Sectional Champs
<span>JUNCTION -- </span><span>The Steeleville Lady Warriors advanced to IHSA Class 1A Salem Super-sectional for the first time in school history with an exciting 61-58 victory over the Cairo Co-Pilots on Feb. 19.</span>
<span>Mackenzie Pim scored a team-high 22 points and Allanah Renner had 16 as Steeleville (14-15) rallied from a nine-point, third quarter deficit to make it to the Elite Eight in only the program's sixth year of existence.</span>
<span>"It was a good basketball atmosphere," said first-year Steeleville coach Brad Copelin. "Many times during the game I was trying to scream and nobody could hear me."</span>
<span>Steeleville moved on to face Hardin Calhoun (30-2), which beat New Athens to win the Okawville Sectional, at B.E. Gum Gym on Monday at 7 p.m. for the chance to advance to the IHSA state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Illinois State University's Redbird Arena.</span>
<span>"I won a sectional championship game there when I was a senior with O'Fallon (High School) in 2007," the 26-year-old Copelin said of B.E. Gum Gym.</span>
<span>Copelin said winning a sectional title as a player and as a coach are two different feelings.</span>
<span>"Winning it as a player is great as you're a part of it," he said. "Watching the girls achieve that is awesome to see and I'm glad to be a part of it."</span>
<span> Cairo led 52-47 when the Co-Pilots were called for their second technical foul for hitting the ball while Steeleville was trying to inbound it. Chloe Gerlach made one of two free throws and Pim made a basket to trim Cairo's margin to 52-50.</span>
<span>Gerlach finished off a Lady Warriors' 6-0 run with a 3-pointer and a 53-52 lead with 4:44 remaining. It was her only field goal of the game.</span>
<span>"Right now, we have good team players and when teams play us they don't know who to stop," Copelin said. "My entire lineup I've been playing this entire run has been big. It's just been consistent."</span>
<span>Cairo made just one of five free throws in the final minutes of the game. Renner made two free throws with nine seconds remaining and Cairo failed to connect on two 3-point attempts to secure the victory for the Lady Warriors.</span>
<span>"Lexi Middendorf had probably the best defensive game she's had all year," Copelin said. "You can't ask anything more out of her."</span>
<span>Offensively, Middendorf finished with six points, all free throws, for Steeleville, while fellow freshman Pim has had an impressive run in the postseason. Pim is averaging 15.6 points-per-game for the Lady Warriors in five postseason contests.</span>
<span>"She's not doing it by herself and it's the fact that she's playing with a lot of confidence," Copelin said. "I told you earlier this year Mackenzie Pim is a gamer."</span>
<span>Steeleville moved on to face Hardin Calhoun (30-2), which finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press poll of the season.</span>
<span>Calhoun defeated New Athens, 62-34, to win the Okawville Sectional thanks to a combined 39 points from sisters Emma (25 points) and Grace (14 points) Baalman.</span>
<span>"I know they've got a lot of size and their reputation is very high," Copelin said of Calhoun. "I know we've got a lot to prepare for, especially the way they handled New Athens.</span>
<span>"The girls are going to go in there and fight to the end of the game."</span>
<span>Steeleville District 138 Superintendent Stephanie Mulholland said fan appreciation for the girls' program has grown.</span>
<span>"Since girls' basketball is a fairly new program for us, it's been kinda interesting," she said. "I think the appreciation of the sport has grown and the fans who follow them are very faithful and supportive."</span>
<span>Steeleville 43, Gallatin County 42: </span><span>Trailing by 11 points, 42-31, with three minutes remaining, the Steeleville Lady Warriors mounted an incredible comeback to beat Gallatin County and advance to the sectional championship.</span>
<span>Steeleville forced five Gallatin County turnovers down the stretch, including three in the final minute of the game, and got the game-winning bucket from Mackenzie Pim with less than two seconds left.</span>
<span> Pim finished with 14 points for the Lady Warriors, while Allanah Renner added 17 and Chloe Gerlach contributed six.</span>