The Lady Tornadoes felt a little flat on offense on Thursday night but their defense was spectacular as a 3-2 zone stimied the Sacred Heart Griffin Cyclone's, as the Taylorville Tornadoes picked up a 41-31 win.  Taylorville got into foul trouble early sending the cyclones to the line early in the first but free throws were an issue as the Tornadoes and Cyclones ended the first quarter tied at 9 a piece. SHG didn't commit their first foul until the beginning of the second quarter but settled down as the game progressed.

Kyleigh Heimsness hit a 3 pointer after about 3 minutes into the second quarter but the scoring was limited as Taylorville would go on a 8-2 run in the second and that was the extent of the scoring in the second.  A sequence as time expired at the half saw Taylorville go 0-5 on shots. 

In the third quarter, Sacred Heart Griffin actually outscored Taylorville 9-8 but the scoring still was far and few in between as the defenses settled in and the Tornadoes didn't shoot the ball very well.  It was 25-20 going into the fourth quarter as defense reigned supreme in this one.  Taylorville would come alive in the fourth quarter though, pulling away and even extending their lead to 15 at one point. 

The final score as the buzzer sounded was Taylorville 41-31.  Lia Champley was named the Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Game for her hard work on defense including four assists and six points and several rebounds. 

The Tornadoes improve to 18-9 while SHG falls to 15-16.  Taylorville will wrap up the rest of their regular season as they take on the 21-9 O'Fallon Panthers tomorrow evening.  The game will start with pregame at 7:15 on 96.5 The Chill.