Lady Falcons head to title game after clean sweep of SWIC

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Tonia Evans' 18-point, 10-rebound double-double helped spark the Southeastern Illinois College women's basketball team to a 67-53 win against Southwestern Illinois College on Friday night.

The 14-point win put the Lady Falcons in the Region 24 championship game against Lincoln Trail College at 7 p.m. on the campus of John A. Logan College in Carterville.

Head coach Rod Wallace said the team's strong mindset was a key component in the win.

"As of late they've had that refuse to lose attitude. All you have to do is have one team member develop that attitude it's pretty contagious," Wallace said.

After starting 1-11, SIC now sits with a position to win a regional title as the time currently rides a seven-game winning streak, which started with a 53-46 win against SWIC on Feb. 15.

Kelsey Bradford finished with 13 points, Daviah Pierce added 12 and Courtney Smith chipped in with 11 as a balanced scoring attack helped SIC ease to victory. Kendra Kimbrew added nine points and nine rebounds in the win.

Leading point scorer and rebounder Dameika Mitchell played, but was plagued with foul trouble and did not figure in the team's scoring.

Southeastern Illinois jumped on its cross-state rivals by clamping down defensively, taking a 35-18 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Lady Falcons, who have made a habit of taking to the comeback trail en route to victory, held off a second half rally by the Blue Storm.

SWIC was able to cut its deficit to six points twice, but never got closer, nor was it able to get over the hump.

SIC and Lincoln Trail split the season series in the regular season. The Lady Falcons were blown out 75-51 on Jan. 20, but returned the favor by trouncing the Statesmen 86-56 on Feb. 17. The 30-point defeat is the lone blemish on Lincoln Trail's conference record.

"Our kids are looking forward to it," Wallace said. "It's going to be a battle."