Fenton 47, Jones College Prep 32
In order to reach a Class 3A regional title game on Thursday, Fenton's girls basketball team first had to figure out how to solve a mystery team Tuesday.
It took them a half, but the fifth-seeded Bison eventually took control of a semifinal game in Bensenville, winning 47-32 against 12th-seeded Jones College Prep of Chicago.
"I knew nothing about (Jones)," said Fenton coach Tim Anderson. "I knew their record, but they only played once since the seeding meeting, and I couldn't go and see them."
What Anderson and the Bison (18-13) learned early on was that Jones guard Jasmine Hughes liked to take the ball to the basket, and that the Eagles (13-5) pounded the offensive glass.
Fenton led 16-5 after a quarter of play thanks to 8 points from Samantha Rubright and a 3-pointers from Mia Sansone and Tricia Chiamas, but Jones outscored the Bison 10-5 in the second quarter.
The Bison led 21-15 at halftime, but they didn't feel all that good about it.
"We didn't box out so well," Rubright said. "You've got to push back, no matter how big they are or high they can jump."
"We haven't seen a zone in so long," Anderson said. "If we would have made a couple of our 3s, we might have been able to get a little momentum going."
That momentum came after the break, as Fenton took a 35-22 lead on a nice wraparound pass from Brittany Potenza to Rubright, who finished on it inside.
Rubright led all scorers with 19 points to go with 8 rebounds, and her putback of a Potenza miss gave Fenton a 37-22 lead. The two teams scored 10 points apiece from there, with Chiamas finishing with 10 points, and Sansone posting a solid all-around game.
The senior guard finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 steals on the night.
"I love defense," Sansone said. "And I love steals. Our defense is what keeps us in games."
"We cleaned it up, stopped playing sloppy, and we executed a little better in the second half," Rubright said.
Tuesday's win puts Fenton up against Elmwood Park in Bensenville at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with a regional title on the line. The Bison and the fourth-seeded Tigers played each other three times during Metro Suburban Conference play, and two of those games were barnburners.
"We went to overtime twice at their place, and we beat them here in our gym," Rubright said. "They can shoot 3s, they've got a girl that can go inside, and we've just got to play good defense to win that game."