Marshall 69, Fenton 32
Top-seeded, state-ranked and perennial girls basketball power Marshall took over in the second half of its Class 3A sectional semifinal against fifth-seeded Fenton on Monday, winning 69-32.
But for one half of play, the feisty and composed Bison (19-14) sure gave the fast, athletic, and deep Commandos (22-7) something to think about.
"Can you just write about the first half?" joked Fenton coach Tim Anderson. "I'm proud of our girls. The fact that we got here is really nice, and we showed for a half that we could compete with them."
Through two quarters at Trinity in River Forest, Fenton stayed calm in the face of Marshall's diamond-and-one press, with guards Mia Sansone and Tricia Chiamas -- as they have all year -- taking good care of the basketball.
Fenton trailed 15-5 in the first quarter when consecutive 3-pointers from Samantha Rubright and Stephanie Pingel made it 15-11 heading into the second.
Fenton cut the deficit to 17-16 in the second quarter on a Chiamas layup and 26-21 on Rubright's third trey of the half. Marshall led 30-22 at halftime, but Fenton did just what was needed to keep things close.
"We were prepared in the first half," Chiamas said. "We knew they'd press us the whole time, but we got the ball across half court, rotated it above, and kept shooting threes."
Rubright netted 10 of her 12 points in the first half, and pulled down 10 rebounds on the night. Chiamas also scored 12 points for Fenton.
Marshall took over early in the second half, attacking the basket and controlling the offensive glass, and the Commandos' depth and defensive pressure helped bury the Bison.
Marshall held Fenton to 10 second-half points and ultimately won 69-32 in advancing to Thursday's sectional title game.
For Fenton, losing to highly-touted Marshall didn't put a damper on a fine season that saw the Bison win a regional title on their home court. Seniors Chiamas, Sansone, Pingel, Brittany Potenza, Jayme Biagi, and Sasha Molina will depart, and they will be missed.
"I'm real happy with them. We're losing six seniors here, but we had a good run and a nice season," Anderson said. "I'm proud of our girls."
"We were all on the same level. Even though not everyone played, we all worked together and everyone did their job," Chiamas said.
"I'm very proud. It was a good way to end the season. We just all had chemistry … and didn't have any of those side conflicts that teams sometimes have.
"We all loved each other."