Harvest Christian wins third straight regional title
Elgin Academy had the crowd on its side Thursday night, even though the Hilltoppers were playing on Harvest Christian's home court against the hosts for a Class 1A regional championship.
The Hilltopper faithful were strong in numbers and loud. But No. 1 seed Harvest Christian didn't give them much to cheer about, forcing 19 turnovers in the first quarter and 29 in the first half to take leads of 28-3 and 47-5 on the way to a 70-12 victory.
While to their credit those fans were on their feet and cheering all the way down to the final seconds, it's the Lions who move on. Harvest will play Chicago Amandla Charter, a 57-44 winner over Luther North, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Class 1A Harvest Christian sectional semifinals.
"A big goal for us is to cause turnovers," Lions junior guard Alyssa Iverson said. "It helps us score points in transition. We try to just play every game hard and see where that takes us."
Iverson spearheaded the first quarter domination. She scored 17 points and had 6 steals in the quarter as the Lions opened the game on a 15-0 run.
She finished with 21 points, 8 steals and 8 assists. Isamar Garcia added 13 points, and Jenn Kasper had 7 steals.
"If she's not one of the top 12 girls in the state in 1A, I don't know who is," Harvest coach Rich DeTamble said of Iverson. "She has every aspect of the game.
"We are blessed with outside shooters, speed, a couple point guards. We have to use that in order to go further. As we progress into next week, we are going to have to keep playing as a team."
Maddy Martin scored 9 points, and Katie Kaldenberger and Nygia Pollard both chipped in 8 for the Lions (26-3), who have won 21 straight games. They claimed their third straight regional championship and will look for a second sectional title next week.
"I would never have dreamed that as the beginning of the year," DeTamble said of the winning streak. "We're confident but not overconfident. Our girls know their roles and we have a pretty deep bench."
After winning 2 games last year and 4 the year before, Elgin Academy (10-12) made a big leap forward. The past two years they only had 7 players, not enough to practice 5-on-5.
This year they had 17.
"We don't give a darn if we are down by 50," Hilltoppers coach Jill Kowalyszyn said. "We're going to still play the whole game. They fight. I'm just so proud of them."
Elizabeth Sporina led the Hilltoppers with 5 points. Gia Joyce, Madeline Sporina and Madison Noble-Stas also made baskets, and Michelle Peyton grabbed 5 rebounds.
Afterward, the Hilltoppers smiled and took team photos as their fans cheered.
"The girls love the crowd support," Kowalyszyn said. "They are cheering for us when we're down by 50. And it's not sympathy cheers. They want to support you guys. We are all in this together."