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Rockford Boylan ends Cary-Grove's season

For 20 minutes or so, Rockford Boylan didn't look much like the second-ranked girls basketball team in the state.

Cary-Grove hung back in its zone defense and the Titans were content to jack up 3-pointers. They didn't make very many, and the Trojans were able to hang around.

But midway through the third quarter, the undefeated, No. 2 Titans suddenly showed up. They closed the third period on a 15-2 run, then scored the first 11 points of the fourth and cruised to a 59-36 victory in a semifinal of the Class 4A Dundee-Crown sectional.

Katie Sowa scored 11 points, but 31 turnovers and a 28-19 rebounding disadvantage doomed the Trojans, who finished their season 19-11.

The Trojans were able to score inside - when they were able to get there.

"It sure seemed to me like we could have our way with them inside," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert. "And when we ran our offense and got it inside we were pretty effective. I felt like we missed a lot of open people in the first half. We talked about that at halftime. But you can tell they're number 2 and we're not."

Boylan's win sets up a NIC-10 rematch with Hononegah in Thursday's sectional final. The Titans (31-0) came from behind to win the previous meeting by 1 point, their only victory by less than double digits.

Tuesday, McKenzie Brown led the Titans' second-half charge, scoring 17 of her 22 points in that half. She also grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Ashley Reyes kept Boylan in it in the first half with 9 of her 16 points before the break.

Boylan led just 31-26 after a layup by Abby Getka. But Brown fed Peyton Kennedy for a layup, then scored herself on a breakaway. A Reyes steal and drive made it 39-26 and, after a bucket by Nicollette Richardi for Cary-Grove, Brown scored on a 3-pointer, 2 free throws, and a putback to make it 46-28 after 3 quarters.

Bailey Steinkamp added 7 points and 4 rebounds for Cary-Grove.

The Trojans' season was far from a failure. They beat D-C in the final to win their first regional in 5 years.

"To finish second in the conference in a tie with Dundee-Crown was certainly a good thing," said Saffert. "We won 19 games. Two years in a row, 11-5 in the conference, we'll take it."

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