IHSA girls basketball scores: 7 Peoria-area teams advance to sectional finals

[ASFN Admin]

Seven Peoria-area girls basketball teams have moved on to the Sweet Sixteen of the IHSA postseason.

In Class 3A, it will be an all-local sectional final between Washington and Galesburg. Heart of Illinois Conference rivals Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Heyworth go head-to-head in Class 1A. Class 1A also features three local teams in Havana, Midland and Wethersfield. Richwoods remains alive and will be playing at home in Class 4A.

Here is what's facing that group of seven teams as they head into sectional title games on Thursday:

CLASS 1A​

Mt. Sterling Brown County (29-3) vs. Havana (25-6)​

• What's next: Havana and Mt. Sterling Brown County will meet in the 6:30 p.m. Thursday sectional final at Bushnell-Prairie City. The Ducks (25-6) look to win their second sectional in four years after beating Illini Bluffs, 62-44, in the semifinal nightcap. Brown County rallied to beat Abingdon-Avon, 58-44 in the first semifinal. A-Town (26-6) led by five after the first quarter before BC came back for the double-digit victory.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw (30-3) vs. Heyworth (27-7)​

• What's next: Dee-Mack and Heyworth will meet in the 6 p.m. Thursday sectional final at Gilman Iroquois West. These two HOI foes met twice during the regular season with Dee-Mack winning both games. The Chiefs won their semifinal with defense, beating Roanoke-Benson 44-26. R-B managed just 11 second-half points as Dee-Mack got 28 points from Dalia Dejesus. Heyworth upset No. 3 Cissna Park, 54-35 in its sectional semi win.

Midland (26-7) vs. Rockford Christian (23-11)​

• What's next: Midland and Rockford Christian will meet in the 7 p.m. Thursday sectional final at Shabbona Indian Creek. Midland gets a shot a winning the program's first-ever sectional after beating Aurora Christian, 48-17 in the semifinal. The Timberwolves held AC to just six first-half points, including two in the opening eight minutes. Rockford Christian beat Ottawa Marquette, 61-42 in the second sectional semifinal.

Wethersfield (23-9) vs. Sterling Newman (26-6)​

• What's next: Wethersfield and Sterling Newman will meet in the 7 p.m. Thursday sectional final at Lanark Eastland. The Flying Geese knocked off top-seed Lanark Eastland, 41-38. Wethersfield scored four of the final five points as the game was tied at 37-37 with 1:28 to play. It has been 20 years since Wethersfield last won a sectional championship. Newman beat Galena, 42-32 in the second sectional semifinal.

CLASS 3A​

Washington (31-2) vs. Galesburg (28-4)​

• What's next: Washington and host Galesburg will meet in the 6 p.m. Thursday sectional final. This is a matchup of the state's top-ranked (Washington) and No. 3 (Galesburg) teams. Galesburg jumped out to an 18-point lead and cruised to a 51-27 semifinal win over Metamora. Zaniyah Carter scored a game-high 16 points for the Silver Streaks. Washington got 17 points each from Dani Guedet and Olivia Osborn to beat Ottawa, 70-39 in the other semifinal. The Panthers are looking for back-to-back sectional titles.

IHSA girls basketball scores: See all the sectional round results in Illinois

Belleville East (27-5) vs. Richwoods (24-4)​

• What's next: Host Richwoods and Belleville East will meet in the 6 p.m. Thursday sectional final. The Knights used its suffocating defense, turning over Moline 26 times in the 62-49 victory. The Knights scored 19 second-quarter points to lead 28-19 at halftime. Kayla Herron (13 points) and Maddie Lee (13 points, 12 rebounds) led four Richwoods scorers — Keniya Todd (12 points, eight rebounds) and Kyra Lee (10 points) — in double figures. This marks the first Sweet Sixteen for Richwoods since 2019. Belleville East knocked off No. 4 Alton, 45-40 to win the other sectional semifinal. Ramiyah Young scored 14, snapping a 10-game skid to Alton.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA girls basketball brackets: 7 Peoria-area teams to play for sectional titles

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