Cougars outscore Hornettes 34-24 in second half to beat Nashville, 58-48
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – The Chester Class 2A Girls’ Sectional Basketball Tournament is in the books and a new Sectional Champion has been crowned. The 2026 Championship game was Thursday February 26 and No. 2 Breese Central defeated No. 1 Nashville, 58-48 to become the 2026 Chester Sectional Champions.
(2) Breese Central won the Herrin Regional last week to advance to the Chester Sectional. At Herrin they beat (10) Columbia, 55-19, in the Regional Semi-Finals and (3) Breese Mater Dei, 54-25, in the Regional Finals, to advance to the Chester Sectional.
In the Sectional Semi-Finals, the (2) Lady Cougars defeated (1) Benton, 70-35, to advance to the Sectional Title game.
Nashville (1) won the Freeburg Regional last week to advance to the Chester Sectional. At Freeburg the Hornettes beat (9) Belleville Althoff, 64-21, in the Regional Semi-Final, and (4) Freeburg, 40-28, in the Regional Finals to advance to the Chester Sectional.
In the Sectional Semi-Finals, the (1) Hornettes defeated (3) Massac County, 54-26, to advance to the Sectional Title game.
The Championship game took place Thursday February 26 in Chester, Illinois, at Chester High School, in Colbert Memorial Gymnasium, on Rocky Bridges Court. Tip-Off was 6:00 p.m.
(2) Breese Central won the Sectional Semi-Final in the top of the Sectional Bracket. Nashville won the Regional Semi-Final in the bottom half of the Sectional Bracket. Those two teams faced each other in the Championship game to determine the 2926 Chester Class 2A Girls’ Sectional Tournament.
The Lady Cougars from Breese Central came into the title game with an overall record of 28-3. They won the Cahokia Conference, Mississippi Division with an undefeated 10-0 record to win the Conference title. The Cougars were ranked 6th in the State of Illinois in Class 2A.
The Lady Hornettes from Nashville High School, came into the title game with an overall record of 31-2. They won the River-to-River Conference, Mississippi Division, with an undefeated 10-0 record to win the conference title. The Hornettes were ranked 7th in the State of Illinois in Class 2A.
On paper, both teams were really close and similar by the records. Breese Central perhaps had a bit of a stronger schedule, however, and Nashville played its season without one of its key players, giving Breese Central a slight advantage.
The Championship game started much as the two semi-final games did with a close first half. After one quarter of play the Breese Central Lady Cougars led by two points, 12-10. In the second quarter the Nashville Hornettes outscored the Lady Cougars, 15-12, to take a one point, 25-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The entire first half was back-and forth with numerous lead changes and a couple of tied scores. The first quarter had just a couple of fouls and the clock didn’t stop much. The first quarter took just about 11 minutes and the halftime buzzer sounder after about 25 minutes.
Nashville was behind by a basket with less than a minute left in the first half, but drained a shot at what was expected to be the final shot of the first half to take a one-point lead, 25-24.
With just a few seconds on the clock, Breese Central inbounded the ball, drove the length of the floor and made a basket with no significant time on the clock. Breese Central fans erupted with excitement thinking that they had re-taken the lead, 26-25. The referee, however, called off the shot saying that it was after the buzzer. A very disappointed Cougar team reluctantly left the floor in disgust and Brees Central fans were in an uproar.
After the halftime break, both teams returned to the floor for warmups and seemed to have a renewed sense of determination and confidence. In the third quarter, Breese and Nashville battled hard and continued to exchange leads. At the end of the third frame, the Lady Cougars had outscored the Hornettes, 16-9, to lead by six points, 40-34. It was, however, still anyone’s game to take.
The fourth quarter as competitive for the first four minutes of the eight-minute period, but in the final four minutes, Breese Central had the shots falling and breaks were going their way. Nashville, who had just one foul up to that point, had to start fouling Breese to stop the clock down the stretch.
The Lady Cougars made 4-of-6 free throws late in the game. Breese Central outscored Nashville, 18-14, in the 4th quarter, to win the game by ten points, 58-48.
