Glenbard South 64, University High 49

The Glenbard South girls basketball team came to the historic Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago on Friday night and made its own history.

With the University of Chicago as its backdrop, the Raiders broke free from a tight game with University High and earned its first regional title since 1987 with a 64-49 victory in the Class 3A championship game.

Leading 30-25 at the intermission, Glenbard South (21-9), the third seed, did not allow the sixth-seeded Maroons a field goal in the third quarter while outscoring U-High 21-9.

"We played a complete game," Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said. "It didn't matter who we had in there. We controlled the pace of the game."

The Raiders blended an opportunistic defense with solid inside play, superior depth and exploitation of the Maroons' foul troubles to take command in the third.

Sisters Danielle and Meghan Pipal concluded the quarter in grand style for Glenbard South: the former fed her junior sibling for a bucket as time ran out to give the squad a comfortable 51-34 lead entering the final eight minutes.

Danielle Pipal had half of her 16 points in the third, and Meghan was a defensive thorn against the Maroons all evening with her 7 steals.

"I think we all played very well," Meghan Pipal said. "Our seniors really wanted to win a regional championship."

"It could have been our last game," Danielle Pipal said.

"We tried to come out as hard as we could. We had to put it away in the third quarter."

The Pipals were far from the only heroines for the Raiders on a night when the postgame icing from cupcakes was metaphorically smeared on the jubilant players' faces.

Senior Alicia Engelhardt scored 12 of her game-high 18 points for Glenbard South in the opening half, and the Raiders' other low post--Maja Despot -- was tyrannical to the Maroons in the decisive third.

The 6-foot-1 junior had all 6 of her points, 4 rebounds and a pair of blocks in the third, and the Raiders' twin runs in the period included a Nikki Simpson 3-pointer that sparked a 10-3 surge.

Simpson drained three 3-pointers on the night to become the third Glenbard South player in double figures with 11 points. Junior standout Alexis Jenkins led U-High (22-3) with 17 points.

"They had the speed to take it to the middle," U-High coach Meghan Janda. "We're not used to that on our home court."