Olney opens LIC
tourney with 55-25 win
over Robinson
Round 1 of the 2018 Little Illini Conference Tournament began Saturday with the busiest day in the tournament. The Olney Lady Tigers (15-4 overall, 6-0 Little Illini) received the top seed in the tournament and would face the winner of the play-in game that was battled on Thursday. The #9 seed Robinson Lady Maroons downed the #8 seed Red Hill Lady Salukis moving Robinson up to face off with top seeded Olney for the third time this season. Olney faced off with Robinson (3-18 overall, 0- 5 LIC) on November 24th at the Robinson Tournament and November 30th in regular season Little Illini Conferenc play. The first meeting, Olney picked up a 12 point victory, downing Robinson 39- 27 at Robinson. In the second meeting, Olney protected home court taking down the Lady Maroons 37-19. “Robinson has played us tough the first two times,” Olney head coach Mark Anselment said of facing the Lady Maroons. “They say it is always hard to beat a team three times.” Olney would face off with another obstacle on Saturday, the first of four LIC Tournament games to be played on the day. “Through the added factor of the weather in. We didn’t practice yesterday,” said Anselment about something that could have played a factor in the early going. “I really challenged our kids that when you get off the bus you have to be ready to go.” Olney jumped out to an early lead and a hot start on the back of sophomore Brittany Black. The sophomore forward was able to gain some early baskets in the lane to help jump Olney on an early run to put Robinson in a tough hole early. “We need her to have big games,” Anselment said of the forward. “Not only rebounding, but we need her to score some too.” Black had seven rebounds on the day, tied with Colleen Inyart for a team high, to go along with eight points. Atfter Black established some inside play, the perimeter game had more room to opperate. “Britney came out early and started scoring on the inside. That opens up the outside game,” Anselment said about how the ability to score in the paint allows the other players to have more spacing on the outside. The Lady Tigers run early helped to establish their will and put Robinson behind the eight ball early. The Lady Tiger defense was smothering on the afternoon which frustrated the Lady Maroons. “I thought our kids did a good job getting off to a good start,” Anselment said. “Defensively we were mixing and matching things. We made it kind of hard for them.” Olney powered to a 13 point advantage after the first frame of basketball behind the hot start of Black and the perimeter play beginning to take hold. Heading into the second, Olney would improve their 18-5 lead despite Robinson having their best period of the game. Olney would rely on the scoring talents of senior leading scorer Julie Luna to help keep the offense rolling. Luna had 20 on the night and continues a string of solid offensive games going with her high point night. The Lady Tigers would rely on Luna and still get solid performances from several players on the day. Olney would battle through some tough possessions and Robinson would keep the game from getting too far away. The Lady Maroons would put up 12 points in the quarter, but could not trim the gap as Olney found the basket for 14 points of their own. It was a tough period for Olney, but the Lady Tigers still was able to extend the lead to head into the halftime break leading 32-17. In the second half, Olney would get a boost from junior Taylor LeCrone. “Taylor got off to a slow start, but I thought she did a really good job of not getting down on herself and not letting that impact her game. That showed a lot of maturity on her part,” Anselment said about how LeCrone kept defending well despite the slow shooting start. “She got a couple of five second calls. I think that hgot her going. She knocked down a couple threes after that. I am really proud of her for not