Cissna Park pulls away from Watseka-Milford in rivalry action

CISSNA PARK – No matter the sport or the two schools' success in them during any given year, anytime Vermilion Valley Conference rivals Cissna Park and Watseka get together, the action always seems to intensify in front of a larger, more thunderous crowd.

So, it’s safe to say that when the two met in Cissna Park Monday night as the area’s only two current state-ranked girls basketball teams – the Timberwolves entered fifth in the Class 1A AP Poll and Watseka-Milford 10th in Class 2A – that the action and excitement were both sky high.

And save for a couple minutes of action, the game was about as back-and-forth as can be. But thanks to an 8-2 start and 13-0 run in the third quarter, the host Timberwolves celebrated their senior night with a 61-40 win.

Cissna Park improved to 24-4 and 10-0 in the VVC, clinching at least a tie atop the season standings with the win. The Warriors slid to 24-4, 9-2.

“This one always means a lot,” Cissna Park junior guard Addison Lucht, who tallied a game-high 26 points, said. “It’s always a very highly-anticipated game and you know it’s gonna be a great matchup. Both teams are very well-coached and well-disciplined.

“We’ve been playing against these same girls since scrimmages in fourth grade,” she added. “It always means a little bit more, especially for a share of conference. We want to win it outright, so we came out excited and knew it was gonna be a great atmosphere.”

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 12

Cissna Park's Addison Lucht drives to the basket past Watseka-Milford defenders on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, during the Timberwolves' 61-40 victory. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Lucht tallied 10 of her points in the first quarter, her first action on the court since she committed to play softball at Northwestern University over the weekend to cap off a 72-hour span most high schoolers will never have.

“There’s very few, not even high schoolers, but just people like her,” Timberwolves head coach Anthony Videka said of Lucht. “ … Very few people have her motor. Her engine just never stops."

The Timberwolves' engine never stopped either Monday, as they never trailed and the game’s only tie, 2-2, lasted for all of a possession. The Warriors got back-to-back buckets to get to as close as 36-28 on Megan Martin’s basket with 3:23 left in the third, but the Timberwolves went on a 13-0 outburst over the next three minutes, including four second-chance points and points off turnovers apiece, to take command at 49-28 on Autumn Reutter’s layup with 30 seconds left in the quarter.

Lucht added eight boards and an assist to her 26 points. Lauryn Hamrick turned in 16 points and eight boards. Sophie Duis had eight points and rebounds apiece.

While the final score read as a 21-point loss, Warriors head coach Barry Bauer, who grew up on the other side of the rivalry as a 1983 Cissna Park graduate, saw a lot of good. For most of the night, he saw a Watseka-Milford team that executed in the half court exactly the way they wanted to. But that 13-0 run in the third that was fueled off of transition points and second-chance points was a microcosm for the margins in which Bauer felt the team lost.

“We gave up 61, so the first thing you’d look at is, ‘oh boy, defensively we didn’t get it done,’ but I thought our half court defense was really good,” he said. “It was those second shots that killed us. … When you do everything right, make them take the shot you want them to take, but then give up the rebound, that’s tough.”

Christa Holohan’s 15 points, six rebounds and three assists led the Warriors. Megan Martin and Thayren Rigsby each had eight points, with Martin also adding eight rebounds.

The Timberwolves can claim the VVC outright if they can win at Iroquois West Wednesday. They’ll then begin their journey through the IHSA Class 1A State Series as a No. 1 seed, eager for a little lengthier of a postseason run than their season that ended in the super-sectionals last year.

“We’re gonna try to get through Wednesday first and hopefully wrap up a conference championship, then just keep trying to play one more game at a time for our seniors,” Videka said.