Wrap: Saxons, Conant snare regionals

Schaumburg senior girls basketball player Gabrielle Blackwell received what she termed a "pep talk" at halftime from coach Bill Murmann in Thursday's Class 4A Bartlett regional title game against Geneva.

Whatever Murmann said in that chat should be bottled up for use in next week's Lake Park sectional.

Blackwell scored 10 of her team's first 12 second-half points en route to a career-high 32 points as the Saxons prevailed 74-63 to capture their third consecutive regional crown.

"Gabby, I thought she played very soft in the first half," Murmann said. "Her mentality in the second half was totally and completely different. She was outstanding. She really did well. I didn't think they had anybody in the post that could handle her."

The Saxons (27-5) were up 37-30 at the break, but Blackwell helped key an explosion to open the third.

For the third consecutive quarter, Schaumburg scored the first 8 points of the period, and opened a 45-30 lead. That edge stretched to 53-34 on a pair of Drewann Pancratz buckets later in the quarter.

The second-seeded Saxons also opened the first and second quarters with 8 straight points against the 10th-seeded Vikings (21-7).

"We like to get the ball rolling at the very beginning, especially coming out of the half," Blackwell said. "That is crucial to us. It kind of determines how we're going to play in the second half."

Saxons senior Kylie Castans (24 points, 11 rebounds) scored 6 of the first 8 points of the game before Geneva finally scored with 5:29 left in the first on Taylor Whitley's layup.

That was just the start of a 14-point, first-quarter flurry that ended with Whitley drilling a tough jumper at the buzzer to give Geneva an 18-15 lead after eight minutes.

Blackwell scored 8 of the Saxons' first 10 points of the second to give them the lead for good. Some of the credit for holding that lead has to be given to a defensive adjustment on Whitley.

After torching the Saxons for 14 first-quarter points, she scored only 13 the rest of the way after Schaumburg switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone.

"We knew in the first half that we didn't do what we wanted to against her man-to-man," Murmann said.

"What happened in the zone was she wasn't getting the same looks she was in the first half and we wanted other kids on her team to shoot the ball, not her."

Seeking their first-ever sectional title, the Saxons play the winner of tonight's Willowbrook regional in a sectional semifinal Tuesday at Lake Park.

"We have to continue to play as well as we're playing," Murmann said. "We have to be a little more mentally disciplined, take care of the ball a little better, and we'll be fine. We're playing Tuesday. That's what counts."

Conant 41, Hoffman Estates 39: Œthere was an urgent message for Conant on its scoreboard late in the third quarter Thursday night.

It was a 10-point deficit in its Class 4A girls basketball regional championship game to rival Hoffman Estates.

"Here's our season," said Conant senior guard Ariana Zades. "After halftime we said, 'Not on our court. We're seniors, they're Œjuniors.'"

No. 4 seed Conant went on a 16-point run, survived a tying rally and pulled out a 41-39 victory at Perry Gymnasium for its eighth regional title and first since 1998.

"Ten years, geez," said a surprised Zades of the gap between regional titles. "It's definitely a great feeling. The seniors wanted this so bad and now we've got it."

Zades' 2 free throws in a bonus situation with 55.5 seconds left put the Cougars (23-6) ahead to stay at 39-37.

Now they play in Tuesday's 6 p.m. Lake Park sectional semifinal against the winner of tonight's Fenwick regional between the defending big-school state champion Friars or Wheaton North.

There was nothing easy about Conant's third victory of the season against No. 5 Hoffman (22-8), which has only one senior on its roster and was trying to end a 16-year regional title drought.

Juniors Megan Fischer (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Megan Evans (9 points, 7 rebounds) pushed Hoffman to a 29-19 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

"When we went in at halftime coach (Dan Travers) talked to us and we all realized it could be our last game," said Conant junior Emma Loos, who came off the bench after missing most of the regional opener and Wednesday practice with a right leg injury. "None of us wanted it to be our last game."

After missing its first seven 3-point tries against Hoffman 2-3 and 3-2 zones, Lisa Parisi banked one in from the baseline. Then Zades (10 points) hit one and Conant turned on the full-court pressure.

"We did everything we could," Travers said. "We just battled. That's what we've done all year, battled, battled, battled."

Loos (11 points) hit a pair of 3s and made a top-of-the key bounce pass to Michelle Rawleigh for a layup and a 30-29 lead with 6:06 left.

"We weren't really getting open very well," Evans said of the Hawks' 5 turnovers in a 16-0 run that put Conant up 35-29 with 2:48 left. "We were leaving her (point guard Carol King) to hang out there."

But Hoffman responded as Fischer sandwiched 2 free throws and a right-corner 3 off King's feed around a Conant turnover to tie it at 37-37 with a minute left.

"That was real exciting," Evans said. "I was real happy because we've had a hard time finishing games this year."

Zades hit her tiebreaking free throws and Hoffman missed 2 shots and a 1-and-1. Rawleigh split 2 free throws with 15 seconds left but Megan Bernardoni's baseline drive got Hoffman within 40-39 with five seconds to play.

Zades hit the first of 2 free throws and Hoffman threw away a floor-length pass after a timeout with a second left.

"Our girls kept believing," Travers said.

-- Marty Maciaszek

Boys basketball

Cary-Grove 61, Woodstock 44: Mark Tometich led the way for Cary-Grove (14-10, 5-2) in this 61-44 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory over Woodstock. Tometich had 11 points while both Pete Pellizarri and Alex Jordan each added 10 points.

Grayslake Central 45, Huntley 35: Huntley (15-8. 5-2) fell for the second time this week in FVC Fox Division play. Tom Giordano had 9 points and Jordan Kleukirch 8 for the Red Raiders.