The Clinton Lady Maroons finished a historic season as they fell to the Normal U-High Lady Pioneers by a final score of 59-44 in the El Paso-Gridley Regional Championship on Thursday night in El Paso. 

The Lady Pioneers came out hot, while Clinton fell flat. The score was 15-3 in favor of U-High after the first quarter, with Lilah Cluver scoring the only bucket for the Lady Maroons through the first eight minutes. At the half, Clinton trailed 31-11.

Clinton made adjustments at the half and sped up the pace of their game in the third to make a comeback effort. They outscored the Lady Pioneers 19-10 in the quarter, highlighted by Clara Dempsey's 12 Q3 points. 

Clara Dempsey, Delaney Dempsey, and Avery Smith all fouled out of the game as the Maroons tried to force possession through fouling. 

Dempsey paced the Maroons with 16 points in total, all in the second half. Carly Anderson added 14, including a pair of buckets from distance, to snap a personal drought throughout the game. Lilah Cluver added 10 points.

Haylie Hoffman and Mackenzie Matejka both scored 16 points for the Lady Pioneers. Evelyn Seifert had 11 points. 

Clinton wraps up its historic season by tying the program win record at 28-5. They won 24 consecutive games before Thursday night. 

Normal U-High improves to 18-14 and will take on the winner of the Hamilton Regional on Tuesday in Macomb. 

Tune in to the next Clinton Maroons Sports broadcast as the boys make their 2026 postseason debut at home against Marshall. Tipoff is at 6:30 PM on Monday, and you can hear all the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms.