A repeat NSC Prairie title ride for Antioch
Amy Reiser brought a stationary bicycle, Antioch packed its press, and now the Sequoits are headed to a familiar destination.
By beating host Lakes 63-36 Friday night, the Sequoits clinched the North Suburban Prairie Division championship and earned a berth in the conference title game for the second year in a row.
Alexis Duehr scored a season-high 20 points to lead Antioch (22-4, 10-0), which won the division championship outright last year, too, before beating Stevenson in the NSC title game. The Sequoits shared the division crown with Vernon Hills two years ago.
They had ample motivation against Lakes (15-11, 7-3), not only because they lost to their district rival at Lake Forest's MLK tournament two weeks ago, but also because the division title was at stake.
"I told the girls, 'This is championship week,' " Antioch coach Tim Borries said.
The Sequoits were down starting forward Kelly Johnson, who missed her second straight game with a back injury, but the return of Reiser from her back injury was huge.
The junior guard missed 11 games in a row and 12 overall since the day after Christmas. With her in the lineup, the Sequoits were 13-0. Without her, they were 7-4.
"It gave us a boost all week in practice," Borries said. "It just seemed to pick up everybody. Everybody had a little quicker step. She just brings another element. She's another coach out on the floor."
Reiser practiced sparingly during the first part of the week.
"(Thursday) I practiced a little too long, so it hurt a little," she said of her back. "For the last couple of weeks, I've been having acupuncture. (Friday) I was sitting in school doing my stretches and then got acupuncture (before the game). I felt really good coming into the game. I wasn't pushing anything and I kept staying warmed up. It doesn't hurt at all right now."
Ashley Reiser added 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals for Antioch. Her twin finished with 8 points in limited minutes. When Amy wasn't playing, she was riding her stationary bike in the corner by the bench. When she checked into the game midway through the opening quarter, Antioch's student fans greeted her with chants of "A-my Rei-ser. A-my Rei-ser."
"It was amazing," Reiser said of her first game in a month. "It was exciting. I could just feel the energy of the whole crowd. The cheering section was cheering me on. I was so honored."
Lakes led 10-3 late in the opening quarter, and despite a vintage Reiser-to-Reiser moment with Amy slashing through the lane and finishing, the Eagles took a 14-10 lead into the second. A 3-pointer by Heather Hurlbut had Lakes within 24-22 with 2:21 left before halftime, but then Ashley Reiser stole an inbounds pass under Lakes basket and scored. Eight seconds later, it happened again, as Duehr tipped the ball to Ashley Reiser, who finished again.
"Those 4 points and then all of a sudden that goes to 6 and then it's 10 going into half, when it could be 2 or 4," Lakes coach Brian Phelan said. "It's amazing how (the game) gets away from you."
Antioch was up 33-23 at halftime after outscoring the hosts 23-9 in the second quarter. Sequoits freshman call-up Piper Foote provided a spark with 5 points, including a 3-pointer. Duehr opened the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, Ashley Reiser scored on an offensive rebound, and Lakes couldn't recover.
"Once they put on their press, we gave up a couple of easy turnovers, and they got the momentum going into halftime," said guard Ellie Haviland, who led Lakes with 7 points and 7 rebounds. "Then they came out strong (in the second half), nailing their shots. It's hard to recover from that because we're a team that usually finishes in the paint, and we weren't finishing in the paint tonight."
Antioch held a 42-30 advantage after three, then blitzed the Eagles in the fourth, scoring the first 19 points of the quarter. Duehr drained her fourth 3-pointer and knocked down an 18-footer, as well. Amy Reiser dropped in 3 shots.
"It's nice to have her back," Borries said. "It's a calming influence on sister, on everybody else."