Little Ten Girls Basketball Tournament: Serena tops Newark for third straight title

SHABBONA — Like it has over the past few seasons, the Serena girls basketball team used a strong effort on the defensive end of the floor during Friday night’s title game of the 43rd annual Little Ten Conference Tournament to earn championship hardware.

The top-seeded Huskers forced No. 2-seeded Newark into 30 turnovers and used a key 13-0 run to start the second half to eventually grab a 47-32 triumph and raise the gold ball trophy for the third consecutive season.

It’s the seventh overall title for Serena in the history of the tournament.

“I thought our defense was pretty good tonight, both in the full court and half court,” said Serena coach Jim Jobst, his team now 17-2 on the season. “Other than the final few minutes when we started to turn the ball over too much, I was very pleased with how we played. We also missed a few too many shots right at the rim, but we also did a good job of moving the ball and finding the open player for the most part.”

“(Senior) Gwen (O’Connell’s) two 3s to start the second quarter really got us going in the right direction after a not so great first quarter.”

“It was a little crazy at times, but in the end, we were able to get one of our goals that we had at the start of the season, to win the conference tournament.”

—  Gwen O'Connell, Serena senior

Serena led 10-8 after a first quarter that the teams combined for 15 miscues, but O’Connell sank a pair of 3-pointers before a drive by senior Paisley Twait and a triple and rebound basket by junior Jenna Setchell pushed the Huskers advantage to 23-8.

Setchell finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with four assists and seven steals for Serena, which shot 38% (18 of 47) from the field. O’Connell (three rebounds, two assists) and Twait (eight rebounds, two assists, three steals) each added 11 points, while Makayla McNally chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.

“I got hurt the first quarter of our second game last season,” O’Connell said. “All I could do was work to get back and watch from the bench the rest of the season. It was frustrating to say the least.”

“I feel I’m blessed to be here right now. It was a long road back, and it was just taking it day by day, but tonight was another night that made all the rehab and stuff worth it. I thought we played very well as a team tonight. We played pretty good defense and on offense just made the most of opportunities when we had them. It was a little crazy at times, but in the end, we were able to get one of our goals that we had at the start of the season, to win the conference tournament.”

Newark — which finished hitting 45% (14 of 31) from the field — cut into the 25-11 halftime margin early in the third, but Serena used a 13-2 burst to close out the period up 43-19. The Norsemen, behind seven points from Addison Long, sliced the lead to 15 (45-30) with four minutes to play, but Serena was able to close the door from there.

Long finished with a team-best nine points, three rebounds and three steals. Addison Ness had seven points, Kiara Wesseh six points, and Tess Carlson four points, three rebounds and four steals.

“Serena has so much experience, especially playing the pressure defense that they do,” Newark coach Jasmine Mitchell said, her club falling to 12-11. “They are a team that if you turn it over, maybe not the first few times, but eventually, they are going to make you pay for it. We struggled hanging on to the ball against Hinckley-Big Rock (in Thursday’s semifinal) but we were able to overcome that with forcing turnovers with our defense.

“We just weren’t able to force as many turnovers tonight against Serena to survive like we did (Thursday). We also had times where we were getting good looks at the hoop, but the shots just weren’t falling. I’m proud of the way the girls batted back there in the fourth quarter, but we were just too far behind and there wasn’t enough time on the clock to get all the way back in to it.”

Both squads are back in action on Monday with Serena hosting IMSA in a LTC game, while Newark travels to take on La Salle-Peru.

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At Shabbona

43rd annual Little Ten Conference Tournament

Championship game

Serena 47, Newark 32

NEWARK (32) — Wesseh 3-4 0-2 6, Hatteberg 1-2 0-0 2, Carlson 1-2 2-3 4, Long 4-7 0-1 9, Ness 3-7 0-0 7, Peshia 0-3 0-0 0, Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Snyder 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 14-31 2-6 32.

SERENA (47) — O’Connell 4-8 0-0 11, Brennan 0-6 0-0 0, McNally 4-7 1-2 9, Twait 4-13 3-6 11, Setchell 6-12 2-3 16, Mahler 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-47 6-11 47.

Newark (12-11) 8 3 8 13 — 32

Serena (17-2) 10 15 18 4 — 47

3-point goals — Newark 2-7 (Carlson 0-1, Long 1-2, Ness 1-2, Peshia 0-1, Snyder 0-1); Serena 5-11 (O’Connell 3-5, Twait 0-1, Setchell 2-4, Mahler 0-1). Rebounds — Newark 26 (Wesseh 4); Serena 27 (McNally 8, Twait 7). Assists — Newark 6 (Peshia 2); Serena 10 (Setchell 4, O’Connell 3). Steals — Newark 12 (Carlson 4, Long 3); Serena 16 (Setchell 7, McNally 3, Brennan 3, Twait 3). Blocks — Newark 0; Serena 0. Turnovers — Newark 30; Serena 21. Total fouls (none fouled out) — Newark 15; Serena 10.