA on Thursday night. | Photo courtesy of Mike Pritchard

Central-Southeastern rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Petersburg PORTA 31-28 in the Class 2A regional championship game at Petersburg on Thursday night. CSE, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, moves on to play Staunton (26-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pleasant Plains in the sectional semifinals. Mike Pritchard provided Muddy River…

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Illinois Girls Regional Roundup: Unity, Brown County cruise, but CSE needs free throw with 0:00 on clock to survive

Abbey McMillen is mobbed by her Central-Southeastern teammates after making a free throw with no time on the clock to win Monday's semifinal game in the Class 2A girls basketball regional at Petersburg PORTA High School. | Photo courtesy of Mike Pritchard

Abbey McMillen’s free throw with no time left on the clock gave the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team a 36-35 victory over Pleasant Plains on Monday night in the Class 2A regional semifinal at Petersburg PORTA High School. Pleasant Plains tied the score at 35 when freshman Anna Weber scored from inside the lane with 27.9…

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Central-Southeastern slays another monster in winning State Farm Holiday Classic championship

Central-Southeastern’s Tori Fessler explodes with joy after the final buzzer as the Panthers beat top-seeded Paris 36-32 to win the championship of the State Farm Holiday Classic on Friday at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long referred to top-seeded Paris as “a monster.” Consider his squad the beast slayers then. The Panthers completed a remarkable run to the State Farm Holiday Classic championship Friday afternoon, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 18.2 seconds to hand the Tigers their first…

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Lockdown defense carries Central-Southeastern into State Farm Holiday Classic title tilt

Central-Southeastern's Brilyn Lantz rips the ball away from Brimfield's Kylee Vaugh during their semifinal game of the State Farm Holiday Classic on Thursday at Normal Community High School. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks. PhotoNews Media

NORMAL, Ill. — Because of the widespread success of the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players across all sports, it’s easy to forget how youthful the Panthers are. “I know,” C-SE coach Matt Long said. Still, a majority of the time, C-SE has three sophomores, sometimes four, on the floor. That makes this week’s run to the…

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C-SE knocks off SHG with dynamic defensive effort in second half of tourney quarterfinal

Central-Southeastern's Lauren Miller, left, and Tori Fessler, center, helped the Panthers reach the semifinals of the State Farm Holiday Classic by upending second-seeded Springield Sacred Heart-Griffin on Wednesday night. | File photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Matt Long made it sound so simple. “In the second half, I thought we had a lot of energy and effort and it turned the game for us,” the veteran Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach said. The tenaciousness defensively brought about by playing with more energy and effort certainly did that. A five-point…

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Panthers lock down in closing stretch to quell Fightin’ Irish comeback

Despite pressure from Bishop McNamara's Tessa DiPietra, Central-Southeastern's Brilyn Lantz looks to get a shot up in the paint during Tuesday’s game in the State Farm Holiday Classic at Normal Community High School in Normal, Ill. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

NORMAL, Ill. — Having watched a nine-point advantage dwindle to three, the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players simply refused to let Kankakee Bishop McNamara draw any closer. The Panthers made their free throws, too. Central-Southeastern outscored Bishop McNamara 8-2 over the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of regulation Tuesday night and earned a 36-27 victory in…

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Muddy River Showcase: Central’s Ippensen will miss playing in Panthers’ unique environment

Central-Southeastern's Libby Ippensen helped guide the Panthers to a 20-win season and will be part of the Illinois girls team in the inaugural Muddy River Showcase. Photo courtesy Mike Pritchard

The inaugural Muddy River Showcase is taking place June 18 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The Illinois vs. Missouri format for senior prep basketball players will feature a girls game at 3 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 5 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door and all seating is general…

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‘Oh my gosh’: Reed’s 3-pointer rescues Illini West, Kirkham’s free throws seal regional championship

Illini West's Reagan Reed shoots a 3-pointer as the clock winds down at the end of the fourth quarter in Friday night's Class 2A girls basketball regional championship game in Camp Point. | Photo courtesy of Mike Pritchard

CAMP POINT, Ill. — After being hounded by Karlee Marlow and the Central-Southeastern defense Friday night, Caydee Kirkham finally found a spot on the floor the Panthers couldn’t guard her. The free-throw line. Kirkham was limited to nine points — half of her season average — through regulation and the first 3 1/2 minutes of…

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SuperFan Shootout: Quintero, Cornwell step into spotlight to help QND girls hold off Central-Southeastern

Quincy Notre Dame's Eryn Cornwell dribbles to the basket while Central-Southeastern's Amanda Stephens defends during Friday night's girls basketball game at the Pit in Quincy. | David Adam

QUINCY — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team was in a good spot in the third quarter of Friday night’s game at the Pit. The Panthers scored the first six points of the second half and trailed Quincy Notre Dame, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 2A, 33-26 with 5:08 left in the quarter. Even better,…

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Area Distributors Area Athlete of the Week: Central-Southeastern’s Abbey McMillen

Central-Southeastern's Abbey McMillen set a single-game program record with seven 3-pointers last week against Pleasant Hill. Photo courtesy Mike Pritchard

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Abbey McMillen’s 3-point prowess could be a weapon the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team relies on during the upcoming postseason. Pleasant Hill witnessed last week how dangerous it can be. McMillen, a junior, set a single-game program record by sinking seven 3-pointers in a 61-22 victory last Thursday night.  McMillen also played…

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Mustangs, Chargers to renew acquaintances once again, this time for title of CSE Classic

Unity coach Brad Begeman gives Caroline Knox a hug after she made two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining in regulation to beat Brown County 46-45 in the semifinals of the CSE Classic on Thursday night in Camp Point, Ill. Matt Schuckman photo

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Here we go with round three. Caroline Knox did her part to make it happen with two clutch free throws. The Illini West girls basketball team’s defense held up its end of the equation. Now, two state-ranked foes will meet for the third time in 17 days and the second time…

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After loss in State Farm quarterfinals, Central-Southeastern coach questions if Winnebago is top Class 2A team in state

Central-Southeastern's Summer Ramsey is trapped on the baseline and surrounded by, from left, Winnebago's Annika Bielskis, Renee Rittmeyer and Campbell Shrank during Tuesday's quarterfinal game at Bloomington High School in the small-school bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic. | David Adam

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern coach Matt Long has a pretty good idea of what a good Class 2A girls basketball looks like. He guided the Panthers to third-place and fourth-place finishes at the state tournament in 2016 and 2017. So after his team lost 33-21 to Winnebago, ranked No. 1 in the latest Class 2A…

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After forcing 29 turnovers in victory over Stanford Olympia, C-SE girls earn shot at No. 1-ranked Winnebago

Freshman Lauren Miller puts pressure on a Stanford Olympia player during Central-Southeastern's first-round game on Monday during the State Farm Holiday Classic at Normal Community High School. | David Adam

NORMAL, Ill. — Central-Southeastern gets a crack on Tuesday against Winnebago, the No. 1 seed in the small-school girls bracket at the State Farm Holiday Classic and the No. 1-ranked team in the Class 2A state poll. Don’t be surprised if the Panthers throw a scare at the undefeated Indians. C-SE forced 29 turnovers in…

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