East Peoria, Ill. - The matchups were already good to begin with, advance the tournament a round, and the matchups will only get better. With a pair of top-10 games for semifinals, it certainly was a quality day of basketball at Ramsey Gym. 

(RV) BLACK HAWK 62, SOUTH SUBURBAN 51
On paper, #3 CCBC Essex was the highest-scoring offense entering holiday tournament play, but Black Hawk put that in doubt at the start of their game, rolling to a 25-point first quarter (25-8). The Bulldogs, however, rebounded well in the second quarter, out-scoring the Braves, 18-16. That run continued into the second half of play, with the South Suburban out-scoring Black Hawk, 25-21. By game's end, that 17-point spread in the first quarter was what the Braves needed to hold on for the win. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
(RV) Black Hawk
Khloe Damm | 13 points, 12 rebounds
Kylee Parker | 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Me'Kiyah Harris | 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Kayla Jones | 5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists

South Suburban
Leilani Murray | 14 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal
Rachel Robinson | 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

#1 KIRKWOOD 70, #6 LAKE LAND 46
The first half of this top-six battle was awfully competitive. Kirkwood only led by eight points at the half. Much like the eventual makeup of the following game, the Eagles turned the jets on in the second half, combining for 39 second half points. Ultimately, Kirkwood would save the best for last, with the final score marking their largest lead of the game. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
#1 Kirkwood
Tasia Jordan | 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Kaylee Corbin | 16 points, 4 rebounds
Alycia Patterson | 10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Makayla Mau | 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

#6 Lake Land
Olivia Niemerg | 8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Ali Watson | 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Tayler Barry | 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Lexi Niebrugge | 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

#3 CCBC ESSEX 93, #10 ICC COUGARS 62
ICC got off to a 1-0 lead before the game even tipped off after a pre-game techincal was asseseed on the Knights, but ultimately, CCBC Essex got off to a red-hot start, taking a 29-16 lead after a quarter. The Cougars, however, turned the page in the second quarter. A stretch just before half saw the Cougars keep chipping away to bring the game back down to single digits. Among others, plays that stick out include ICC crashing the boards for an extra possession and the ball deflecting around briefly before Halie Gilbert narrowly beat the shot clock to pull within 33-28. Essex would knock down a trey to go ahead 36-28. The eight-point lead was short lived when T'yana Lovelace got a shot of her own to go and get the game to 36-30. The Knights had one last chance, but ICC came up with the stop, drawing an errant three-pointer from the volleyball line and garnering an ovation going to the locker room. 

The Knights responded well out of the halftime locker room, and went from a seven-point second quarter to a 22-point third quarter, leading 58-44 after three. Essex took the momentum and ran with it, pouring on a tune of 35 points in the fourth quarter, taking their largest lead of the game at 32 points with 1:59 to go. ICC got the last shot in at the 1:20 mark, but ultimately, it was just too large a margin for a potential comeback. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
#3 CCBC Essex
Faith Blackstone | 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Anasia Staton | 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Ashley Dickey | 13 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
Tiffany Hammond | 12 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Cassandra Hawthorne | 10 points, 5 rebounds

#10 ICC
Cierra McNamee | 11 points, 1 rebound
Kyleigh Block | 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Halie Gilbert | 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Peyton Dearing | 3 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
Paris Wilson | 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

#13 BRYANT & STRATTON 64, NORTH IOWA AREA 61
By the time the final buzzer went off in this one, there had been seven lead changes and five ties. Bryant & Stratton went up 12 points about midway through the second quarter, but for the most part, the game was played within 10 points. In fact, North Iowa Area trailed 64-59 with just seconds remaining, sneaking a bucket to make it 64-61, with the game effectively over, the Trojans had a chance for one last miracle. They tipped the inbounds pass from Bryant & Stratton and secured possession and had just enough time to get a three-pointer off at the horn, but it did not fall. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
#13 Bryant & Stratton
Mondrea Williams | 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
Kylie Lemberger | 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Myisha Malone | 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals
Teya Maas | 10 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

North Iowa Area
Kourtney Manning | 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
Audrey Martinez-Stewart | 11 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
Nariyah Parks | 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Keiara Anderson | 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals

SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY'S GAMES:
7th Place Game | 10AM | South Suburban vs. North Iowa Area
Consolation Championship | 12PM | #13 Bryant & Stratton vs. (RV) Black Hawk
3rd Place Game | 2PM | #6 Lake Land vs. #10 ICC COUGARS
Championship Game | 4PM | #1 Kirkwood vs. #3 CCBC Essex

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