The Taylorville girls basketball team will play for 13th place in the 2025 State Farm Holiday Classic after dropping their first two tournament games.  Competing in the large school girls category, the Tornadoes lost decisively to Freeport, 82-44 before Normal West's second-half surge led to a 47-28 scoreline. 

Friday night at Normal Community High School, Freeport took control of the game and never looked back.  The Pretzels' tally was nearly or exactly double Taylorville's for much of the game thanks to pinpoint shooting, turnovers, and fast-break execution.

Paityn London led the way with 30 points for the Rockford-area side, of which 21 came in the first half.  Baileigh Jackson's 10 points reflected her dominance at low post and earned her the title of Chill Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Game. 

Sleep was hard to come by for Taylorville and Normal West, with an 11 a.m. tip-off in the 9th-place quarterfinal the following morning.  Taylorville took advantage of miscues and solid shooting to go in front 19-12 at the break. 

Normal West's lone strength in the first half was claiming offensive rebounds.  This proved instrumental in the second half as – combined with a decline in the Tornadoes' shooting efficiency – they raced out to a 29-24 lead in the third.  The Wildcats only picked up their momentum in the final period as the opposite happened to Taylorville.

Journey Johnson finished as the game's top scorer with 15 points.  Julie Wayman was one of three players to lead Taylorville with six, the others being Nora Thomas and Grace Rogers.  Wayman's effective paint performance won her the Chill Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Game.

With the defeats, Taylorville is now at 5-9 overall.  Their next game is their last one of the Classic, a matchup with Rock Island for 13th place.  It will take place Monday at 2:30 p.m. at Normal Community High School, and you can listen on 96.5 The Chill.