Hoffman pushes Fenwick to limit
The Hoffman Estates girls basketball team didn’t win a regional crown on Friday night but it easily won the hearts of its fans and head coach.
The Hawks battled Class 4A state-ranked and top-seeded Fenwick (26-4) right down to the wire before falling 50-43 in their own regional.
No. 8 Hoffman Estates (19-9) led 9-4 early and then rallied from a 9-point deficit late in third quarter.
Senior forward Jada Stotts brought the Hawks fans to their feet when she swished a 3-pointer to bring her team to within 41-40 with 4:14 left.
Although Hoffman could get no closer, it still only trailed by 4 points with less than minute to play.
Stotts led all scorers with 21 points while sophomore teammate Destinee Young tossed in 12.
“That No. 12 (Stotts) couldn’t miss,” said Fenwick coach Dave Power. “They have excellent inside players (Stotts, Young, Precious Ogunleye and Becca Stoczynski). Anyone who thought we were a 30-point favorite in this game was kidding themselves.”
A rebound layup by Hoffman senior Tanya Skworch broke a 9-9 tie and the Hawks went ahead 13-9 on 2 free throws by Stotts.
Stotts tossed a beautiful lob pass into Young for a layup that gave Hoffman a 15-12 lead after one quarter.
But a layup by Hannah Ballard and baseline 16-footer by Kathleen Roche to start the second quarter gave Fenwick its first lead at 16-15.
A free throw by Ogunleye tied it at 16 before Fenwick got the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Kyra Navarette.
Trailing 21-16, Hoffman senior Melanie McGinn was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and swished 3 straight free throws to get Hoffman back to within 21-19.
Moments later, junior Mary Pettit fired home a 17-footer at the halftime buzzer leaving the Hawks down 22-21.
“The kids never gave up at any point in the game,” Nocella said. “That’s why I am so proud of them.”
Friars senior guard Sarah Williams, who led her team with 14 points, swished a 26-footer at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Friars a 38-31 lead.
But Stotts scored three straight baskets for Hoffman in the fourth quarter to get her team to within 40-37.
Her third basket in that stretch came when Young dished the ball out to the side, allowing Stotts a clear lane to the basket.
“We believed the whole game,” said Stotts, who will play volleyball at Division I Austin Peay. “I really believe everyone left everything on the court and I know I did. I’m really going to miss Hoffman Estates High. Fenwick is a good team and we gave them a great game.”
No one could argue.
“That No. 12 played a great game,” said Williams (three 3-pointers), who won her fourth straight regional crown at Fenwick. “We came out a little slow. You’re always worried but I had confidence once we made adjustments that we would be OK. There’s no way where we going to let our season end here.”
Hoffman did its best to take that happen.
“That is a very good team and we knew it would be a tough game,” Power added. “They beat a very good Oak Park-River Forest in the semifinal and that was no fluke. I don’t understand how they had eight losses.
“They have a strong inside presence. We were so focused on cutting that off, we gave them a little too much on the perimeter.”
Nocella called it a “gutty” performance by his Hawks, who started the season by winning the Elk Grove-Hoffman Estates-Lake Park tourney and took third in the Mundelein Christmas tourney.
“Jada was great, she has done that for us all season,” Nocella said about Stotts’ big career-closing game. “I’m very proud of all these girls. They were in it right to the last minute.
“Fenwick is a very good team and I’m proud of how we presented ourselves. It was a great game by a lot of kids out there on both sides.”