Eastern (Pekin) Shuts Down Oak Hill 50-32, Wins 2A Title

Eastern (Pekin) shut down Oak Hill 50-32 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, using a dominant fourth-quarter stretch to seal the IHSAA Class 2A championship and deliver the program its second state crown. Eastern outscored Oak Hill 16-5 over the final eight minutes, finished with a 35-26 rebounding edge and limited the Golden Eagles to just five points in the fourth.

Senior leader Sidney Burton paced Eastern with a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Addison Smith added 13 points while earning the IHSAA Class 2A Mental Attitude Award. Katie Hauner supplied the early spark, opening with a 3-pointer and capping a strong first half that helped Eastern take a 26-15 lead into intermission. Oak Hill was led by sophomore post Brianna Dailey, who finished with eight points and five rebounds; junior Morgan Cates hit a fourth-quarter layup that briefly cut the margin midway through the final period.

The game set an early tone when Hauner buried a triple at 7:20 of the first quarter and later converted a driving layup at 4:45 to stretch the lead. Burton finished the quarter with a tough paint score at 1:03 as Eastern claimed a 12-7 advantage after one. Oak Hill junior guard Erika Newhouse answered with a runner 13 seconds into the second quarter, but Eastern’s defense forced a long drought for the Golden Eagles until Bailee Robbins drilled a long-range three at 5:10 to push Eastern to 20-9. Hauner was fouled and converted in the paint at 2:13 of the second to put Eastern ahead 24-10 before a 26-15 halftime margin.

Oak Hill opened the second half with a Kora Pond 3 at 7:49, and a mid-third-quarter spurt featuring Landri Hardman free throws trimmed the deficit to nine at 29-20. Entering the fourth, Eastern led 34-27. The final quarter belonged to the Musketeers: Cates’ layup made it 37-29 with 6:03 left, but Eastern answered with a sequence that included an Addison Smith layup at 3:39 and a Sidney Burton free throw at 1:40 that pushed the lead to 15, finishing the evening at 50-32.

IHSAA official statistics underline the factors that separated the teams: Eastern outrebounded Oak Hill 35-26, including a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass, and committed just nine turnovers to Oak Hill’s 16. The official IHSAA box shows Eastern converting 18 of 31 free throws while Oak Hill went 6 of 9 from the line; another outlet reported an alternate Eastern free-throw figure of 12 of 20. Oak Hill shot 11 of 40 overall and 4 of 15 from three.

Eastern closes the season 21-7 and cements a narrative arc that began with an 0-2 start and built to a rematch of the 2017 Class 2A final. Head coach Taylor Drury, a senior on Eastern’s 2017 championship squad, guided the Musketeers back to the top. Reflecting on the preparation against bigger frontlines late in the schedule, Burton noted, “We played Silver Creek, which has (6-3 senior Brooklyn) Renn. She’s super tall. We’ve had to deal with a little bit of height, and we’re at a little disadvantage with that, but we’ve handled it really well.” Oak Hill finishes 24-4; with key contributors still underclassmen, the Golden Eagles project as state contenders again next season.