Beat Waterloo JV, 47-23, to advance in winner’s bracket
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The Chester High School Lady Jacket Basketball Team is competing at the 2023 Gibault Catholic Lady Hawks Basketball Tournament this week. The “Candy Cane Classic” runs December 11-16 at Waterloo Gibault High School.
This year’s field of teams includes Gibault Catholic, Red Bud, Chester, New Athens, Waterloo JV, Metro-East Lutheran, Columbia, and Valmeyer.
Chester opened the tournament Tuesday December 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Game 4 vs the Waterloo JV team.
Lady Jacket Lexi Mott led the Jackets in a victory in Round 1 of the 2023 Candy Cane Classic Tournament at Gibault High School. Chester beat the Waterloo JV Lady Bulldogs, 47-23 led by Mott with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, Jim Beers Photo
The Waterloo JV came out strong in the first quarter outscoring the Lady Jackets 7-3. In that frame, the Lady Bulldogs were paced by Lindhorst (4) and Esperschied (3). The Lady Jackets had scoring from Jesse Stumpe (2) and Lexi Mott (1).
In the second quarter, Chester outscored Waterloo JV 5-4, to trail, 11-8 at halftime. The Jackets were fueled by Lexi Mott (4) and Camryn Luthy (1) in that period. Waterloo was led by Lindhorst who drained a 3-pointer and Esperschied who sank a free throw.
Chester coach Jeff Mott said, “We are playing short this week due to injuries from two starters, Rylie Conley and Jazzi Merideth. Conley may return at some point but Merideth will probably be out until next week with an injured knee.”
“One good thing is that Camryn Luthy has been released from her knee operation recovery period and should help us out, especially once she gets into competition condition.”
After the half, somebody must have stirred the YellowJacket’s nest because Chester outscored Waterloo, 21-5 in the third quarter to take a large, 29-16 lead.
The Chester push came from sophomore Lexi Mott who made 4-of-5 free throws and battled for three 2-pointers giving her ten points. Riley Lochhead and Aubrey Coleman each drained 3-pointers adding six points.
Camryn Luthy scored a basket for two points and Lillian Diskey made back-to-back free throws. Rounding out the 21-point effort was Emma Diskey who added a free throw.
Waterloo’s Esperschied made a basket and hit a free throw and Richler hit a bucket for the Lady JV Bulldog’s five points.
Once the Jackets were buzzing they never stopped. Down the stretch the Lady Jackets stung the Lady Bulldogs, 18-7, to win the game, 47-23.
In the 4th quarter the Jackets were paced by Aubrey Colvis who made three baskets for six points. Aubrey Coleman made back-to-back buckets for four points and Lexi Mott scored a 2-pointer and added a free throw for three points.
Bailey Hartman scored with a field goal and Lillian Diskey made 2-of-4 free throws. Riley Lochhead capped off the YellowJacket’s scoring with a free throw for Chester’s 18 points.
For Waterloo, Eschmann scored her first basket of the game, Richler added a bucket, Francis got into the scorebook making both free throw attempts, and Esperschied made 1-of-2 free throws.
In the win the Lady Jackets had nine players contribute offensively. Lexi Mott was Chester’s only player to score in double figures with 16 points. She added 10 rebounds and four steals.
Aubrey Coleman scored seven points and grabbed three steals. Aubrey Colvis recorded six points, three rebounds, 1 assist, and two steals. Lillian Diskey also scored six points. She added four rebounds, 5 assists, and four steals.
Riley Lochhead scored four points, grabbed one rebound, dished out three assists, and had two steals. Camryn Luthy added three points and she grabbed two rebounds, and had two steals. Jesse Stumpe scored two points and had one steal. Bailey Harman added two points and had one steal. Senior Emma Diskey recorded one point, grabbed four rebounds, dished out five assists, and had four steals.
Waterloo JV had five players in the score book led by Esperschied (8) and followed by Lindhorst (7), Richler (4), Eschmann (2), and Francis (2).
With the win, the Chester Lady Jackets improved to 5-5 on the season and started out the Candy Cane Classic with a 1-0 record. The Jackets defeated the Gibault Lady Hawks in Second Round action Thursday December 14 at 7:30 p.m. and will play for the championship Saturday.