Herscher holds off Streator comeback for 37-28 ICE triumph

STREATOR – A bumpy start to Thursday evening’s Illinois Central Eight Conference visit from Herscher found the host Streator Bulldogs down 12-0 early, 10 of those Tigers points the direct result of steals or offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs dug in, however, and answered that 12-0 Herscher run with a 10-0 run of their own.

That start was an indication of Herscher’s explosiveness, but also of the scrappiness Streator’s girls would show all night in an eventual 37-28 loss at Pops Dale Gymnasium.

“In the past, I’ve been notorious for calling a quick timeout,” Streator coach Jacob Durdan said of when his team gets off to a slow start. “But I really want the girls to learn how to work out of those holes, and I thought they did a good job of that tonight, moving the ball and finding the open shooter and knocking it down to get back in it.”

The loss is Streator’s 20th of the season, dropping the Bulldogs to 1-20 overall, 0-8 on the ICE loop. Herscher moves to 11-8, 5-3.

Tigers point guard Leia Haubner (nine points, 13 rebounds, four steals, two blocked shots) and post Anistin Hackley (10 points, nine rebounds) respectively did the bulk of the damage in terms of the points off turnovers and second and third chances. Pippa Dunnill and Laney Mohler each scored six points in a third quarter that saw the visitors pull away, turning a 17-10 halftime advantage into a 33-19 lead heading into the fourth.

“We’ve been working on being more patient, taking better shots, giving up good shots for great shots,” Herscher coach Tim McElroy said. “I think just being patient on offense and also knowing when to get a[n offensive] rebound or score in transition really helped us tonight.”

As they have all season, senior post Leah Krohe and junior guard Ava Gwaltney spearheaded Streator’s never-say-die attack.

Krohe scored eight points, including the Bulldogs' initial points on an old-fashioned three-point play 6 minutes and 44 seconds in, and added a game-best 17 rebounds and two assists. Gwaltney – fresh off sinking a program-record eight 3-pointers in Monday’s ICE loss to Wilmington and celebrating her 17th birthday Thursday – drained four more Thursday to finish with a game-high 18 points to accompany her five rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Gwaltney said her team’s continued improvement and willingness to fight back when finding itself behind have been the result of a couple factors.

“Definitely mindset is a big thing [for us when fighting our way back into a game],” Gwaltney said. “And the way the team connects and the way we get along are big too.”

Her growing success behind the 3-point arc has been a large factor as well.

“I’ve definitely worked hard to get where I’m at considering freshman year I didn’t really shoot 3s or was as comfortable with it,” she said. “But my goal was to beat my dad’s record [of single-game 3-pointers], and I’m glad I got it.”

After falling behind 12-0, Streator climbed to within two points, 12-10, on a Krohe post basket midway through the second quarter. Herscher responded by scoring the half’s final five points to carry a seven-point lead into the break, and though Streator got within four in the third quarter the Tigers kept their host at arm’s length from midway through the third onward.

Streator returns to action next Tuesday with a visit to longtime rival La Salle-Peru.