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St. Francis knocks off No. 1 Sycamore

Assists are not handed out for free throws, but Mia Mazza insisted otherwise.

The St. Francis junior didn't hesitate to share credit for her 5-of-6 accuracy that proved pivotal in the final 1:20 of the Class 3A IMSA regional championship.

"Actually I was struggling (at the line), so there's been a lot of extra practice with the coaches and my mom," Mazza said. "At one point I had to step off the line, but (assistant coach Deon Thomas) caught my eye and was saying 'You got this.' Every free throw made is like a weight off your shoulder and just an unbelievable boost."

That ice-in-the-veins mentality was shared by teammates, which is why No. 4 seed St. Francis prevailed 48-41 against No. 1 Sycamore. St. Francis (21-10) countered every Sycamore (21-7) surge or attack in order to capture the school's first regional plaque since 2003.

The losing side was hoping for a third straight regional title, which is what St. Francis' next foe just accomplished. Rockford Boylan beat Hampshire 58-55 Thursday to earn its spot for Monday's 6 p.m. Rochelle sectional semifinal.

"These kids love pressure," said first-year St. Francis coach Melissa Taylor. "They want to score, they believe they'll get steals, confidence and focus are our most consistent traits. Our bench is a driving force, like the Energizer bunny, everyone is eager to contribute. Today was another case of teamwork makes the dream work."

Exactly which team's sectional dream would come true was a matter of debate almost to the end. St. Francis started with a 4-0 lead only to get outscored 9-1 to produce Sycamore's largest lead before finishing the first quarter trailing 13-12. St. Francis made it a 22-18 lead by halftime.

The Wheaton squad was up 6 before Sycamore's Valerie Hunt was fouled on a 3-point try. The reserve sank all three before Madison McGhee added to a stellar performance with bank shot off a Talya Hopkins assist for a 27-26 lead. But that was Sycamore's last lead. Mazza hit a baseline right corner 3-pointer for a 29-27 edge heading into the fourth quarter. McGhee added two field goals and two free throws to create a 35-35 deadlock.

Sycamore had a chance for a lead, but after a 3-point miss, Reagan Sproat swished a right wing 3 and Antwainette Walker hit only the second of two at the foul line for a 39-35 lead. A Lauren Goff top-of-the-key trey got Sycamore back to within 1, but that's when Sproat, Mazza, and Baumgartner hit 10 of 12 free throws to pull out the victory for St. Francis.

"Being our first regional championship since 2003 means we made some history," St. Francis' Sloane Baumgartner said. "It's a big step for the seniors, not that we're done yet, but it's a legacy for the younger players to follow up. So much of it comes from this coaching staff."

Baumgartner and Sproat finished with 7 apiece to support Mazza's 10 and Walker's team-best 12.

"We may be underdogs to some people, but they don't realize the chemistry and cameradarie we've developed in the last four months," Mazza added. "Everyone plays with high energy because we know we have each other's back."

Hopkins finished with a game-high 15 for Sycamore, with McGhee and Hunt adding 12 and 7, respectively.

"We simply had way too many turnovers," Sycamore coach Brett Goff said. "It felt like about four per player, which is very uncharacteristic of us. (Walker) took us out of a lot of what we wanted to do offensively. Losing a top player (Morgan Picolotti's torn ACL) early meant people had to take on new roles. Once we established things we became very tough. Our seven seniors have had 47 wins in the last two years and I've got three (Lauren Goff, Hopkins, and Kayle Aase) who won 81 in four seasons."

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