Beecher Lady Bobcats Fall to Prairie Central

By Dennis Bowling

In area girl basketball circles, Beecher senior Kendall Kasput is a very accurate three-point shooter, but in a recent lopsided win over Illinois Lutheran, Kasput had a mere two treys.

On Tuesday, December 13, Kasput, a 5’-4” guard, stood tall, breaking out of her shooting slump, with four treys, including one late in the third stanza and three in the final quarter. She finished with 12 points, but it just wasn’t enough. Prairie Central beat Beecher, 44-26, in a non-conference contest in Beecher.

Beecher Coach Adam Keen described Kasput’s impact on the game against the Hawks, by saying, “Kendall certainly helped us to get back into the game and was really feeling her shots. She had nice energy, played great defense, and helped to get us going on offense, as well.”

At the close of the first quarter, the Hawks had a 12-1 lead. By halftime, Prairie Central was in complete control, owning a 25-5 advantage. At the buzzer to end the third quarter, Kasput made a trey to make it 36-14, and her trey was the spark that ignited the Bobcat offense.

To start the fourth quarter, a Kasput trey cut the Hawk advantage to 36-17. Then Emma Tillgest’s basket narrowed the gap to 36-19. Moments later, another Kasput trey cut the Prairie Central margin to 36-21, which was followed by Sydney Bonham’s single free throw to make it 36-22.

Moments later, Jenna Pevion’s single free throw made it 38-23, but Ava Pattenaude’s jump shot basket missed the mark. The Hawks made another basket for a 40-23 lead, with the Bobcats’ hope for a win fading fast.

With time running out in the game, Kasput made her final trey, and that made the score 42-26. The Bobcats simply ran out of time and had fallen short.

“I had been in a shooting slump,” said Kasput. “In the Illinois Lutheran game, I was able to get my confidence back, and I had my confidence back today. My treys helped us to get back into the game. It helped us get refocused, and we came back.”

Keen was pleased with the performance of sophomore Aylin Lagunas, a power forward, who finished with four points and four rebounds.

“Aylin has been doing well,” he said. “She is tough around the basket. I just hope we can get her the ball. They were double teaming her, but we’ll get there. Ava (Pattenaude) also has been coming into her own lately.”

Freshman Pattenaude, a point guard, finished with five points, which included one trey.

In the junior varsity contest, Prairie Central beat Beecher, 36-27. Aubrey Tiltges, Molly Vladika, and Makenzie Johnson each had six points, while Abby Papas and Alexa Gilva each had four points for Beecher.