West Central takes Sectional Championship in double overtime

By Editor | March 5, 2026 |

By Kent Coultas

Ali Little scored eight points in the second overtime, and West Central beat Okawville 61-58 in the championship game of the IHSA 1A Sectional Feb. 26 at Bunker HIll.
West Central (27-8) played Brown County (32-3) Monday night in the supersectional at Pleasant Hill. The winner plays this weekend at Illinois State University.
The game was tied 52-all after the first overtime. The lead changed hands four times in the second overtime.
Jada Lawson was fouled on a loose ball early in the second overtime. She made the second of two free throws, and West Central led 53-52. Okawville made a three-point basket on its next possession and led 55-53.
Little drove into the lane, and her shot bounced twice on the back of the rim before falling in. She made a free throw to complete the three-point play to give West Central a 56-55 lead with 2:47 remaining. Okawville came back and scored to go back in front 57-56.
Little got the ball near the top of the key of West Central ensuing possession. She drove to the left side of the lane, made a spin move and scored on a short jump shot to put West Central on top 58-57 with 2:19 remaining in the game.
Okawville missed four field goal attempts on its next possession. The rebound went out of bounds after its fourth attempt, and West Central gained possession with 58 seconds remaining.
Little made one two free throws with 33.4 seconds remaining and increased West Central’s lead to 59-57. Okawville missed three field goal attempts on the ensuing before West Central was called for a foul on a loose ball with 7 seconds remaining. Okawville made the first of two free throw attempts. Little came away with the rebound and was fouled with 5.2 seconds remaining.
Little made two free throws attempts and extended the West Central lead to 61-58.. Okawville missed a three-point shot attempt in the final seconds, and West Central was able to celebrate its first sectional championship since 2011.
West Central led 15-14 after one quarter, but Okawville rallied to take a 26-21 lead at halftime.
Adrienne Kaufmann scored the first two baskets of the third quarter and cut the margin to 26-25. Little made a three-point basket, and the Cougars led 28-26.
Okaville regained the lead, but Paisley Sturtevant scored to tie the game at 35 with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter. Okaville made a three-point shot at the buzzer and led 38-35 after three quarters.
Little made a steal and scored to start the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 38-37. Sturtevant made a three-point basket, and the Cougars led 40-38 with 5:17 remaining. The game was tied at 40, 43, 45- and 47 in the fourth quarter.
Sofie Grubb grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give West Central a 47-45 lead with 1:24 remaining. Okaville tied the game with 38 seconds remaining
West Central committed a turnover with 35 seconds remaining. The Cougars’ defense forced a Okawville turnover with 1.9 seconds remaining. Ali Little missed a shot from beyond half court at the buzzer.
Jackie Lashmett scored to start the second overtime, but Okawville would rally and take a 51-49 lead. The two teams traded free throws before Little scored and tied the game at 52 with 55 seconds remaining.
Okawville held the ball for a potential game winning shot. West Central’s defense was up to the challenge again.
Sturtevant made a steal with 9 seconds remaining and was fouled going in for a layup with 4.9 seconds remaining. She missed both free throw attempts, and West Central missed a field goal at the buzzer and sent the game into a second overtime.
There were 14 ties and 16 lead changes in the game. The biggest lead by either team was five points; by Okawville at halftime. West Central’s biggest lead was four points, 33-29, in the third quarter.
Little scored 32 points, 24 points in the second half and two overtimes. She also had five rebounds and four steals to lead the Cougars. She did this despite missing school the day before the game with flu-like symptoms.
Grubb scored eight points and had nine rebounds. Evynn Gregory scored six points and had seven rebounds and two assists. Lashmett scored five points and had six rebounds. Sturtevant scored five points. Kaufmann scored four points and had four rebounds. Lawson scored one point.
Ali Little scored 37 points to lead West Central to a 71-58 win over Carlyle in the semifinals of the IHSA Class 1A Sectional Feb. 24 at Bunker Hill.
Little’s 37 points established a new single game record for a girls’ basketball player at West Central. Tiffany King scored 36 points in a game in 2011.
West Central trailed 47-40 with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter before Little scored 16 straight points.
She made two free throws to cut the lead to 47-42 and made a three-point basket with 21 seconds remaining, and West Central trailed just 47-45 after three quarters.
Little converted two three-point plays to start the fourth quarter, and the Cougars led 51-47 with 6:24 remaining in the game. Little made a three-point basket and made two free throws and extended the lead to 56-47 with 3:56 remaining.
Paisley Sturtevant grabbed an offensive rebound as the Cougars lead grew to 58-47 with 3:43 remaining. Carlyle did not score for the first 4:30 of the fourth quarter.
Carlyle got within 63-56 in the final two minutes. Jackie Lashmett grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, and Evynn Gregory score off an assist from Lashmett to extend the lead back to 11 points with 1:13 remaining in the game.
West Central made four of six free throw attempts in the final 43 seconds and sealed victory.
Carlyle led 15-12 after one quarter and 23-22 late in the second quarter.
Gregory scored, and Sturtevant made a three-point basket to give the Cougars a 27-23 lead. Sturtevant scored at the buzzer, and West Central led 29-24 at halftime.
Sturtevant made a three-point basket and broke a 31-all with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter. Carlyle scored eight straight points and took a 39-34 lead. Carlyle led 41-40 after LIttle made a three-point basket. Carlyle scored six straight points to increase their lead to 47-40.
West Central won despite committing 29 turnovers in the game. Carlyle had 19 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Little made five three-point baskets and was 10-for-12 from the free throw line. She also grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists and three steals.
Sturtevant scored 19 points. She made three three-point baskets and had four assists. Gregory scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds.
Lashmett scored two points, and Jada Lawson scored one. Sofie Grubb had three rebounds and three steals.