Warren 60, Waukegan 31
Warren senior Sarah Boothe went over 2,000 points for her career by making a pair of free throws Thursday in the second quarter of the Blue Devils' regional championship game against Waukegan.
An hour or so later, the Waukegan players could be forgiven for feeling like the Stanford-bound Boothe was close to 3,000.
The 6-foot-5 Boothe dominated to the tune of 29 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocked shots to lead Warren to a 60-31 victory. This was the fourth consecutive regional title for the Blue Devils.
Warren, the No. 3 seed, advanced to play either Wheeling or Lake Zurich in a sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mundelein. The Blue Devils improved to 27-2, while No. 6 Waukegan ended its season at 19-11.
"Sarah is just a dominant presence," said Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz. "She doesn't bring the ball up the court, but she's still able to control the game. I've never coached a kid as good as Sarah."
Midway through the third quarter, Boothe made a basket while being fouled to give Warren a 30-18 lead. Although all of Warren's players were on the other end of the court, Waukegan failed to box out Boothe on the ensuing free throw. She was able to keep the rebound alive, and the ball went out of bounds off Waukegan.
Senior Shana Shepherd made the Bulldogs pay for that mistake by drilling a 3-pointer.
"I never thought I'd get that many," said Boothe, who has scored a total of 2,022 points. "It's a major milestone in my career."
Warren abused Waukegan in the paint all game. In addition to Boothe's performance, senior forward Lory Shaw contributed 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Blue Devils grabbed 24 more rebounds than Waukegan.
When Warren last went up against Bianca Jarrett, she was a junior playing for Zion-Benton. In that game, she scored 36 points in the Zee-Bees' upset victory. Jarrett transferred to Waukegan for her senior season, but that performance was still on the Blue Devils' minds.
"It was like watching Allen Iverson," Stanczykiewicz said.
As hot as Jarrett was from the field last year, that's how cold she was Thursday. She was 1 of 19 from the field and scored 6 points. Junior guard Joree Green was primarily responsible for guarding her.
"I focused more on her (jersey) numbers and not on her ball fakes," Green said.
Waukegan's pressure defense was effective at times, but the Blue Devils could always bail themselves out by throwing it up to Boothe.
"That really helps a lot," Green said. "She's 6-foot-5 so she's such an easy target."
As Warren looks ahead to sectional play, better shooting from the field (22 of 61) and the free-throw line (15 of 27) will be priorities.
"For the most part, we generated the shots we wanted," Stanczykiewicz said. "We need to make more of them to get past the next level."