girls sectional finals

Hawks advance to Supersectionals... It was a complete team effort for Hillcrest to snag a 70-62 victory over Morgan Park in the Class 3A Sectional finals Thursday night. Seton Hall-bound Shannise Heady led the way for the Hawks with 18 points, but the necessary spark the team needed was spread out between Dana Gettis (14 points), Samirah Ali (11 points) and Mariam Awoniyi (10 points, eight rebounds). “Everybody had to have a role,” said Heady after the victory. “Anybody had to step up at any moment.” The Mustangs maintained the lead early and kept the Hawks offensive play in check for most of the first quarter until 5'2" Ali kicked things into a higher gear, driving to the lane, forcing their bigs to defend or foul. Her aggressive play opened the  door for 6-person, Gettis, to score with ease giving the Hawks a 15-9 lead after one quarter.   “I don’t know what to say about that,” Ali said. “I just gave it all I had. I just wanted it real bad.” Again, the Mustangs were not going to just give up, as they went on a short run of their own, snagging the lead 21-20 but the Hawks closed out the half with 12 additional points, 33-24, including back-to-back three's by Gettis. In the second half, it was Chicago State-bound Jasmine Sanders, who nailed two big three-pointers to stop the Mustangs once again from getting on an offensive run. Shortly after this, Gettis hit another shot from downtown giving the home team their largest lead of 15 points. Up next for Hillcrest will be Morton in the Supersectional finals Monday, February 27 at 7:30pm in Pontiac, Illinois - winner heads downstate. Morgan Park (22-9) was led by Kendyll Nunn (25 points, eight rebounds) and Shami Goodman (14 points). “They had some people who I really didn’t expect to step up that did,” Morgan Park coach Thomas Johnson said. “Their experience really made a difference. Kendyll Nunn was the only one who had ever been here (in a sectional final), and she needed some help. But to be honest, I’m really proud of our team. When you start two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior, you’re youthful. And they stepped up and played well. And we’ll get better.” For all of the other scores, click here.

Marist downs Lincoln-Way East The RedHawks (32-1) dominated not on the final score, 52-32, but the boards against Lincoln-Way East in the championship game of the Class 4A Sandburg Sectional. The RedHawks missed 30 of their 43 field goal attempts in the first half, but still led 30-15 thanks to their dominance on the boards. 16 offensive rebounds in the half led to a bevy of second-chance points and they finished 22 of 66 from the field, had 22 offensive rebounds. “When you miss shots, you’ve just got to keep working,” Marist’s Leah Bolton (11 points) said. “Eventually they’re going to fall. Our main focus coming into the game was rebounding." Despite the rebounding disparity, a slow start from Taylor Johnson and some foul trouble, the Griffins were still within striking distance, down 36-24 after three. But JeTaun Rouse, who finished the game with 17 points, put them away scoring eight points in the first four minutes of the fourth to help extend the lead to 49-30. Marist got strong performances across the board, with Asianna Bey (seven points, 10 rebounds), Randyll Butler (seven points, six rebounds) and Brooke Wyderski (seven points, nine rebounds) chipping in and Claire Ryan adding eight assists and strong defense. Caitlin McMahon (16 points) and Taylor Johnson (10 points, seven rebounds) paced Lincoln-Way East (26-5). Marist plays Edwardsville in the Supersectionals, Monday, February 27 at Bloomington (Illinois Wesleyan U.) at 7:30pm. For all of the other scores, click here. Bolingbrook headed to Supers... Bolingbrook dominated Benet, 75-46, at Neuqua Valley Sectional finals in Naperville. The Raiders were led by Connecticut-bound Morgan Tuck, who scored a game-high 30 points "We work so hard in the offseason, to get the opportunity to go for a fourth straight is just something our whole team takes as an honor," Tuck said. Unlike last year's sectional final, in which Benet stayed with Bolingbrook for a half, the Raiders stormed out to a 15-4 lead thanks to a 13-0 run. They were on top 28-7 before the end of the first quarter, led 46-23 at halftime and were up 65-32 after three. Nicole Valentine led Benet with 16 points. The win gives Bolingbrook (26-1) its eighth straight sectional title and sends the top-ranked Raiders to Monday's Hinsdale Central Supersectional against top-ranked Young at 8:10pm. For all of the other scores, click here.

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