Chester loses Game 1, 62-61 in OT to Cape Central, then wins 3-in-a-row over Cairo, 74-23; Meadow Heights, 43-26; and Kelly, 61-55; Lexi Mott makes All-Tournament Team
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The Chester High School Lady Jackets competed in the Saxony Tournament Saturday December 14 to the following Friday December 20. The ladies from Popeye Town played very well in the tough field of competition bringing home a Consolation Championship with a tournament record of 3-1.
The Jackets opened the tournament against one of the favorites of the event, Cape Central. Chester took the higher seed to overtime, losing by just one point, 62-61. In that game the Lady Jackets opened many eyes and established themselves as a potential contender.
After that down-to-the-wire one point loss, the Jackets never looked back and won three games in-a-row to win the Consolation Championship. In that run, CHS beat Cairo, 74-23; Meadow Heights, 43-26; and Kelly, 61-55. In the process, Chester’s Lexi Mott earned her way onto the 2024 Saxony All-Conference Team.
The Chester High School Lady Jackets Basketball Team won the Consolation Championship of the 2024 Saxony Tournament with wins over Cairo, Meadow Heights, and Kelly. Pictured (left to right) Row 1 are Marlie Caby (35), Lillian Diskey (21), Rylie Conley (4), Aubrey Coleman (31) and Bailey Hartman (10). (Row 2, standing, left to right) are Natalie Guetersloh (22), Riley Lochhead (11), Lexi Mott (33), Jessica Stumpe (24), Rylee Shemonic (00), and Hannah Crow (12). The Lady Jackets are coached by Jeff Mott, Head Coach, Jennifer Coleman, Assistant Coach, Kevin Cartwright, Assistant Coach, and Camrynn Howie, Assistant Coach
Cape Central 62-Chester 61 in Overtime
Cape buzzed out to a 15-8 lead after one quarter and outscored Chester 12-9 in the second frame to lead by 10 points at halftime, 27-10. The Lady Jackets flew high and hard in the third quarter to outscore Cape Central, 16-15, to narrow the Cape lead to just nine points, 42-33.
Chester continued to dominate the game down the stretch and outscored Cape, 20-11 in the fourth quarter to tie the game, 53-53, at the end of regulation and take the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, it was neck-and-neck throughout the battle. At the final buzzer, Cape Central had outlasted the Lady Jacket’s stings, 9-8, to win by one point, 62-61.
The Jackets were paced by Lexi Mott who scored 25 points. Jessica Stumpe also scored in double figures with 16 points. Other contributors in the near win included Lillian Diskey (7). Rylie Conley (6), Aubrey Coleman (6), and Riley Lochhead (1). With the loss, Chester fell to 3-9 overall.
Cape Central also had two players score in double figures including B. Moss (15) and A Davenport (12). Seven other players also added to the win including J. Dawson (8), A. Cairas (6), K. Rivers (5), X. Hall (5), K. Ivy (5), N. Furlow (3), and M. Claussen (3).
Lady YellowJackets 74-Cairo 23
Chester dominated the entire game against Cairo. The Jackets led, 21-6 after one quarter of play and outscored Cairo, 16-5 in the second period to lead, 37-11 a halftime.
CHS stepped it up a bit more after halftime and outscored Cairo, 23-9 in the third quarter to extend its lead to 60-20. To close out the win, the Jackets outscored Cairo, 14-3 in the final quarter to win the game, 74-23.
Throughout the contest, CHS Head Coach, Jeff Mott used his bench plentifully. The entire team contributed to the victory. Nine of Chester’s 10 available players who dressed scored points for the team total.
The Lady Jackets were led by Lexi Mott who scored in double figures with 21 points. Jessica Stumpe also added double figures with 12 points. Rylie Conley and Marlie Caby just missed double figures with nine points apiece. Hannah Crow added eight points. Other contributors included Natalie Guetersloh (6), Aubrey Coleman (5), Rylee Shemonic (3), and Lillian Diskey (1). With the win, the Lady Jackets improved to 4-9 overall and 1-1 in the Saxony Tournament.
Cairo had an entire roster of only seven players. They were led by Shanti Taylor who scored 12 points, followed by Merleah Grahan (4), Arianna Dossie (4), and Mircle Childs (3).
Chester 43- Meadow Heights 26
CHS led 13-8 after one quarter of play and pushed the re-play button in the second quarter to outscore Meadow Heights 13-8 in that frame again. The Jackets led, 26-16 at the halftime break.
After halftime, the Lady Jackets came back and outscored Meadow Heights 8-6 to extend their lead to 12 points, 34-22. The 4th quarter had the girls from Chestertown outscoring the Meadow Heights girls, 9-4 to win the game, 43-26.
Lexi Mott and Rylie Conley both scored in double figures in the win. Mott recorded 19 points and Conley added 10 points. Jessica Stumpe added seven points and Riley Lochhead scored three. Lillian Diskey and Aubrey Coleman each added two points apiece.
Meadow Heights had one player score in double figures. J. Shelton scored 13 points. Shelton was followed by L. Green (6), M. Kent (3), R. Yamintz (2), and M. Bess (2).
With the win, the Lady Jackets secured back-to-back wins and improved their record to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in the tournament.
Lady Jackets 61-Kelly 55
The game against Kelly was tight and competitive. The Jackets trailed after the first quarter, 13-9 and 26-24 at halftime. A huge 3rd Quarter saved Chester as the Lady Jackets outscored Kelly, 26-18 to take a 6-point, 50-44 lead after three periods. The 4th Quarter was another neck-and-neck battle with both teams scoring 11 points. The Chester girls kept their 6-point lead, winning 61-55.
In the win, Chester had four players score in double figures including one senior, two juniors, and one freshman. Senior Rylie Conley recorded 18 points, junior Lexi Mott led with 21 points, junior Jessica Stumpe scored 10 points, and freshman Marlie Caby contributed 10 points for a total of 59 points. Junior Lillian Diskey topped off the final score with two points.
Kelly was another small southern Missouri team that fielded only seven players. Three of the seven scored in double figures. P. Klipfel led with 15 points. C. Hall had 13 points. K. Still recorded 11 points. Other contributors included B. Riley (9) and R. Burns (7).
With the win, the Chester Lady Jackets ended the tournament on a 3-game winning streak and a tournament record of 3-1. The only loss was in the first game, 62-61 in overtime against a very good Cape Central team that was a much bigger school.
The three wins in the tournament improved Chester’s record to 6-9 overall. CHS came into the tournament with a Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division record of 1-3.
Chester High School junior Lexi Mott (33) earned her way onto the 2024 Saxony Tournament “ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM” December 14-20. Mott led her team to a 3-1 record in the tournament and scored a total of 86 points in four games. Mott recorded 25 points against Cape Central, 21 points against Cairo, 19 points against Meadow Heights, and 21 points against Kelly. The Lady Jackets lost just one game in the tournament and that was to Cape Central, a much bigger school, in overtime, by just one point, 62-61. After that loss, Chester had a 3-game winning streak beating Cairo, 74-23, Madow Heights, 43-26, and Kelly, 61-55. Jim Beers Photo
An extra bonus at the Saxony Tournament, in addition to winning the Consolation Championship, was that junior Lexi Mott earned a spot on the 2024 Saxony “All-Tournament Team”. In the 4-game event Mott scored a total of 86 points, 25 against Cape Central, 21 against Cairo, 19 against Meadow Heights, and 21 against Kelly. She was also tough on defense and on the boards.