Girls Basketball Shows Grit On Court (Season Recap)

Sullivan’s girls basketball squad showed grit in many tight nail-biters last winter, finishing with a 7-20 record. The Lady Eagles were tested throughout the season but emerged tougher at the end. The veterans helped keep the games neck-and-neck while the new additions showed their future potential.

Sullivan’s first win was a 53-28 sweep of Jefferson (Festus) in the Fountain City Classic. In the third-place matchup, they edged out Potosi 49-47 in overtime.

Their next victory was a 59-27 crushing over Miller Career Academy at the Peoples Bank Holiday Classic. 

They later won consolation at the Union Tournament after taking down St. Clair 45-25. The Lady Eagles followed with another victory, beating Salem 51-39. 

Sullivan then capped off the regular season with a 38-17 shutdown of Northwest (Cedar Hill). 

The Lady Eagles won the district quarterfinal round, knocking off St. Clair from the playoffs with a 51-41 victory. Sullivan wrapped up their season in the game afterward, falling to the would-be champion, St. James.

Hayli Venable capped off her senior season with All-District honors. Starting all 27 matches, she led Sullivan with 179 points, scoring an average of 6.6 per game. Venable executed 35% (62-177) of her field goals and 65.5% (38-58) of her free throws. She tallied a team-high 49 steals, as well as 83 rebounds, 29 assists and five blocks.

Karlee Head had a strong rookie season and never missed a game. The freshman dropped 163 points, an average of 6 per game. Head delivered 30.5% (53-174) of her field goals while racking up 119 rebounds, 41 steals and 21 assists.

Cora Shetley grabbed a team-high 124 rebounds and eight blocks. She also secured 123 points, 30 steals and 27  assists. The junior completed 32.3% (40-124) of her shots from the field.

Molly Lohden averaged 6.1 points per game with 165 total, the second-highest amount on Sullivan. The junior led her squad with 52 assists, logging 103 rebounds and 48 steals. 

Delaney George scored 89 points in her final season. She had the Lady Eagles’ highest free-throw percentage at 66.7 (28-42). The senior also recorded 44 rebounds, 25 steals, 24 assists and two blocks.

Raegan Johnson was another senior who gave it their all with 58 points, 23 rebounds, eight steals and five assists.

Kynlee Peterson had a great freshman debut, playing 19 games. She notched 51 points, 42 rebounds, 16 assists, five steals and two blocks.

Avery Merkel broke through for 39 rebounds, 38 points, 15 steals and four assists. She played 24 matches her sophomore year and made waves on the junior varsity team.

Rayna Claus collected 68 rebounds, 30 points, 12 steals, ten assists and three blocks during her junior year.

Freshman Olivia Barton balled out with 19 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and three assists. She played in 14 varsity games and helped lead the JV team to clutch victories. 

Sydney Montee made seven varsity appearances as a freshman. The rookie stacked up six points, two rebounds and a steal.

Freshman Ella Kirk recorded four rebounds, three points, a steal, an assist and a block in five varsity games.