girls SuperSectionals Recap

The Dolphins outswim the Raiders.... It took four quarters and four overtimes for the Girls Class 4A SuperSectionals to be determined and when the smoke cleared, it was Whitney Young on top 74-65, as they advance to their fifth straight State semi-finals Friday against Bartlett in Bloomington at 6:30pm. Young led by the high-powered play of Janee Thompson, who finished with 34 points including seven needed points in the fourth overtime. Both teams had players step up to keep the excitement in the game. The Raiders' Keiera Ray (14 points) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send it to overtime. Then Tuck had a jumper with 25 seconds left in the first overtime, Thompson made a 3-pointer in the second overtime and Young's Alexis Lloyd completed a three-point play in the third overtime to send the game on to the next period. "A couple plays, a couple calls, a couple things I probably could have done differently to have a different outcome, but Young hung in there and fought," Bolingbrook coach Anthony Smith said. "We both fought a heavyweight fight, and Young came out with the win." But Thompson, Kentucky-recruit, knocked down 15 points in overtime and carried the Dolphins when they needed her the most including shooting 13-for-14 from the free-throw line down the stretch. "We were going back and forth, and I was trying to take what the defense was giving me," Thompson said. "I just want to credit my team for working as hard as we did. Four overtimes, and we never gave up. "I'm actually not even that tired at all." Alexis Lloyd drives to the basket and Nia Moore fouls out... ~click here! Connecticut recruit Morgan Tuck led Bolingbrook with 19 points and 15 rebounds, but she didn't score after the first overtime, followed by Illinois-bound senior Nia Moore, who had 14 points, seven rebounds and eight blocks. See Tuck's last shot... ~click here! The Raiders had played in seven consecutive state semifinals and beat Young the last three seasons in the state tournament until now. Morgan Tuck shoots from the freethrow line This game was considered by just about every one the "unofficial" Class 4A Girls State championship and is an instant classic for years to come.

"After the way the other games went in the past years (against Bolingbrook), we wanted to do this for all of the past players and ourselves," said Thompson, a McDonald's All-American. "It was a huge game, but now we've got to finish downstate." Hillcrest advances.... Hillcrest is headed back downstate to the Girls Class 3A semifinals as they take down Morton (31-3) 48-39. In order to get this victory it took all four seniors, Shannise Heady, Samirah Ali, Jasmine Sanders and Jamiah Phillips to step up especially in the second half. The Lady Hawks couldn’t have been more frustrated after two periods. They shot 6-of-29 from the field, 0-of-4 from the free-throw line and had committed eight fouls to Morton’s three. “I basically pleaded to our seniors that there were 16 minutes left,” coach Maniatis said at halftime. “I told them they had the choice whether they wanted to bag it up for the rest of the season, or step forward.” Heady, with no points at intermission, roared to life in the second half to finish with a team-high 12 points. She added nine rebounds. Phillips (9 points), Dana Gettis (9 points), Mariam Awoniyi (8 points, 12 rebounds) and Ali (7 points) were other leaders for Hillcrest (27-3). AMATEUR SPORTS BRACKET Just click above icon... Down 20-13 going into the third period, they were able to make a 2-3 zone work effectively against Morton’s patient offense. At the other end, they fast-broke and finished. Heady was the first to convert with a driving layup, setting in motion a series of seven consecutive possessions in which the Hawks scored. By the end of the third period it was 29-24 Hillcrest. “It was a win-it-all situation and we wanted to win,” Heady said after a 48-39 victory advanced the No. 2 Hawks to Friday’s Class 3A state semifinals and a showdown against Montini. Sanders hit a key three-pointer during the third-period outburst. Phillips, who was being dominated by Morton’s big players earlier, had a big fourth quarter with two buckets, one a huge put back after her own missed free throw. “We didn’t want to go home. It wasn’t our time to go home,” Ali said. “Earlier we had a hard time getting to the basket. But I wasn’t worried (at halftime). I had faith in my team.” Morton (31-3) was led by Cortney Allebaugh and Kate Byrne with 13 points each. Hillcrest will face Montini, who knocked off Crane in their SuperSectionals, Friday at 2pm in Bloomington (Redbird Arena). Montini defeated them in the last two state title games. Marist gets kocked out by Edwardsville This game was very close through all four quarters but in the end, Edwardsville did enough to snag the 48-41 victory over Marist. The RedHawks had a chance with 1:17 left to play and when Asianna Bey knocked two free thows. This got them within one possession (43-41), but the Tigers turned to point guard Lauren White and sewed it up from the free-throw line. Marist committed 23 fouls, Edwardsville nine. The RedHawks were 9-of-10 from the free throw line, the Tigers 18-of-27. “It was a tight game on our side, anyway, but I’m not complaining about that,” Connolly said. “If we had taken care of the ball better, we would have come out on top.” Emmonnie Henderson finished with 16 points, followed by White who added 12 for Edwardsville. Marist were led by three players who had nine, Bey, Claire Ryan and JeTaun Rouse. Leah Bolton added eight. Marist (32-2), which had won 13 straight after a 57-52 loss to Trinity on Jan. 16, was left wondering what happened on the boards. Edwardsville Tigers (33-1), who had the misfortune of running into Bolingbrook in the same SuperSectional the previous three seasons, will meet Loyola at 8:15 p.m. Friday at Illinois State University in their first-ever visit to the state semifinals. Montini headed back downstate.... Montini easily knocked off Crane 46-24 to advance as the two-time defending state champions to the state semifinals. This will be their fourth time in the last five years to play downstate. Both Montini (31-5) and Crane, which was appearing in its first SuperSectional, played poorly at the outset, combining for 16 turnovers in the first quarter but the Broncos were able to capitalize on early shooting. “We lacked energy,” Montini coach Jason Nichols said. “I don’t know if our nerves got to us, but just from the start that was not the pace or the style we’ve been playing with. But so what? We still found a way to win.” Crane (13-8) did have a brief lead of 4-2 on baskets from Demara Howard and Jameeshia Armstrong, but after that, it was all Montini. Kateri Stone and 6-4 junior center Malayna Johnson (Wisconsin recruit) led the way for Montini. Stone, who finished with 11 points, three assists and three steals, then drained her two threes off passes from Kelsey Bogdan and scored the first two baskets of the second quarter on layups. “It was definitely my teammates,” said Stone, who is over the sickness that slowed her last week. “They were like, ‘you can’t stop now, we really need you. So they helped me pull through it. They said there was a lot on the line, so I kept shooting.” From this offensive effort they were able to stretch out to an 18-4 lead and cruised the rest of the way to their 19th consecutive playoff win. “We were ready to win even though we got off to a bad start,” Johnson said. “When [Stone] made shots everybody got ready to play and we got in the game.” Montini will play Hillcrest, whom they defeated in the last two state title games, at 2 p.m. Friday at Redbird Arena in Normal.

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