Big run sends South Elgin past Elgin

When Elgin challenged South Elgin, the Storm responded.

South Elgin quickly scored the final 6 points of the first half, then outscored the Maroons 16-4 in the third quarter to break open a close game and win in the opening round of its own Class 4A regional, 58-27.

The Storm (13-13), faces Cary-Grove Tuesday night in one semifinal.

"We went back to our press a little bit more," said South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack. "We were running our 2-1-2 press and we got some turnovers out of it. They broke it a couple of times, too, and that's what hurt us. We just started trapping a little bit more, getting a little bit more aggressive on defense. Then, at the end of the day, they're sitting in a zone, shots have got to fall. Megan (McClure) made a couple of huge shots to give us some breathing room."

"I told them Elgin's not going 5 or 6 miles just to check out our gym."

Monday night, McClure did it all, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

She scored 4 points just before halftime, got a rebound that led to a bucket by Casey Brennan, then scored the first basket of the second half as the Storm stretched a 23-15 lead to 31-15.

That run "was key because we were able to gain some momentum, gain some confidence, and start to play up more," said McClure.

South Elgin, with no starter taller than 5-foot-9, had a 44-25 rebounding advantage. Point guard Brennan had 7 offensive rebounds among her 10 boards.

"We have to crash the boards every single time because we're not a big team and that's our way to get up," said Catora Brown, who finished with 10 points for the Storm.

Dajha Cooper had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Elgin (4-24). Makenna Downing added 8 points.

"We got a little soft toward the end of the (second) quarter and they hit a couple of 3s to knock it back to 12 or 14," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "They did a good job. They shot the ball real well. That's the best we've seen them shoot all year."

Lexi Roberts had 15 points and 4 assists, while Brennan finished with 6 points for South Elgin.