Deja vu all over again: Hornettes dash Panthers’ state dreams in super-sectional

VANDALIA, Ill. — Same opponent, same round, same gym, and unfortunately for the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team, the same result.

Nashville ended the Panthers’ postseason journey one step shy of a trip to the state tournament for the second straight season, winning 58-41 in the Class 2A Vandalia Super-Sectional in the Vandalia High School gym. The Hornettes won last year’s super-sectional 41-32.

“It’s tough being in this spot two years in a row, coming up just short of our ultimate goal that we work for every day in practice all these four years,” Panthers senior forward Lauren Miller said. “To come up just short, it’s hard to cope with, but I’m really proud of my teammates and everything they’ve accomplished these four years. This one’s going to be tough to watch back over and think about, but I feel blessed.”

Like Miller, Panthers senior guard Karly Peters knows the significance of even playing for a chance to reach the final four in back-to-back years.

“Every chance you get, you just can’t take it for granted,” said Peters, who along with Miller helped the Panthers win three consecutive regional titles and the last two sectional crowns. “A lot of teams, a lot of people don’t get (that chance). We just have to be thankful for everything we get, every opportunity that we can lay our hands on.”

The Hornettes snatched that opportunity away from the Panthers thanks in large part to a 10-0 run to start the game. Nashville led 19-4 after the first quarter, during which the Panthers made just one field goal — a Peters 3-pointer with 4:20 left — and the Hornettes made their first four attempts from beyond the arc.

“I sat out here and watched them shoot threes before the game, and I might have seen one or two go in the basket, then they come out and make their first four,” Panthers coach Matt Long said. “We were a little slow rotating, but we were really worried about them pounding the ball inside on us. They’re just one of those teams where you can’t take away everything. They’ve got way too many weapons.”

The Panthers trimmed that lead to 28-18 by halftime, but they never got closer than seven points in the second half.

“I told our kids after the game, ‘Sometimes you just have to say they’re better than us,’ and they’re better than us,” Long said. “It doesn’t matter how many days we had to prepare for them, or what if this or that happened? They’re just the better ball team, and we’re a really good ball club. Not taking anything away from us, they were just better tonight.”

A frustrating night offensively for Peters — the reigning honorable mention all-stater made just three field goals and had nine points — was made even more strenuous when she was saddled by foul trouble. Peters picked up her fourth foul with 2:36 left in the third quarter and fouled out with 6:05 left in the fourth quarter and the Panthers trailing 43-30.

“It’s frustrating for sure, but it’s not about me,” Peters said. “It’s about my team. I just have to keep cheering for them, give them all the confidence, give them all the hope and hope they can turn it around. Unfortunately, they didn’t, but they tried their hardest, and I’m proud of them.”

Miller made a jumper with 2:41 to go that trimmed the Hornettes’ lead to 49-37, but Nashville scored nine of the game’s final 13 points.

“We knew that we were going to have to play our darn best if we wanted to win,” said Miller, who led all scorers with 21 points in her last game in a CSE uniform. “Some things didn’t go our way, but I was proud of how we were fighting until the end. Props to them. They’re a great team. I wish them the best of luck, and I hope they go all the way.”

The Hornettes (33-3), who were state runners-up last season, will battle Chicago Phillips at 3:45 p.m. Thursday for the right to advance to the state title game.

“Boy, Camp Point, what a great team,” Hornettes coach Dempsey Witte said of the Panthers, which were ranked sixth in the final state poll. “Really talented, well coached. We knew it was going to be a battle, and we were lucky to get out to a good start again.

“We knew if we could get to this point, it would be quite a challenge, and it was.”