getting down on herself.” LeCrone would force a couple of turnovers and Olney would get out in transition and utilize an up tempo offense with Luna and LeCrone finding layups and LeCrone finding triples to extend the lead. The offense jump started and Olney extended the lead as the defense continued to smother Robinson. The Lady Tigers outpaced Robinson 16-6 in the quarter and went into the fourth leading 48-23. In the final period of play, Robinson would manage just two points as the Lady Tigers kept Robinson in single digits for three of the four quarters. Olney would slow offensively but still outscore Robinson in the period, 7- 2. The Lady Tigers would go on to pick up a substantial win over Robinson, 55-25. Olney improved to 16-4 on the year and advances to the semi-finals of the Little Illini Conference Tournament. “I appreciate everyone for making the trip over,” Anselment said about the fan support on the Saturday afternoon. “I thought we had a good fanbase considering the weather.” The Lady Maroons drop to 3-19 on the season and to the consolation semi-final game to be played Wednesday. Olney will battle Flora with a trip to the Little Illini Conference Championship on the line. The game will tip off Tuesday. OLNEY STATS Points: Julie Luna - 20, Taylor LeCrone - 12, Brittany Black - 8, Tara Hughes - 6, Colleen Inyart - 4, Lyndsey Mulvey - 4, Haven Doll - 1. Rebounds: Tara Hughes - 7, Brittany Black - 7, Collen Inyart - 4, Julie Luna - 3, Lyndsey Mulvey - 3, Logan Kauble - 2, Haven Doll - 1, Cait O’Dell - 1, Logan Shan - 1, Taylor LeCrone - 1. Assists: Logan Kauble - 3, Taylor LeCrone - 2, Brittany Black - 2, Haven Doll - 1, Paige Steber - 1, Julie Luna - 1, Colleen Inyart - 1, Tara Hughes - 1, Lyndsey Mulvey - 1. Blocks: Logan Shan - 1, Julie Luna - 1, Brittany Black - 1. Steals: Colleen Inyart - 4, Julie Luna - 3, Paige Steber - 1, Taylor LeCrone - 1, Raegan Hires - 1. ROBINSON STATS Points: Andrea Schalburg - 7, Lauren Weber - 5, Bailey Strauch - 5, Daphne Phillippe - 4, Jaedyn Johnson - 4 Rebounds: Lauren Weber - 2, Andrea Schalburg - 2, Bri Robb - 2, Bailey Strauch - 1, Jaedyn Johnson - 1, Daphne Phillippe - 1, Jade Clan - 1. Steals: Andrea Schalburg - 1, Jaedyn Johnson - 1, Daphne Phillippe - 1.TOURNAMENT RECAP THURSDAY #9 Robinson defeated #8 Red Hill, 49-33. SATURDAY #1 Olney defeated #9 Robinson, 55-25. #5 Flora defeated #4 Casey-Westfield, 45-38. #2 Paris defeated #7 Lawrenceville, 66-27. #3 Marshall defeated #6 Newton, 46-39. TOURNEY SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK Monday, 6:30 pm: #6 Newton vs. #8 Red Hill. Tuesday, 6:00 pm: #1 Olney vs. #5 Flora. Tuesday, 7:30 pm: #2 Paris vs. #3 Marshall. Wednesday, 6:00 pm: #7 Lawrencville vs. Winner between Newton/Red Hill. Wednesday, 7:30 pm: #4 Casey-Westfield vs. #9 Robinson. Thursday, 5:00 pm: Consolation Championship Game. Thursday, 6:30 pm: Third Place Game. Thurday, 8:00 pm: Championship Game. UP NEXT Olney advanced to championship side of the bracket for the 2018 Little Illini Conference Tournament. The Lady Tigers will have a rematch with the Flora Wolfgals, set to take place at 6:00 pm on Tuesday at Casey-Westfield High School. In the first matchup held at Flora, the Lady Tigers dispatched the host Wolfgals 43-28. Colleen Inyart and Tara Hughes led the Lady Tigers in scoring the first time around, each with 10 points. Flora seniors Sydney Cammon and Kasey Jennings combined for 18 in the loss. Each team will look to improve on their performances as Olney shot 18-53 (34%) from the floor while the Wolfgals shot 9- 54 (16.7%) on the night. Olney picked up their first tournament win with the substantial 55-25 win. Flora, on the other hand, was the only lower seed to win on Saturday as the #5 seed upset the #4 seed Casey-Westfield. Flora had to come from behind, trailing after three quarters to pick up the win despite playing without senior leader Sydney Cammon. Game time from CaseyWestfield is set for 6:00 pm.