Cary-Grove 52, Crystal Lake South 40
When freshman starting guard Meg Straumann went down with a head injury just minutes into Thursday night's Class 4A regional final at Prairie Ridge, there was question as to how the No. 1 seeded Cary-Grove girls basketball team would fare against Fox Valley Conference Valley Division foe and No. 2 seed Crystal Lake South.
With 187 points this season and a 7.48 points per game average, Straumann has been one key to the Trojan offense.
But the bench came through, helping Cary-Grove to a 52-40 victory, the 14th regional title in program history and first since the 2005-06 campaign.
The Trojans (26-3) will take on host Hononegah (23-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the sectional semifinals in Rockton. Hononegah beat the Trojans 51-36 at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament.
Prior to Straumann's departure, C-G went on a 10-0 run to take an early 13-2 lead just 8 minutes into the game.
"You can't dig a hole against a team like Cary and expect to get out," said South coach Kyle McCaughn.
"Sometimes you get to the bottom of that hole and realize you're not a rock climber."
Little could be done to defend the Trojans' balanced offensive attack, which saw early buckets from Jill Cole, Straumann, Claire Jakubicek, Danielle Smith and Jamie Kuhl.
Both Kuhl (13 points, 8 rebounds, block) and Smith (11 points) would go on to finish the game with double-digit offensive contributions.
"We played great tonight," said Smith. "We wanted it, and we played as a team to earn it."
Crystal Lake South (21-9) made several trips to the foul line during the second quarter to stay within 11 points, going into the break trailing 22-11. Michelle Gaede, Molly Benoit and Jessica Taldone (9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) each made good from the foul line.
Cary-Grove came out with a full court press to start the second half and went up 27-13 as a result of it.
South responded with its own full court pressure which helped it cut the lead to 6 points at 29-23 following a 10-2 run late in the third quarter.
"We switched it up a little bit in the second half," said C-G coach Rod Saffert.
"I knew South would make a run. They are not two-time defending conference champs for nothing."
Out-rebounding the Trojans 17-8 in the second half facilitated more offensive chances for the Gators, who they capitalized on via the give-and-go.
Benoit and Taldone took turns driving the lane, dishing and taking it back for two through most of the third and fourth quarters. With 13 points, Benoit (4 rebounds) led the Gator offense.
"Crystal Lake South is a good rebounding team," said Saffert. "Caitlin (Mize) did an outstanding job."
When all was said and done, Mize collected 12 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Katie Burton added 6 boards and 4 points.
With the Trojans spending most of the fourth quarter at the foul line, South managed to make it a game late, sneaking to within 5 points at 43-38 following back-to-back 3-pointers from Taldone and Laura Bicknell.
"Our girls played with all heart tonight and no quit," said McCaughn. "Within their ability, they played as hard as they could have.
"It was not a lack of effort that cost them, but more a lack of confidence. Cary-Grove converted on every miscue we made, and they deserved the win. We wish them luck down the road."
Jakubicek (9 points, 3 steals, 3 assists) added timely scoring for the Trojans, while Liz Bart (4 points, 4 steals), Tori Sandstrom (2 points) and Kelly Koch (3 points, 2 rebounds, steal) brought crucial help from the bench.
"Team chemistry was the difference tonight," said Saffert. "These girls love each other.
"I thought we'd have growing pains, but they grew fast. We couldn't have more momentum than we've got right now."
Cary-Grove's 26 wins are the most since the 2001-02 season, and second best in program history (28 in 1986-87 is the record).