Neuqua Valley outlasts Yorkville

It should come as no surprise that Thursday night's Class 4A regional final at Yorkville between Neuqua Valley and the hosts was a grudge match until the end with the Wildcats finally prevailing 48-41.

Both teams had 20 or more wins going into the contest, Yorkville was a fourth seed in the Benet sectional, Neuqua a fifth seed. And there's the simple truth that whoever loses sees their season end along with many high school tenures. A grudge match was a likely outcome.

"That one I don't know," said Neuqua senior Kai Moon when asked what was the deciding factor in Neuqua prevailing. "I have never not won a regional while I've been here. We didn't want our season to end."

The Wildcats (21-8) now advance a little closer to home, a 7 p.m. Monday sectional semifinal versus the winner of the East Aurora regional final Friday between top-seeded Benet and ninth-seeded Plainfield East.

Neuqua led 36-35 going into the final quarter. Yorkville (25-3) got the first basket of the fourth on a putback by Lindsay Harrison to take a 37-36 lead. Crucial to the Wildcats prevailing was the Foxes only sank two more baskets after that. The final bucket, from Sydney Beach, put Yorkville ahead for the final time at 41-40. Neuqua closed out the game with an 8-0 ruin that included a steal and a layup from Myia Starks, four free throws from Moon and two from Jada Harvery.

"Defensively, we always have to keep up our intensity. We're always ready for a physical game," Moon said.

Starks and Moon each led Neuqua with a team-high 12 points apiece. Harvey, a sophomore, finished with 8 and received praise from coach Mike Williams, who considered the play of the Wildcats' younger players critical to the win.

"Jada was great in the first half, and in the fourth quarter she was phenomenal. To see kids grow up before your eyes is amazing," he said.

Harvery said she wanted to improve upon her performance from Wednesday's regional semifinal victory over Naperville North.

"Coming in off that game, I knew I had to clear my head. I did not have that good of a game. I'm just looking to play to help the team."

Neuqua led 15-10 after the first quarter. A basket from Megan Keefer put the Wildcats up 23-10 with 5:37 remaining until halftime. The Foxes finished the period on a 13-5 run to trail by just 5 at halftime.