In a rematch of last year’s Chester Lady Jacket Mid Winter Classic championship game, Sesser-Valier’s Maegan Eskrew knocked down a last-second jump shot to give her team a 48-47 win over defending champions the Marissa-Coulterville Lady Meteors Saturday.
The Lady Meteors led by nine points, 36-27, heading into the fourth quarter, but Sesser-Valier rallied to outscore Marissa-Coulterville 21-11 to escape with the title.
“We did not rebound in the fourth quarter and that is 100 percent the reason we lost the game,” said Marissa-Coulterville coach Dan Lehmen. “We gave them multiple attempts to score on several possessions, and that came back to haunt us at the end. I would like to see us finish off this game with a win, but Sesser is a pretty good team and overall this tournament was a good week for us.”
Sesser-Valier put the pressure on Marissa-Coulterville right from the start by scoring the game’s first eight points. However, after the hot start, the Lady Red Devils went 4-of-12  with seven turnovers to finish the first quarter.
The Lady Meteors got off to a cold start, making just 3-of-16 shots, while turning the ball over six times. Despite the sluggish start, Marissa-Coulterville only trailed by five at the end of the opening quarter, 11-6.
Rae Lappin had six early points for Sesser in that opening quarter, while Chelsea Weekley had four points to pace Marissa-Coulterville.
Trailing 15-8, the Lady Meteors, behind 10 points from Christa Hill, finished the second quarter with a 14-4 scoring run for their first lead of the game and a 22-19 halftime advantage.
“Christa has been playing really good for us the last two weeks,” said Lehmen. “She is making open shots and making good decisions.”
Abbie Lehmen and Kayle Dunphy each scored four points in the third quarter to lead Marissa-Coulterville to a 36-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Meteors made 7-of-14 shots, while holding Sesser-Valier to just 3-of-16 from the field.
Sesser-Valier went on a 15-4 scoring run to reclaim the lead 42-40 with four minutes left in the game.
The lead would change hands five times down the stretch until Eskrew nailed the jumper with two seconds remaining.
The Lady Meteors had one last chance, but the in-bounds pass to half-court was tipped away.
Hill finished with 12 points to lead Marissa-Coulterville, while Weekley added 10.
Chelsea Miller had 16 points to lead Sesser-Valier.
Despite the loss, Chelsea Weekley was selected as the tournament most valuable player.
“Chelsea has really been playing well lately,” said Lehmen. “She is really hard to stop when she gets close to the basket, and her shooting form is back. It’s good to see her get the MVP award, because she has really worked hard to get here.”
The all-tournament team consisted of Chelsea Cochran (Elverado), Hilary Best (Chester), Corine Inman (Valmeyer), Trisha Juenger (New Athens), Jordan Clendenin (Chester), Beth Daniels (Trico), Tasha Doerr (Sesser-Valier), Christa Hill (Marissa-Coulterville), Chelsea Miller (Sesser-Valier) and Chelsea Weekley (Marissa-Coulterville).

Trico 47, Chester 24
Trico held Chester to just nine second-half points to roll to a 47-24 victory Saturday evening to take third place in the tournament.
“The girls are really starting to figure out the system,” said Trico coach Steve Vogt. “We are playing tough man-to-man defense and everyone is working hard. Everything is starting to come together. We had three pretty good games in this tournament and in our only loss, we led Sesser going into the fourth quarter. Right now we have to continue to get better and take it one game at a time as we prepare for the regional.”
Chester grabbed the early lead as a Kristy Pulliam’s three-pointer sparked a quick 7-1 advantage for the Lady Jackets. Trico missed its first seven shots of the game.
The Lady Pioneers found their range later in the quarter as they made five of their next eight shots to spark a 12-2 run to end the period with a 13-9 lead. Beth Daniels led Trico with five points in the opening frame, while Hilary Best had four points for Chester.
The Lady Jackets had trouble finding their shot in the second quarter, going 2-of-12 from the floor as they were outscored 13-6 to trail 26-15 at the break. Daniels added four points in the second quarter to lead the Trico attack.
Just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse for Chester—it did. The Lady Jackets were just 1-of-14 from the field in the third quarter with seven turnovers, as Trico went on a 9-2 scoring run for a 35-17 lead.
Daniels and freshman Kourtney Bunselmeyer each had four points in the quarter for Trico.
Using an 8-2 run, the Lady Pioneers sealed the win early in the fourth quarter.
Daniels finished with a game-high 20 points, while Bunselmeyer added nine for Trico.
Shelby Helmers led Chester with six points, while Jordan Clendenin and Best each had four points in the loss.
In other tournament action from Saturday, New Athens topped Valmeyer 47-33 for the consolation championship, and Elverado knocked off Dupo 55-36 for seventh place.

Marissa-Coulterville 46, Chester 33
Chelsea Weekley scored 16 points in the second half to lead Marissa-Coulterville past the host Chester Lady Jackets 46-33 Thursday night in the semifinals.
Weekley finished with a game-high 22 points to match her jersey number in the win.
The Lady Meteors outscored Chester in every quarter, including 14-8 in the fourth to pull away with the 13-point win.
Neither team shot the ball well to start the game. Marissa-Coulterville was just 4-of-17 from the field, but was able to hold Chester to 2-of-11 while forcing nine turnovers for a 8-4 lead at the end of the opening frame.
Leading 10-7, Christa Hill made two baskets to spark an 8-2 scoring run as Marissa-Coulterville increased its lead to 18-9.
Chester battled back, as Kristy Pulliam scored four points late in the quarter to help ignite a 6-2 run by, to trail 20-15 at halftime.
The Lady Jackets were able to cut the deficit down to three points on several occasions, but each time Weekley and the Lady Meteors answered.
Weekley scored 10 points in the third quarter to help her team outscore Chester 12-10 in the third period for a 32-25 advantage heading into the fourth.
Weekley continued her scoring prowess in the fourth quarter scoring six points, while Christa Hill added six points, as the Lady Meteors pulled away for the victory to advance to the championship finals.
Chester was just 5-of-18 from the field in the fourth quarter as  the team couldn’t mount a rally.
Hill finished with 11 points, while Hilary Best and Pulliam each had eight to pace Chester.

Sesser-Valier 40, Trico 30
Sesser-Valier outscored Trico 20-8 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 40-30 victory Wednesday in the semifinals.
The Lady Pioneers trailed 6-4 at the end of the first quarter and 16-10 at the break. Trico fought back in the third, outscoring Sesser 12-4 for a 22-20 advantage heading into the fourth.
Beth Daniels led Trico with 11 points, while Chelsea Miller paced Sesser with 15.