LeRoy's girls' basketball team came out of the gates in spectacular fashion in the McLean County Tournament Championship game Saturday night at the Shirk Center. The Panthers led by as many as 18 in the first half, and went into the half with a big lead.

But El Paso-Gridley, the top seed in the tournament, and 2nd ranked 2A team in the state, fought back hard with pressure in the second half. With Senior Molly Marcum sidelined with foul trouble, the Panthers struggled with the Titans' full-court defense. The packed house at the Shirk Center was treated to a thrilling game as both teams battled down to the wire.

But in the end, the Titans made their free throws and were able to secure the tournament championship with a 54-50 win. The Panthers are now 20-2 for the season.

Tri-Valley vs. Fieldcrest

Tri-Valley also came up short in their bid to take a County Tournament Championship as they were defeated by top seeded Fieldcrest 49-39.

The game was a defensive struggle thoughout, with the Knights seeming to hit big shots when they needed to in order to keep the Vikings at a distance. The Tri-Valley defense was solid, forcing the Knights into tough shots, but Tri-Valley's shooting never got going, and they came up short.

Tri-Valley will look ahead to a game Tuesday at LeRoy.

In other sports

Before the big basketball games tipped off, the LeRoy/Tri-Valley wrestling team had business to take care of on their home mats. LeRoy hosted the Randy Bowman invitational and LeRoy dominated their event.

LeRoy took first overall out of 15 teams, with eight wrestlers taking first place finishes. The closest team to that mark was Herrin with 3.

Be sure to check out this week's LeRoy Farmer City Press for much more game information along with photos from the weekend's action.