Robinson's 3 gives South Elgin consolation title

Practice paid off for Lania Robinson Thursday against East Aurora, even if it wasn't quite how the South Elgin junior guard planned.

Robinson banked in a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go, freshman Kennede Miler drew a charge on East Aurora's next possession and South Elgin pulled out the consolation championship at the Oswego East Winter Classic, 48-45.

South Elgin (6-8) trailed most of the second half and was down 45-43 when Robinson connected from the left wing off the glass.

“I knew we were down two and we needed that three to get us up,” Robinson said. “I am a shooter, I have been working on my shots and I guess it paid off.”

East Aurora (10-8) quickly pushed the ball and was about to regain the lead on a layup but Miller stepped in and took a charge.

“That was huge,” South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast said. “They had been driving on us all game, they are quick, and we were a step late. That was really the play of the game.”

Becca Smith missed a pair of free throws with 6 seconds to go to give East Aurora another chance for the win but the Tomcats lost the ball out of bounds.

Smith was fouled again with just .3 seconds to go and made her first two free throws of the game, and the Tomcats' 60-foot heave at the buzzer to tie the game fell short.

South Elgin won despite making just 2 of 12 free throws, missing its first 10 before Smith's final pair. Smith was 2 of 9.

“I don't know how we won that game,” Prendergast said. “I've been on the other end of those games, it's nice to be on this end. That was a big win.”

The teams traded one big run after another in the first half. South Elgin went first, scoring 10 of the game's first 12 points including a pair of pull-up jumpers by Robinson.

But the Storm went cold over the next eight minutes and watched as the Tomcats put together an 18-3 run for a 20-13 lead. The only Storm basket in that stretch came on Kelsey Prince's 3-pointer to beat the first quarter buzzer.

South Elgin answered with the final run of the first half, a 14-0 burst to go up 27-20 at halftime. The Tomcats helped by missing all three front ends of their 1-and-1s, and South Elgin's defense picked up including a pair of steals by freshman Savanah Uveges. She found Smith for a 3-point play on the first one and took the second steal herself all the way for a layup.

East Aurora came right back at the start of the third quarter with the first 11 points for a 31-27 lead, setting the stage for a back-and-forth game the rest of the way that Robinson pulled out at the end.

“We had a good end to the second quarter but we couldn't get anything going in the second half,” Prendergast said. “Becca was struggling, a lot of girls were struggling, but that was pretty much to East Aurora's pressure D. They were more aggressive than we were.”

Smith led South Elgin with 14 points, and Robinson and Uveges both scored 9. East Aurora, which made just 6 of 27 free throws, got 12 points from Jasmine Plummer. The teams combined to go 8 of 39 at the line, 20.5 percent.

“I asked her (Robinson), did you call it? You've got to call glass,” Prendergast said. “Look, you coach this game long enough, there are games you should win and there are games you shouldn't win. That was one of those games that East Aurora just outplayed us in the second half. It was ugly but you take it. A win is a win. We are kind of working our way to .500.”

The Storm can take momentum into 2011, bouncing back from a 59-55 loss to Kaneland Monday with three straight wins.

“We fought hard these last three games,” Robinson said. “I'm really proud of everyone. We are starting to come together as a team and play together. We're really stepping it up on defense and offense and working hard.”