After a string of four wins, the Illinois Valley Central Grey Ghosts's good fortune finally ran out on Thursday. They opened the new year with a less-than-successful 56-43 loss to Peoria Heights. While losing is never fun, Illinois Valley Central can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 269th, while Peoria Heights is ranked 102nd).
Peoria Heights' victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Emily Dana, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Dana has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last 13 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Nyaja Russell, who scored 15 points along with nine rebounds and three steals.
Illinois Valley Central's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 11-7. As for Peoria Heights, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 15-3.
Illinois Valley Central and St. Thomas More will face off at 10:00 a.m. on January 6th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. As for Peoria Heights, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Princeville at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
