Seton Academy knocks out cold-shooting Aurora Christian
It didn't take long for Seton Academy coach Kevin Green to know what needed to be done to slow Aurora Christian in the Class 2A Lisle sectional semifinals Tuesday night.
"Number 22 was a monster," Green said. "We had to make sure we knew where she was at all times."
The Lady Sting did find a way to slow No. 22 - junior Gabby Galbato - holding her to 3 points in the second half of their 28-25 victory.
Aurora Christian ends the year with the most wins in school history - a 20-9 final record - but still looking for its first sectional win.
The Eagles could have got it Tuesday with just a little more offense. They shot just 8 for 43 from the field (18.6 percent).
They also struggled to get offense from anyone other than Galbato. She finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Natasha Brown battled for 12 rebounds and 5 points, Sami Hultine hit a 3 and freshman Paris Chaney sank a jumper - and that was all the offense.
"I thought we played great defensively," Lady Eagles coach Burney Wilkie said. "I thought they really struggled with our matchup zone, but we were never really able to get anything going on offense. We were 7 for 14 from the line. In a 3-point game that really hurts."
Seton didn't get much more offense, hitting just 10 of 35 shots from the field and 3 of 11 at the line. But three 3s from Danielle Bailey felt like 5-point shots as hard as points were to come by in this one.
"I don't ever think about any shots she misses. Ever," Green said. "She could miss her first 37 and she's going to hit 38. That's my floor general. If I don't have any faith in her my team is going down anyway. She steps up."
Aurora Christian got off to a strong start, its matchup zone defense frustrating Seton Academy into 9 first-quarter turnovers and 1-of-6 shooting.
Galbato scored all 9 of the Lady Eagles' first-quarter points, four of them on free throws plus a 3-pointer to end the quarter with Aurora Christian up 9-3.
The Lady Sting took better care of the ball in the second quarter and finally got some 3s to drop. After Aurora Christian took a 14-6 lead on Galbato's roll to the basket, Seton scored the final 9 points of the half on three straight 3-pointers - two by Bailey - for a 17-14 halftime lead.
Seton never trailed in the second half but never led by more than 5 points. The Lady Sting took the air out of the ball up 24-20 late in the third quarter, holding it for over two-and-a-half minutes before Brown came up with a steal with 10 seconds left in the quarter.
Brown raced the other way trying to beat the buzzer but her shot was blocked out of bounds with just .6 seconds left. Hultine executed a perfect inbounds pass and found Brown for a bucket that brought the Lady Eagles within 24-22 going to the fourth.
Neither team scored for the first five minutes of the final quarter, Aurora Christian failing to capitalize on several chances to tie the game or take the lead. Alfatinee Boyd drained a corner 3 that put Seton ahead 27-22 with 3:08 left.
Aurora Christian trailed 28-23 when Bailey missed a front end of a 1-and-1 with only 30 seconds remaining. Brown was able to score on a putback at :12.5 - the Eagles' first field goal in the fourth quarter - while being fouled.
Brown missed the free throw but quickly came up with a steal. Wilkie called timeout with 9 seconds left down 28-25.
Aurora Christian worked the ball to Ashley Hochspring who missed a 3-pointer but collected her own rebound with 1.3 seconds remaining. Wilkie called another timeout and the Lady Eagles inbounded to Galbato whose 3 rimmed off at the buzzer.
Brown and her 1,100-plus career rebounds is the only starter Aurora Christian will graduate.
"I couldn't ask for more as a first-year head coach," Wilkie said. "Even losing (leading scorer) Kirsten (Madsen) 9 games in, we battled all year and won a program record 20 games. The future is bright in our program. This senior class has helped to change this program for the better and I am so grateful for them."