Mattoon, Ill. - The #4 seeded Illinois Central College women's basketball team left it all out on the court on Saturday afternoon in the Region 24 semi-finals but unfortunately came up just short, falling 69-65 to #1 seeded Lake Land at Laker Fieldhouse.  The teams were tied at 65-all with :24 seconds to play but Lake Land made a few more plays down the stretch to get the win.   Cierra McNamee closed out her stellar ICC career with a near double-double with 15 points and 9 rebounds while Peyton Dearing added 12 points.  The Cougars' season ends at 20-11.  

"Our kids gave great effort today and did everything we asked of them," coach Karrie Redeker said, "I know one team had to lose but we certainly played hard and well enough that it could have easily been us on the winning end.  We're so proud of our kids for battling; they deserve to hold their heads high."

Kyleigh Block and Cierra McNamee scored to put ICC on the board but Lake Land still took an early 10-6 lead.  A Naomi Elliott three-pointer, McNamee bucket, and old-fashioned three-point play by Peyton Dearing kept ICC afloat but the Lakers held a 21-16 first quarter advantage.  

The Cougar defense tightened in the second period and the offense got more in sync, allowing ICC to chip away at the deficit.  A rebound basket by McNamee, jumper by Halie Gilbert, and score by Elena Redgate (assist Miya Webb) helped the Cougars go on an 11-4 run and grab the lead at 27-25.   Dearing bagged a three-pointer (assist McNamee) and hit a layup, Redgate had an impressive one-handed put-back, and McNamee scored on a put-back giving ICC a narrow 36-35 lead at the half. 

The teams battled back and forth in the third as the quarter saw eight lead changes.  Helping the Cougar cause was a charge taken by Dearing, a Naomi Elliott trey (assist Gilbert), and two mid-range jumpers by Gilbert to put ICC up 46-45, while defensively T'yana Lovelace had back-to-back blocked shots and the team forced a shot-clock violation.  Laisha Armendariz Lopez then banked in a half-court shot to close the quarter, giving the Cougars a 56-54 lead heading into the final frame.

McNamee scored on the first possession of the quarter (assist Webb) but Lake Land nailed a trey and added a free throw to tie it at 58-all and both teams exchanged baskets, making it 60-all.  Webb scored on a transition layup to put ICC up 62-60 and both teams had empty possessions until Lake Land went on a 5-0 run to take a 65-62 lead with a minute to play.  The Cougars worked the ball around and found Dearing open on the left wing for a three-pointer (assist Webb) to knot the score at 65-all with :24 seconds.  The Lakers inbounded the ball and drew a foul and made both free throws to go up 67-69.  ICC called timeout and got a good look on a baseline jumper but it rimmed off and the Cougars had to foul.  Lake Land made both freebies for the final margin.  

Final stats showed the Cougars shooting 44% from the field (including 5-15 from three-point range) and Lake Land also going 44% from the field (despite going 3-25 from three-point range) but the home team went 17-21 from the free throw line while the Cougars were 10-13.  

LEADERS
Cierra McNamee | 15 points, 9 rebounds
Peyton Dearing | 12 points
Elena Redgate | 9 points
Halie Gilbert | 8 points, 7 rebounds
Miya Webb | 4 assists

OTHER SEMI-FINAL SCORE:
Danville 69, Parkland 56

REGION CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY, MARCH 12 AT LAKE LAND
2pm:  Lake Land vs. Danville - winner advances to Nationals