The Macomb High girls basketball squad opened the new season Monday facing Illini Bluffs in the opening night of the Bomber Basketball Tournament at The Hangar.
The Bombers squandered a 12-point fourth quarter lead, but bounced back to control overtime in posting a 56-47 victory in Justin Elbe’s debut as head coach for the Bombers.
“It was an exciting night for the girls. When you play that hard and you come out with a victory, it’s pretty special,” he said.
The opening half was close as MHS led 11-8 after the initial eight minutes and 24-23 at halftime.
Macomb grabbed control in the third period, outscoring the Tigers 16-5. Junior Aubrey Holthaus scored eight points for the Bombers as they built a 40-28 advantage.
But Illini Bluffs rallied in the final quarter as senior Chloe Eeten scored nine of her team’s 18 points.
The Tigers outscored MHS 18-6 to knot the contest at 46-46 in forcing overtime.
In the extra session, senior guard Sophie Wilson scored six of Macomb’s 10 points as the Bombers outscored the Tigers 10-1 in securing the win.
Holthaus and senior Jordan Hines topped MHS with 17 points each, while Wilson added 15 for the Bombers.
Dakota Thorman chipped in five points, while freshman Taylor Mann recorded her first varsity points with a second quarter basket.
“Illini Bluffs is such a good team,” said Elbe, “They’re just so fundamental, so big and so tall. But we just made play, after play, after play.”
Chloe Eeten topped Illini Bluffs with 20 points, while Emerson Eeten added 10 for the Tigers.
Anabelle Reimer added seven points, followed by Chenoa Howard with four. Olivia Howard and Morgan Dickinson chipped in three points apiece for the Tigers.
The Bombers continued tournament play Wednesday evening against Havana.
The game was close for a half before the Ducks grabbed control in the third quarter, eventually flying away with a 51-39 victory.
Havana improved to 2-0 in tournament play, while MHS dropped to 1-1. The game also counts as a Prairieland South Division contest for both squads.
Macomb led 10-8 after the first frame before Havana inched ahead for a 20-19 lead by halftime.
The Ducks took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Bombers 19-12 in building a 39-31 lead.
Ava Kramer scored six points in the period, while Aslyn Nehmelman added a pair of three-pointers. The second trey beat the third quarter buzzer that upped Havana’s lead to eight points.
“That was big,” said Elbe of Nehmelman’s shot.
The Ducks maintained control down the stretch, outscoring the Bombers 12-8 in closing out the victory.
Wilson topped Macomb with 13 points.
Hines and Thorman added eight points each, while Holthaus finished with four.
Sophomore Brooklyn Lyles and freshman Reese Watson both scored their first-ever varsity points, knocking down three-pointers for MHS.
“Once we got in the halfcourt, they really mucked up the middle with that sagging man-to-man,” said Elbe of Havana’s defense. “We want to get in the lane 40-50 times a game and they took that away from us. It was hard for us to score.”
“We had too many spurts with not getting a bucket off our offense,” he added.
Kaydi Miller and Ava Kramer topped Havana with 15 and 14 points respectively.
Maggie French added eight points, followed by Nehmelman with six. Oliva Kramer and Jenna Brooks chipped in four points each for the Ducks.
“I think they were more physical than we were,” said Elbe. “In that aspect, they probably deserved to win.”
The Bombers return to tournament action Friday night against Rock Island Alleman at 8 p.m.
Macomb will play two games Saturday, facing Canton at 10:30 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against Illini West at 6:30 p.m.
