It was a wise decision by Chester High School Athletic Director Mike Coffey to move up the start times of Wednesday night’s session of the fourth annual Lady Jacket Mid-Winter Classic.

Snow began falling late in the second game of the session and a light coat of snow covered the streets in Chester when the final school bus departed Colbert Memorial Gym.

The semifinal round matchups are set after Wednesday night’s session.  In the first game of the night, Sesser Valier Waltonville cruised past New Athens 65-16 while Trico defeated Valmeyer in the nightcap 44-20.

Three tournament records were set in the first game by New Athens.  The Lady Yellowjackets set a record for least points in a quarter with zero in the third, least points in a half with five and least points in a game with 16.  All three of the records were held by Marissa from their matchup with Perryville in 2007.

Sesser Valier raced out to a 20-4 lead after the first quarter and built a commanding 38-11 lead at halftime after outscoring New Athens 18-7 in the second quarter.

The Lady Red Devils took a 57-11 lead heading to the fourth after shutting out New Athens 19-0 in the third quarter.

SVW’s Ashley Slack led all scorers with 14 points while Chelsea Miller and Lorena Marlo each had 10 points.

Trisha Juenger led New Athens with five points while Erika Laumbattus tossed in four.

In the nightcap, making their first appearance in the Lady Jacket Mid-Winter Classic, the Trico Lady Pioneers advanced with a 44-20 win over Valmeyer.

Trico jumped out to a 14-2 lead after the first quarter and outscored Valmeyer 7-6 in the second to take a 21-8 lead at halftime.

The Lady Pioneers held a 34-13 lead heading to the fourth after outscoring Valmeyer 13-5 in the third quarter.

Trico’s Stephanie Cochran led all scorers with 12 points. Mikalya Reid and Chelsea Jarrett each had 10.

Valmeyer was led by Corine Inman’s nine points.

The championship semifinals will be played Thursday night at Daniel Colbert Gym.  Marissa-Coulterville will play Elverado at 6pm followed by Sesser Valier versus Trico at 7:30pm.

The consolation semifinals are set for Friday night.  Chester will play Agape Christian of Energy, IL at 6pm followed by Valmeyer and New Athens at 7:30pm.

The championship round is set for Saturday afternoon, beginning at 2:15pm.