Chester’s Emma Diskey and Lexi Mott make All-Tournament Team
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The Chester High School Lady Jackets were the unspoken underdogs in the Championship game of the 2023 Sparta Lady Bulldogs Invitational Tournament.
Red Bud dominated its first two rounds, 61-23 over New Athens and 61-24 over Steeleville. Chester also won its first two rounds, but not quite as convincingly, with a 61-42 win over Sparta and a 44-38 win over Trico.
The Chester High School Lady Jackets were “Runners-Up” in the 2023 Sparta Lady Bulldogs Invitational Tournament. Pictured here with their 2nd Place Trophy are (Front row, left to right) Riley Lochhead, Aubrey Coleman, Rylie Conley, and Lillian Diskey. (Back row, left to right): Jen Coleman, Assistant Coach, Jesse Stumpe, Aubrey Colvis, Emma Diskey, Lexi Mott, Natalie Guetersloh, Jazzi Meridth, Camryn Luthy, and Jeff Mott, Head Coach. Jim Beers Photo
Many thought that the Lady Musketeers would continue to dominate the game against the Lady Jackets in the Round 3 Championship game, however, Chester came into the game confident and determined to prove the naysayers wrong in their negative predictions about the outcome!
Friday November 17 was the final night of the tournament featuring three games. The 5:00 p.m. game featured Sparta vs New Athens battling it out to determine 5th place. The Lady Bulldogs handled the New Athens YellowJackets, 47-25 to earn the 5th Place title.
The 3rd Place game started at 6:30 p.m. and featured Steeleville and Trico. The contest was close at times, however, the Lady Pioneers led most of the game and earned the 3rd Place standing with a 45-30 victory.
Lady Jacket senior Jasmine “Jazzi” Meridth (12) guards Red Bud’s Lilly Minemann (0) as she attempts to inbound the ball in the Championship game of the 2023 Sparta Lady Bulldog Invitational Tournament. Merideth helped her team earn the “Runner-Up” title. In the 3-game event Merideth scored 13 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, had 2 steals, blocked 2 shots, and dished out 6 assists. Jim Beers Photo
The Championship game tipped-off at 8:00 p.m. and pitted two teams with undefeated 2-0 records against each other. Chester and Red Bud, both Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division teams, set out to take home the 2023 Sparta Invitational Tournament title and trophy.
Most of the first half belonged to Red Bud in spite of Chester’s Rylie Conley popping a 3-pointer right out of the gate to give CHS a 3-0 lead with 7:17 left in the first quarter. Red Bud then went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-3 lead at the 4:41 mark.
The game was fast, furious and very physical the rest of the first quarter. Chester added seven more points in the first quarter, all at the free throw line (Emma Diskey, 5-of-6) and (Rylie Conley 2-for-2).
Red Bud was 4-for-4 at the free throw line and added a pair of 2-pointers and a 3-pointer. The Lady Musketeers led, 20-10 after one quarter of play.
The Jackets scored 8 more points in the second quarter. Red Bud added 10 more. Jesse Stumpe, Jazzi Merideth, Aubrey Coleman, and Lexi Mott each hit 2-pointers for Chester. On Merideth’s basket at the 2:36 mark, the Jackets pulled within six points, 22-16.
The Musketeers then went on an 8-2 run to end the half on the scoring of Jeda Friess (3), Addi Dilley (2), Lilly Minemann (2) and Olivia Geralds (1). Red Bud led by 12 points, 30-18, at halftime.
Things got interesting after halftime. In the third quarter, the Lady Jackets outscored the Lady Musketeers, 16-9, to pull within 5 points, 39-34, after three quarters of play.
Chester’s Jessica Stumpe got things started by hitting a 2-pointer at the 6:25 mark. Chester trailed by 10 points, 30-20. Jazzi Merideth sank a free throw at 6:00 and Lexi Mott hit a basket at 5:40 to end a 5-0 Lady Jacket run. CHS trailed by seven.
Red Bud answered with a 2-pointer, but the Jackets followed with a 9-1 run to bring Chester within 1 point, 33-32 at the 3:02 mark. That ended a 14-3 run led by Lexi Mott (5), Jessica Stumpe (4), Jazzi Merideth (3), and Emma Diskey (2).
After a Red Bud time out, Musketeer Talia Carter sank a free throw to extend Red Bud’s lead to 34-32. Chester’s Rylie Conley tied the game at 34-34 with 1:19 to play in the third.
Red Bud closed the 3rd quarter with a 5-0 run to lead by 5 points, 39-34 after three quarters of battle.
Things even more intense in the final period. The 4th quarter featured four ties, 42-42 at 5:27, 46-46 at 3:28, and 50-50 at 1:26. The 4th quarter also had three lead changes. CHS was called for 8 fouls and RBHS was called for 4 fouls. Physicality was high and both teams became frustrated at times.
The YellowJackets outscored Red Bud, 19-16 in the final 8:00. Lexi Mott got the ball rolling less than 30-seconds into the period with a field goal. Rylie Conley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game, 42-42, with 5:27 to play.
Chester’s Lady Jacket Emma Diskey drives hard to the basket in traffic in the Chamoionship game of the 2023 Sparta Lady Bulldogs Invitational Tournament against Red Bud. Diskey helped her team Place 2nd in the event. Diskey earned a place on the 2023 All-Tournament Team. In the 3-game tournament Diskey scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, had 1 steal and dished out 3 assists. Jim Beers Photo
Emma Diskey and Lexi Mott were perfect from the free throw line, both hitting both the front and back end of a trip to the line. Aubrey Colvis banged in a shot and the Jackets had a 48-47 lead at 3:23.
Lexi Mott connected again this time for 2 points to give Chester a 50-47 lead at 2:31. Red Bud wasn’t done, however, and answered with a 2-pointer to pull within 1 point, 50-49, with 2:13 to play. Red Bud’s Addi Lilley sank a free throw at 1:26 to tie the game, 50-50.
With 54.5 seconds left in the game, Chester’s Lexi Mott hurt her ankle and had to come out of the game. She did, however, return after a brief recovery period.
At the .29 mark, the Lady Musketeers hit a field goal to break the tie and retake the lead, this time for good. RBHS led, 52-50. Talia Carter then went to the line to shoot a free throw. She connected and Red Bud led, 53-50.
Lexi Mott was back in the game and attempted a shot with 7.5-seconds left in the game. The shot missed the mark. Chester fouled to stop the clock and Red Bud’s Addi Dilley made both free throws to give the Lady Musketeers a 55-50 lead.
With literally just seconds left to play, Chester’s Rylie Conley drained 3-pointer to give the Jackets 53 points at the buzzer. Red Bud escaped the deadly sting of the YellowJackets and won, 55-53.
CHS Lady Jacket Rylie Conley (4) tries to break the full court press in the Championship game against Red Bud Friday November 17. The Jackets fought hard and overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to overtake the Lady Musketeers with just 3:28 remaining in the contest, but fell short by just 2 points, 55-53, in the end, allowing Red Bud to steal the Championship title. In the game Conley led the YellowJackets with 15 points on four 3-pointers, one 2-pointer and 1 free throw. Jim Beers Photo
In the loss, the Lady Jackets were led in the scoring column by Rylie Conley who scored 15 points. She accomplished that feat by sinking four 3-pointers, one 2-pointer, and 1 free throw. She also recorded 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Conley led the team in points, assists, and steals.
CHS Sophomore Lext Mott (33) led the team in scoring at the 2023 Lady Bulldog Invitational Tournament and earned herself a coveted spot on the 2023 All-Tournament Team. For the 3-game event, Mott scored 39 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, has 6 steals, blocked 1 shot and dished out 5 assists. She helped her Lady Jacket squad finish as “Runners-Up” in the tournament, just missing winning the entire event by late points scored by Red Bud with just seconds remaining in the Championship game. Jim Beers Photo
Lexi Mott followed with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Senior Jazzi Merideth led the team in rebounds with eight. She also had 5 points, 2 steals, and 1 assist.
Other offensive contributors included Emma Diskey (9), Jessica Stumpe (6), Aubrey Coleman (3), and Aubrey Colvis (2). Chester was called for 26 fouls.
Red Bud was led by three girls that scored in double figures including Lilly Minemann (12), Jeda Friess (12) and Addi Dilley (10). Other scorers were Talia Carter (6), Ava Wagner (5), Emma Carter (5), and Lyla Hess (5).
