Young Lady Jacket’s squad falls to Sparta in Round 2 of tourney

In spite of valiant effort, Chester fails to catch up with Lady Bulldogs, losing by 8 points, 63-55

BY JIM BEERS, Contributing Writer

CHESTER – A very young Chester Lady Jacket Basketball Team fought extremely hard throughout the entire game in Round 2 of the 2022 Sparta Lady Bulldog Invitational Tournament. 

The Lady Jackets, with one senior, two juniors, 1 sophomore and seven freshmen battled right up until the very end against a veteran Lady Bulldog team, but could not break a six-point deficit to gain enough momentum to surpass the Lady Dogs.

Chester’s Emma Diskey, a junior Lady Jacket, was Chester’s second highest scorer in the game against Sparta Wednesday November 16 with 14 points.  Diskey also grabbed 5 rebounds, Jim Beers Photo

Coach Clint Cowan said, “We got within six points with four minutes to play and just couldn’t get over the hump!  We were down by 14-15 points several times throughout the night, but our girls fought hard each time and got within striking distance.  We just were unable to overcome the final hurdle in each situation and fell behind, up-against the veteran Lady Bulldogs.”

“I told the girls it was going to be a hard, tough game.  The girls worked hard and fought like warriors.  When we got behind, they would still fight and claw their way back into a potential winning position.  They kept their heads up and demonstrated lots of positive signs. They showed lots of good character and never let the battle get them down.”

“We were sluggish throughout most of the first half. Sparta led, 8-0 early in the first quarter. Their fans were very intimidating and I think they got under our girls’ skin until we got used to it and began to fight. They demonstrated good character and fought to the end!”

Sparta led 12-9 at the end of the first 8-minute quarter. In the second period, the Bulldogs outscored the Lady Jackets, 16-10 to take a 28-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Coach Cowan said, “I told the girls at halftime that they could overcome the deficit and challenge for the win.  We were down by only 9 points and the girls were starting to play with some authority and confidence. They got their heads up and returned to the court with a new attitude and winning look to start the second half.”

Cowan was right as the Lady Jackets kept up with Sparta throughout the 3rd quarter as the Bulldogs just outscored CHS by two points, 18-16 in the third.  Sparta still by 11 points, however, 46-35, as it was difficult for the Jackets to overcome the original 9-point first half deficit.

Down the stretch the Lady Jackets played their hearts out, outscoring Sparta, 20-17, but it was too little, too late as the Bulldogs led by 8 points at the buzzer, 63-55. 

Chester made several hard runs at Sparta in the final minutes but could not overcome a six-point deficit in the final 4 minutes.  The Sparta crowd was the Lady Bulldogs’ sixth man. Combined with Chester’s youth, the game went to Sparta.

In the loss, the Jackets were led by senior Camrynn Howie who scored 24 points.  She added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.  Junior Emma Diskey scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Freshman Lexi Mott was Chester’s third player that scored in double figures with 11 points. She also recorded 4 rebounds.

Other YellowJacket contributors included Riley Conley who had 3 points, 1 assist, a steal and she led the team in blocks with two. Aubrey Coleman scored two points, led the team in rebounds with 6, and had 1 steal and 1 block.  Camrynn Wolff had 1 point, 2 rebounds and 1 block.

As a team, the Lady Jackets recorded 26 rebounds, six blocks, 4 steals, and 3 assists.  On the negative side, they committed 16 turnovers.  The Jackets made 17 two-pointers, one 3-pointer and were 18-of-31 at the free throw line (58%). 

Sparta was led by Rheinecker who scored 30 points.  Ware was the only other Bulldog to score in double figures with 16.  Other Sparta contributors were Pierce (6), Hamilton (4), and McDonald, Schulein, and Johnson with two points each.

Coach Cowan noted, “We missed several shots at the line tonight.  We made 18-out-of-31 free throws (58%).  Just nine of those 13 missed free throws would have made the difference in the game, but that is the way it happens sometimes! I am very proud of these girls and am tickled to death at here we are right now!”

With the loss Chester is 1-1 for the season. The Jackets return to action Friday night at 7:00 p.m. November 18 to battle Steeleville.  They finish the round-robin tournament Saturday November 19 at 12:00 noon to compete against Red Bud.