Tornadoes stay dry against Greenwave, 58-36
TAYLORVILLE — Taylorville guard Addison Tarr lobs a pass to forward Mazie Fleming. The sophomore duo lead the Tornaodes in points on Tuesday night combining for 25 total.
Lucas Domonousky
Breeze-Courier Sports Editor
TAYLORVILLE — The Taylorville girls basketball team kept the conference ball a’rollin by hosting Mattoon on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The Tornadoes didn’t let their Apollo conference opponent to get too close or too much momentum throughout the match. Taylorville takes the victory at home, 58-36 the final.
Scoring the ball was the most consistent aspect of these Taylorville girls on this night. Every starter was able to put up a fair amount to add to the team total. Sophomores Addison Tarr (13) and Mazie Fleming (12) lead the Tornadoes in points combining for 25 total. Also in double digit figures was junior Aubrey Kietzman. The guard finished with 11 in the game.
“That’s always great to see.” Head Coach Hayden Eldred said during a post game interview. “I looked up at the board in the first half and we had five, six, six, five. We’ve had a few games like that and when were doing that it makes the job easier and more comfortable. Teams have to try to figure out who to defend and when we’ve got that many weapons, it helps.”
Taylorville kept the scoring pouring with Senior, junior and sophomore trio (Alyvia McCullough, Olivia Woodward and Lia Champley) each adding six points of their own. Kyleigh Heimsness rounded out the scoring for Taylorville putting up 4 points against the Greenwave.
The first half featured a few turnovers and fixable mistakes that the team knew they needed to clean up. Once they got adjusted they looked as comfortable as any team out there. The Head Coach commented on how they were able to clean it up in the second half.
“Just get adjusted to the speed.” Eldred states. “We were a little more amped up today with a bigger crowd that got them going. They definitely embraced it and let it fuel them throughout the game.”
Coach continues by praising the crowd and all the energy provided.
“It was great!” He said. “I loved the young kids in the student section. They’re always the best fans. They get involved. They’re not afraid to do those cheers with the cheerleaders so that was excellent.”
The group Coach is referring to was the 4th and 5th boys basketball team and with it being “Rally Towel Night” everyone had a lot more energy to give than usual. The rally towels themselves were provided by CTI Communications and Taylorville Sports Boosters.
The Tornadoes will be back in the THS West Gym on Friday, Feb. 3 to host yet another Apollo conference match against the Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs. The match will be a special one as it is Senior Night for Taylorville girls! Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.
TAYLORVILLE — THS sophomore Kyleigh Heimsness edges around her opponent during the girls basketball victory on Tuesday night. The sophomore finished with 4 points in the game.
