Photos and Story by Dominic Baima
A strong second-half performance by the Green Wave led Mattoon to a 48-35 victory Tuesday over Altamont during the 43rd Annual Girls Holiday Tournament at Mattoon High School.
After the Altamont Lady Indians held a lead through the first quarter, Mattoon came back in the second quarter capitalizing on two passes broken up by junior Piper Sanders to allow Mattoon two easy breakaway layups to give them a 14-13 lead.
The rest of the second quarter would be a back-and-forth battle before junior Ella Conyers drained a three from the corner to give the Green Wave a 21-17 lead going into the half.
Mattoon Senior Lily Ghere makes a shot Tuesday against Altamont during the Green Wave’s 48-35 win at the 43rd Annual Mattoon Girls Holiday Tournament. Ghere scored five points for Mattoon in the win. (Photo/Dominic Baima) 
Mattoon Sophomore Isabella Masse drives the ball past an Altamont defender during Mattoon’s 48-35 win Tuesday at the 43rd Annual Mattoon Girls Holiday Tournament. (Photo/Dominic Baima) 
Mattoon Junior Piper Sanders goes for a layup against Altamont Tuesday during the 43rd Annual Mattoon Girls Holiday Tournament. The Green Wave defeated Altamont 48-35 with Sanders leading Mattoon with 13 points in the game. (Photo/Dominic Baima) 
Junior Teygen Sewell makes a shot from under the basket Tuesday during Mattoon’s 48-35 win over Altamont during the 43rd Annual Mattoon Girls Holiday Tournament. (Photo/Dominic Baima) 
Mattoon Senior Lily Ghere makes a shot from under the basket Tuesday during Mattoon’s 48-35 win over Altamont during the 43rd Annual Mattoon Girls Holiday Tournament. (Photo/Dominic Baima)
The Green Wave returned with a vengeance in the second half with a strong defensive showing to slow down the Altamont offense. A layup by Sanders to start the third quarter was quickly answered by Altamont with a three-pointer before a stretch of cold shooting by both teams resulted in a lot of back-and-forth possessions without any scores.
Mattoon would end the drought and score on a steal and subsequent breakaway layup.
The Green Wave would hold Altamont to only nine points in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Emily Maple would help give Mattoon the 36-24 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
A three by senior Lily Ghere and a layup by junior Teygen Sewell to start the fourth quarter would extend Mattoon’s lead before Altamont Senior Remington Miller would drain a three. Sanders would answer the three and Mattoon would continue to run up the score before Altamont scored two free throws to close out the game.
“We came out and played a much better second half than the first half,” said Mattoon Head Coach Troy Haacke. “Our defense is what helped us win that. We got out and forced some turnovers and we didn’t convert as much as I wanted with those layups but we got enough in the end.”
Up next: Mattoon will face Richland County (Olney) tonight at 6 o’clock as they continue tournament play.
Additional photos from this game can be found here.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Mattoon | 10 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 48 |
| Altamont | 13 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 35 |
Mattoon: Ghere 1 0-0 5, Maple 1 4-2 7, Sanders 6 2-1 13, Lathrop 0 0-0 0, Masse 0 2-2 2, Powers 2 0-0 4, Conyers 4 0-0 11, Sewell 3 0-0 6. Three-pointers: Ghere 1, Maple 1, Conyers 1
Altamont: Grunloh 1 0-0 2, Pearcy 0 0-0 0, Boehm 1 2-0 5, Miller 2 1-0 7, Peyton Osteen 3 1-0 6, Lurkins 2 2-2 6, Kylie Osteen 1 2-2 4, Klein 1 0-0 5, Reardon 0 0-0 0. Three-pointers: Boehm 1, Miller 1, Klein 1.
Coles County Sports 