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Big finish benefits Maine West

Over the years, New Trier and Maine West have had a terrific rivalry in girls basketball.

The two teams put on another exceptionally exciting game at the Class 4A Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday night in Park Ridge.

The No. 5-seeded Trevians, going up against the top-seeded Warriors (and the state's fifth-ranked team), led 30-25 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

But when push came to shove, the Central Suburban North champs went on a 22-8 run to close out the game and win 52-38 over the Central Suburban South co-champions.

"New Trier is known for having a great program," said Warriors second-year coach Kim de Marigny. "So we are really excited to get a win over them as probably most teams are. It was a great ballgame. They played hard, we played hard. And we were fortunate to come away with the win.

Top-seeded Maine West (29-1) advanced to Thursday's 7 p.m. championship game against No. 3 Loyola (25-5).

"We want to enjoy this for a few minutes and then get back to work for Thursday night," de Marigny said. "It's just a lot of things to prepare for and we want to keep our girls believing they can do great things if they play their game."

They played their game in superb fashion for the final 9:30, starting their comeback with back-to-back 3-pointers by Catherine Johnson and Alisa Fallon to take a 31-30 lead with 59 seconds left in the third period.

Johnson then came up with a big steal near half court and raced in for a layup to make it 33-30 before 2 free throws by New Trier's Rebecca Goldman cut the deficit to 1 point going into the fourth quarter.

The Trevians (24-6) tied it at 33-33 on a free throw by Nicole Kaspi but never regained the lead.

Two free throws and a 6-footer by junior Rachel Kent (off an assist from Johnson) made it 37-33 before Allison Pearson picked up a loose ball under the Trevians' basket and raced coast-to-coast for a layup and 39-33 lead leading to a time out by Trevians coach Teri Rodgers.

"Our defense was working all the time," Pearson said. "We just had to focus more offensively and make sure that we followed our game plan. And I think down the stretch we definitely di that's and that's what won the game for us."

The Warriors came out of the timeout and got a fine defensive play by Jessica Riedl to force a turnover on the inbounds pass.

Riedl (4 points) then rebounded her own miss at the other end and put it back up for layup and 41-33 lead.

Moments later, a free throw by Fallon capped a 9-0 run that put the Warriors in firm control with 3:32 left.

"This was probably one of the most aggressive games we've played all season," said Fallon, an Army recruit. "But this is one of the most resilient teams I've ever played on so I'm glad we pulled it out.

"Our goal is a state championship and we have to win every game to get there. We are really focused right now."

Rodgers, a former all-area guard at Libertyville High School, was quite pleased with her team's focus, start to finish.

"Our girls played hard," she said. "I thought defensively we were really, really good (held West to its second fewest points this season).

"In tribute to them (Maine West), we just couldn't get our offense rolling enough. We had some stretches there where we did some really good things but we just couldn't get enough baskets."

Senior guard Cate Murdock, whose 3-pointer allowed New Trier to overcome an 18-12 deficit at half and take a 21-20 lead, led the Trevians with 12 points.

Classmate Nicole Kaspi added 7 while juniors Taite Ryan and Rebecca Goldman each chipped in 6.

Ryan's putback made it 30-25 before the Warriors commenced their game-winning rally.

"I'm really proud of our kids,' Rodgers said. "Maine West has a good team and they did a nice job."

"New Trier was really playing hard," Pearson added. "They're a really good team. We knew this was going to be tough game. We were just able to figure things out at the end."

Kent finished with a game-high 16 points followed by Fallon (14). Pearson and sophomore Angela Dugalic, whose playing time was shortened a bit by foul trouble, both added 7.

"These girls never give up," de Marigny said. "When they are down, it's one stop at a time, one possession at a time. It's go down, get a stop, then score. Get a stop and score. We just want to make sure we don't dig too deep a hole.

"We absolutely expected this kind of game from New Trier. We're very happy to win this game."

  New Trier's Maggie Murdock (20) and Maine West's Angela Dugalic (32) tumble to the ground as they struggle for control of the ball during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Angela Dugalic (32) lays up a shot against New Trier's Taite Ryan during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Rachel Kent (15) works for an angle for a shot against New Trier during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's Angela Dugalic (32) works for a shot against New Trier's Taite Ryan during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West's coach Kim DeMarigny, during the Maine East sectional semifinal against New Trier on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West coach Kim DeMarigny during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Maine West coach Kim DeMarigny during the Maine East sectional semifinal on Monday. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
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