In the win, Breese Central was led by three players who scored in double figures including Lily Butler who had 16 points, followed by Lexy Santel (14) and Taylor Trame (13). Other offensive contributors included Alexia Morris (8), Ella Nettemeier (6), and Mallory Shubert (1).
In the loss, Nashville also had three players score in double figures including Summer Brinkmann who had 13 points, followed by Samantha Brinkmann (12), and Makayla Gajewski (10). Other contributor included Belle Schmale (9), Claire Stiegman (2), and Emery Schoenberg (2).
Sponsors for the 2026 Chester Sectional include the following 26 donors: The Buzz Café in Benton; G.R.E. Construction in Chester; Metropolis Hometown Hardware; Ranger Nutrition of Benton; Benton First United Methodist Church; American Legion Post 1239 of Aviston; Country Financial, Trudee Wynn of Benton; Sounds of Harmony Barbershop Chorus of Southwestern Illinois; HELIA Healthcare of Benton; Behrmann Quality Meats of Albers; J&R Mechanical Appliances of Nashville and Mt. Vernon; Woodring Water Works of Benton; SI Vallett Auto Sales; Lee’s Sports of Nashville; Vasquez Fitness Center of Chester; Massac County Housing Authority of Metropolis; Home Connections, LLC of Carlyle; Jules Joint Family Food and Drinks of Nashville; Black Tie Affair LLC of Nashville; Cook Tractor Holdings, Inc. of Germantown Road; AmArbor Tree Services of Sparta; Toennies Service Company of Damiansville; Jansen Ford of Breese; Chester Country Club; and H&R Agri-Power Farm & Turf of Benton.
The Breese Central Lady Cougars are the 2026 IHSA Class 2A Chester Sectional Basketball Champions after beating Nashville, 58-48 Thursday February 26 at Chester. Pictured (Front row, left to right) Tori Garcia (5), Aubrey Timmermann (13), Mallory Shubert (2), Ella Nettemeier (1), AlexiaMorris (23), and Lilly Hennrichs (3). (Back row, left to right) are Hayleigh Holtmann (25), Alyssa Moore (10), Kendyl Poettker (22), Madelyn Luebbers (4), Lexy Santel (14), Taylor Trame (11), Jillian Beckmann (21) and Lily Butler (15). Jim Beers Photo
Jenny Cartwright, Chester High School Athletic Director, presents the Championship Plaque to the Breese Central Lady Cougars. Brese had just defeated the Nashville Lady Hornettes, 58-48, in the 2026 Championship game of the Class 2A Chester Sectional Tournament. Behind Cartwright is CHS Stadium Announcer Mike Lochhead making the official announcement that the Cougars are the 2026 Sectional Champions. Jim Beers Photo
The Breese Central Lady Cougars celebrate after receiving their plaque for winning the 2026 Chester Clas 2A Girls’ Sectional Championship. Jim Beers Photo
Breese Central fans celebrated for almost 45-minutes after their Lady Cougars beat Nashville, 58-48, to win the 2026 IHSA Class 2A Girls’ Sectional Basketball Tournament Championship Thursday February 26 at Chester High School. Some fans were still on Colbet Memorial Gym floor as most other people had left. Jim Beers Photo
Nashville’s Summer Brinkmann (5) waits to see of her free throw hit its mark late in the game when the Hornettes were attempting to catch-up with the Brese Central Lady Cougars. Her shot did fall, but it was too-little-too-late as Breese Central had already achieved a 10-point lead. Jim Beers Photo
Breese Central player Mallory Shubert (2) came off the bench late in the game and ended up on the free throw line. She made one of two shots and then returned to the bench. She had one point recorded in the official scorebook, but it did contribute to the Sectional Championship win for Breese Central. Jim Beers Photo
In spite of being done with the 2025-26 Chester Basketball season, the Chester High School Pep Band joined force for one final week of performances for the 2026 IHSA Class 2A Chester Sectional hosted by CHS. It was Band Director Steve Colonel’s final game as he will be retiring at the end of the school year. Fans from most all teams that visited Chester High School games complimented Mr. Colonel for the popularity of the CHS Pep Band throughout the 2025-26 season. Jim Beers Photo