Cissna Park pulls away from rival Watseka-Milford

CISSNA PARK – No matter the sport or the two schools' success 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 on Monday night as the area’s only two 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 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 Timberwolves celebrated senior night with a 61-40 win.

Cissna Park (24-4 overall, 10-0 VVC) clinched at least a tie atop the standings with the win. The Warriors slid to 24-4, 9-2.

“This one always means a lot,” said Cissna Park junior guard Addison Lucht, who tallied a game-high 26 points. “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 said. “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.”

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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 scored 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 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 only tie was 2-all. The Warriors got 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 run over the next three minutes, including four second-chance points and points off turnovers apiece, to lead 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 had 16 points and eight rebounds. Sophie Duis had eight points and eight rebounds.

While the final score was 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. He saw a Watseka-Milford team that executed in the half court the way they wanted. 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 adding eight rebounds.

The Timberwolves can claim the VVC title outright if they win at Iroquois West on Wednesday. They’ll then begin their journey through the Class 1A playoffs as a No. 1 seed, eager for a longer postseason run than the supersectionals where it ended 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.