Hustle shows throughout ICCP win

If IC Catholic Prep senior Gabby Curran knew the Knights were leading by 25 points early in the fourth quarter of Thursday's Class 2A Walther Christian regional final, it didn't show.

Curran kept hustling despite the lopsided score, at one point lunging defensively for a Walther Christian pass and landing along the sideline at the feet of Broncos coach Todd Fisher. Curran came up empty on that play, but she and the Knights left with a nice, shiny girls basketball regional championship plaque for their effort after a 56-29 victory in Melrose Park.

"That has a lot to do with senior leadership," Knights coach Aubree Schuett said. "Gabby Curran played a heck of a basketball game tonight. She was all over the place, and when you have a kid who can give you that kind of energy, it's going to give you a nice spark."

That spark was evident from the start. The Knights led 22-2 after one quarter, 37-11 at halftime.

"It's so important," said Knights junior forward Anjella Farmer of the start. "You've got to come out strong like you want to finish the fourth quarter. If you stick together anything is possible."

Farmer led the Knights with 18 points, most of them coming inside. She threw in a 3-pointer for good measure.

"We've been working so hard in practice every day and we know how big this is," Farmer said. "We want to do it for our seniors, of course, but we just stick together. It's like we're a family."

Freshman forward Claire Gibler added 11 points for IC Catholic.

The Knights are looking for a repeat trip downstate. They meet the winner of Friday's St. Benedict-Josephinum winner in Monday's sectional semifinals, to be played at IC Catholic.

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