Macy Groharing made a deep bend down to touch her ankles, and began a slow, expressionless walk back to the Byron bench.

Groharing had the kind of career that will inspire future Byron girls basketball players. The senior guard passed 2,000 career points this season, and in January became the program’s all-time leading scorer. She was part of Byron state teams as a freshman and a senior.

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Byron's Malia Morton smiles while picking up the State runner-up trophy after falling to Breese Central in the Class 2A title game on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at CEFCU Arena in Normal. (Scott Anderson)

But this was not the Tigers’ day.

Byron shot just 21% from the floor. Breese Central’s superior size, and its switching matchup zone made clean shots hard to come by.

Breese Central scored the first 12 points of the second quarter and never looked back, beating Byron 44-28 in the Class 2A state championship game at Illinois State’s CEFCU Arena.

Groharing missed her first five shots, and finished 3-for-14 for eight points with four steals. Malia Morton led Byron (32-3) with nine points.

“My shots weren’t going the way I wanted to but I wanted to help my team out in other ways,” Groharing said. “They just hit their shots and we didn’t. That’s the tough part about basketball.”

Breese Central, with two 6-footers in its starting lineup, outrebounded Byron 34-21 with 12 offensive rebounds. The Tigers canceled that out early, in large part, by their ability to score off turnovers.

Morton scored off a turnover to finish a 7-0 run to give Byron a 9-7 lead after one quarter. Groharing’s steal and score in the final seconds of the first half pulled Byron within 21-15.

The Tigers scored 12 points off turnovers in the first half, but zero in the second. Breese Central began the third quarter on a 10-2 run and Byron went six minutes without a made field goal.

Byron coach Eric Yerly felt his team was in a good place going into the game.

They loosened up by singing and dancing to a Karaoke machine in the locker room.

But the Tigers never truly looked comfortable offensively, as happens to many teams in the big arena, and never recovered from a bad start to the second quarter.

Byron’s 28 points were two better than its season-low, and not like the team that scored close to 65 points per game in five playoff games leading up to state.

“It’s tough to score down here. When you get down here, teams always play great defense,” Yerly said. “We kept fighting and we kept attacking. I was happy with the way we played. It just didn’t go our way.”

Lily Butler scored 15 points and Lexy Santel added 13 for Breese Central (31-3), which won its second state championship after winning the 2007 Class A title.

Breese Central, ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press statewide poll, beat No. 1 Nashville in a sectional final to avenge two regular-season losses, and then beat No. 2 Byron Saturday.

Breese Central coach Nathan Rueter said his team switched defenses to what it ran Saturday after the second Nashville loss.

“The type of things we’re doing right now makes teams a little uncomfortable. It’s kind of a switching man matchup zone, whatever you want to call it,” Rueter said. “We kind of dictate where we want teams to be on the floor. It’s kind of like the defense [Byron] is playing and it’s not something you see a lot.”

Byron, despite the loss, still won the program’s fifth state trophy in its fourth championship game appearance. The Tigers won titles in 2016 and 2017, and took second in 2023. This senior class went 119-17 over four years and 35-1 in conference.

But Yerly spoke to a legacy beyond those numbers.

“The wins and all of that is a great legacy but I’m sure there were a ton of little kids in the stands when that final buzzer hit that were crying. That is the legacy you want to leave,” Yerly said. “If they’ve touched kids the way they have, that is more than any win or anything they’ve done on the court, they’re great leaders, great role models. And I’m proud of them. We fought down to the final buzzer.”