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Girls water polo: Conant saves its best for last in state quarterfinal setback

Putting it all on the table was the theme in Conant's girls water polo state quarterfinal matchup on Friday afternoon in Lincolnshire.

Only that sense of urgency didn't materialize until the fourth period, when the Cougars were already behind 10-0 to Mother McAuley.

Conant ignited their fans by scoring three unanswered goals to start the fourth and least show they weren't going down without a fight.

"I think we were a little nervous in the beginning," said Cougars coach Justin Bickus, whose girls ultimately fell to the Mighty Macs 12-4 but equalled the program deepest advancement in the state tourney. Last year it lost in the state quarterfinals as well. "We were definitely the underdog. But we like that mentality."

Cougar leading scorer and senior utility player Sam Wooley popped in two of those goals, to bring her total to 90 on the season.

"We were the third seed in the sectional and had two 1-point games, so actually we kind of were surprised that we got this far," said Wooley, one of four seniors lost to graduation here in a couple of weeks. "We started out slow and by the fourth period, we said (to heck with) it. We need to score some goals."

While Wooley certainly made her contributions not only in this game, but for the season and her career, that mentality resonated with her teammates as well in the fourth.

The Cougars were more aggressive to and around the ball and quicker with their passes.

Senior utility player Hannah Lukas got Conant on the board with her goal a little over a minute into the final frame. Then Wooley scored her first 20 seconds later, while sophomore 2-meter and utility player Nia Tsoulos's goal found the back of the net after a beautiful long outlet pass from junior keeper Cam Rosas to make it 10-3 with 4:52 left in regulation.

After McAuley scored, Wooley then netted her second goal-and Conant's final of the contest-in the final to minutes to make it 11-4.

And as mentioned, the defense stiffened in the final frame with junior 2-meter Lea Cejvan, junior utility player Paulina Chowaniec, sophomore 2-meter Aly Wooley, Sam Wooley, Tsoulos, and Lukas were all instrumental in stopping any Mighty Mac penetration, especially in the fourth when it outscored them 4-2.

Rosas got a workout in goal stopping 13 shots on the evening. In one 10-second sequence in the second period, Rosas stopped three shots at close range to keep them within striking distance.

Along with Sam Wooley, Conant loses only three other seniors including 2-meter and utility player Claire Rosas, utility player Keri Keppler, and utility player Lukas, one of the clubs other starters.

"Overall, we're pretty young," added Bickus, whose team finished 20-13. "We kept battling today and we battled through the season. I'm so proud of the girls."

No stranger to the state tourney, three-time champ McAuley advances to play Naperville Central in the first semifinal at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in Lincolnshire.

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