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Sometimes it is tough for inexperienced teams to finish off an otherwise solid performance.
That appeared to be the case for the East Peoria girls basketball team Friday at Allison Gymnasium vs. Dunlap.
The Raiders were down only 28-27 after three quarters, but got outscored 16-6 over the final eight minutes in a 44-33 Mid-Illini Conference setback.
East Peoria dropped to 2-7 in the league, good for seventh place, after its sixth straight M-I loss.
“It’s frustrating,” EPCHS head coach Jay Bowman said. “We feel like that is a game we could have won.”
Kylie Giebelhausen delivered a game-high 17 points for the Raiders. She made five 3-pointers.
East Peoria sizzled at the outset, scoring the game’s first 11 points.
Giebelhausen had a trey to start the segment, then a pair of free throws on an Eagle technical foul to end it.
In between, Savanna Tapper made a couple long-distance shots.
The Raiders held Dunlap scoreless for nearly six minutes at Allison Gymnasium before a Morgan Erickson basket.
Two more Giebelhausen triples in the second quarter helped East Peoria maintain a 19-15 margin at halftime.
“We said the best thing that happened to us to start the game was that we hit three 3s, but also the worst thing to happen was we hit three 3s,” said Bowman. “We couldn’t get our girls to put the ball on the floor and go in.”
Giebelhausen twice bumped up the Raiders’ lead in the third period with treys. Nicole Montgomery also made a slick left-handed lay-up to try to fend off the hard-charging Eagles.
But Morgan Erickson hit three shots in a span of 1 minute, 39 seconds. The last field goal gave Dunlap its first lead, 28-27, which also was the score entering the fourth.
Erickson led the Eagles with 13 points, nine of which came in the second half.
Dunlap took command in the final quarter, limiting East Peoria to two points in the first 6:30, while scoring 14 points of its own.
Kristeen Morgan upped the Eagle cushion to two possessions before the team’s next six points came from Brianna Henson.
By the time Erickson capped off her night with a basket, it was 42-29 with just 2:12 remaining.
With eight points, Tapper was the only other Raider with more than four.
East Peoria had 15 second-half turnovers. Several of the miscues directly helped Dunlap (9-9, 5-3) gain separation.
“Too many turnovers,” Bowman said. “We’ve been getting better at it. The last few games, we’ve played tough.”
Sometimes it is tough for inexperienced teams to finish off an otherwise solid performance.
That appeared to be the case for the East Peoria girls basketball team Friday at Allison Gymnasium vs. Dunlap.
The Raiders were down only 28-27 after three quarters, but got outscored 16-6 over the final eight minutes in a 44-33 Mid-Illini Conference setback.
East Peoria dropped to 2-7 in the league, good for seventh place, after its sixth straight M-I loss.
“It’s frustrating,” EPCHS head coach Jay Bowman said. “We feel like that is a game we could have won.”
Kylie Giebelhausen delivered a game-high 17 points for the Raiders. She made five 3-pointers.
East Peoria sizzled at the outset, scoring the game’s first 11 points.
Giebelhausen had a trey to start the segment, then a pair of free throws on an Eagle technical foul to end it.
In between, Savanna Tapper made a couple long-distance shots.
The Raiders held Dunlap scoreless for nearly six minutes at Allison Gymnasium before a Morgan Erickson basket.
Two more Giebelhausen triples in the second quarter helped East Peoria maintain a 19-15 margin at halftime.
“We said the best thing that happened to us to start the game was that we hit three 3s, but also the worst thing to happen was we hit three 3s,” said Bowman. “We couldn’t get our girls to put the ball on the floor and go in.”
Giebelhausen twice bumped up the Raiders’ lead in the third period with treys. Nicole Montgomery also made a slick left-handed lay-up to try to fend off the hard-charging Eagles.
But Morgan Erickson hit three shots in a span of 1 minute, 39 seconds. The last field goal gave Dunlap its first lead, 28-27, which also was the score entering the fourth.
Erickson led the Eagles with 13 points, nine of which came in the second half.
Dunlap took command in the final quarter, limiting East Peoria to two points in the first 6:30, while scoring 14 points of its own.
Kristeen Morgan upped the Eagle cushion to two possessions before the team’s next six points came from Brianna Henson.
By the time Erickson capped off her night with a basket, it was 42-29 with just 2:12 remaining.
With eight points, Tapper was the only other Raider with more than four.
East Peoria had 15 second-half turnovers. Several of the miscues directly helped Dunlap (9-9, 5-3) gain separation.
“Too many turnovers,” Bowman said. “We’ve been getting better at it. The last few games, we’ve played tough.”
The Eagles swept the conference series with the Raiders.
EP 42, Illinois Valley Central 38
The Raiders snapped a five-game losing skid Saturday afternoon vs. the Grey Ghosts.
East Peoria (5-16) was led by Giebelhausen, who matched her Friday output with 17 points.
She spooked IVC with four 3s, and the Raiders held the guests to 13 points in the second half.
Tapper also was in double figures with 11 points for East Peoria, which overcame 6-of-19 free-throw shooting.
Sarah Kurth added seven points for the Raiders, who are in the midst of a six-game homestand.
Emma Hoerr led the Class 2A Ghosts with 15 points.
All of East Peoria’s remaining regular-season games are against conference competition.
