Manteno clinches ICE title with win over Coal City

MANTENO – In a season that already has seen the Manteno girls basketball team set a school record for wins, the Panthers reached another milestone with their 53-40 win over Coal City at home on Monday.

Both teams entered the game with 12-1 records in the Illinois Central Eight Conference, with Manteno’s only ICE loss coming in a heartbreaker to Coal City on Jan. 13.

The Panthers avenged that loss, and in the process claim the first conference championship for the program since 1990.

Manteno wraps the regular season at 23-4 overall, now four wins ahead of its previous high-water mark of 19 wins, also set in 1990. Coal City fell to 21-8 with the loss and has one more regular-season game against Dwight on Thursday before regionals next week.

The Panthers begin their postseason preparation looking to defend their regional title from last season. To do that, coach Bethany Stritar said the team just needs to keep rolling after its historic regular season.

“Everybody is very excited,” Stritar said. “This is a great team that has put in a lot of work, and they’re setting records. … Their energy is great, and I’m just looking forward to carrying that into the state tournament now.”

Manteno came out hot Monday, leading by as many as 10 points in the first quarter before taking a 15-7 lead into the second quarter, a lead that grew to 28-17 by halftime and 41-23 entering the fourth quarter.

Panthers' senior Bella Gigliello scored six of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to help stave off a bit of a comeback push from Coal City. She tied for the team lead in scoring with Emily Horath, while Maddie Gesky had a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.

Gigliello said the win was a culmination of the hard work the team has put in and the chemistry they have built.

“This team, we work together so well,” she said. “Playing with this team for four years now, we just know how to get it done, and we always pick each other up whenever we get down. So it feels really good to win for the whole team.”

The Coal City surge in the fourth quarter reached its pinnacle midway through the quarter when a pair of 3-pointers from Becca Hall, who finished with a game-high 16 points, cut the Manteno lead to 46-38. The Panthers then closed out the game on a 7-2 run.

Coal City coach Brad Schmitt said he liked what he saw from the team late in the game, but a sluggish start proved costly.

“We didn’t hit our shots early on,” he said. “We kind of found our rhythm a little bit late in the third quarter, but it was too big of a hill to climb. I’ve got to give [Manteno] credit. They came out, played harder, capitalized on some of our mistakes and hit some shots.”

Emma Rodriguez finished with seven points for Coal City. Sydney Larson hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth to finish with six points.

For Stritar, the things the Panthers have accomplished this season have not come as much of a surprise. Heading into the season, she said she believed this group had the chance to be one of the best teams the program has ever had.

There still is more season ahead of them, but with a conference championship and a school record of 23 wins and counting, the 2024-25 team can make a strong case for that title.

“These girls play so well together,” she said. “They’re friends on and off the court. They’re athletic, they’re competitors, and I just knew that they don’t like to lose. From the beginning, they were passionate, they worked hard, they came in day in and day out and tried to get better and improve as a team, and they’ve done a fantastic job. From the beginning, we knew they were going to be a special group.”