Following the final buzzer Sparta athletic personnel presented the 2nd Place Runner-Up trophy to the Chester Lady Jackets. The Red Bud Musketeers then received the 1st Place Championship Trophy.
The 2023 Sparta Lady Bulldogs Invitational Basketball Tournament “All-Tournament” Team (left to right) includes: Maddie Schulein (Sparta); Hayleigh Franklin (Trico); Kenzie Pierce (Sparta): Addi Dilley (Red Bud); Lyla Hess (Red Bud); Jeda Friess (Red Bud); Lairen Wedemeyer (Steeleville); Lexi Mott (Chester); Whitney Lovel (Trico); Emma Diskey (Chester); and Taylor Cottom (Trico) MVP. Jim Beers Photo
The 2023 All-Tournament Team was then announced and included:
Lexi Mott, Chester
Jeda Friess, Red Bud
Lyla Hess, Red Bud
Addi Dilley, Red Bud
Lauren Wedemeyer, Steeleville
Whitney Lovel, Trico
Kenzie Pierce Sparta
Emma Diskey, Chester
Maddie Schulein, Sparta
Hayleigh Franklin, Trico
Taylor Cottom, Trico, Perry Brooks MVP Award
Chester’s two seniors stepped-up in the opening three games at the Sparta Tournament. Emma Diskey scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, 1 steal, and dished out 3 assists. Jazzi Merideth scored 13 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, had 2 steals, blocked 2 shots, and dished out 6 assists.
They will soon be joined by another senior, Camryn Luthy who hopes to be off of the disabled list soon as she recovers from a leg surgery.
Diskey said, “The championship loss was tough, but we played better in the second half. I am proud of our accomplishments.” When asked how she felt about making the All-Tournament Team, Diskey said, “I’m pretty happy about it. It makes me want to push harder for the rest of the season.”
Merideth said, “We didn’t play our best the entire game, but we played as a team and never gave up! It was very tough to lose after getting ahead with just 1:46 to play, but the final 29-seconds got us when they scored.”
Head Coach, Jeff Mott said, “We had a successful tournament! We came into the tournament running an entirely new defense and offense compared to last year. We wanted to push the ball and get transition points and we did. We had just two weeks to get ready and I think we did a fantastic job with that limited time!”
Another accomplishment that Mott expressed was how he stressed to his team to play unselfishly and play basketball for the name on the front of the jersey and not for the name on the back of the jersey.
Mott said, “I want everyone to be a threat because that makes us much harder to defend. I think we accomplished that goal!”
Mott noted that in the Championship game his team started with a 3-2 zone. They did not want to press early. That worked well for the first quarter but then the girls got a bit “flat- footed”.
“We struggled at the free throw line missing 11 free throws in the first half. We only trailed by 12 at halftime.”
“We made some adjustments during the halftime break and went to our man-to-man and started pressing full court. We wanted to trim their lead to 6-7 points after the 3rd quarter. We needed to be the aggressors in the 2nd half!”
“I told the girls to go out in the second half and leave everything on the floor. If they did this, they would have no regrets at the end of the game! The girls bought-in and responded well and took control of the game by playing OUR game, NOT theirs.”
Mott noted that the Lady Jackets created some big turnovers and took Red Bud out of their offensive flow. CHS also matched he Lady Musketeers’ physicality. “We had eight girls play in the Championship game and all eight played key roles in the success of the team.”
Mott was very pleased with his young team’s performances at the tournament. “I know this team is young on paper, but they have experience. I want them to know that we aren’t looking to win later, we are looking to win NOW! Their second half play in the Championship game proved that they can compete with really good teams.”
“I am very proud of them for making adjustments we put in at halftime. Good teams are able to make adjustments in games and these girls did that!”
The Lady Jackets have Thanksgiving week off from competition and return to action the week of November 27-30 when they host three home games at Colbert Gymnasium.
CHS hosts Wesclin in the first home game and first Cahokia Conference game of the season Monday November 27. The Lady Jackets return Tuesday November 28 to host Gibault in non-conference action. The Jackets close out the week with a third home game Thursday November 30 against Carlyle in the second conference game of 2023.