Fenwick 62, Conant 29

Conant girls basketball coach Dan Travers said his team won "ugly" this season.

But that method did not prevail Tuesday night as No. 4 seeded Conant fell to defending Class AA state champ and top-seeded Fenwick 62-29 in the Lake Park Class 4A sectional semifinal.

"Fenwick is too good to win ugly," Travers said.

But the Cougars were too good for most of their opponents this season, posting 23 wins in 31 games.

"We had a great season," said a tearful Michelle Rawleigh, who shared team scoring honors with senior teammate Danielle Ladehoff with 7 points. "We played so well as a team and I'll remember this season the rest of my life."

So will seniors Monica Danek (5 points), Lisa Parisi, Ariana Zades, Meghan Melone and Noreen Davis, who had a nifty driving bucket late in the game.

"These seniors were great kids and they did everything right," Travers said. "Gosh, they went from 8-20 to 14-15 to 23 wins, a regional title and conference co-championship. They've accomplished so much in three years. They are quality people."

The Cougars' fans were there to cheer them right to the end.

"We had tremendous parent support and fan support," Travers added. "I think a lot of times we had more parents at our away games than the home team."

Conant led 7-4 on Rawleigh's rebound bucket.

But the Friars (28-5) closed the quarter with a 15-0 run and never looked back.

"Fenwick was a really skilled team and we knew that coming in," Rawleigh said. "We tried to be ready on defense but we had some breakdowns."

"Their offensive skills were the difference," Zades added. "They were more athletic than us. We had to play better defense, the kind we had been playing all season. They exposed our weaknesses."

But the Cougars left Lake Park with positive attitude.

"We rebuilt the program," Zades said. "Since the day coach took over three years ago, we started talking about starting a new tradition and I think we have for the girls basketball program. We're proud of what we done."

"We're a good team," Travers said. "But Fenwick is just at another level. I'm just very proud of our girls."

Junior Emma Loos, who will be one of the key players returning added 4 points for the Cougars.

Sophomores Tricia Liston (17 points) and Schaumburg resident Kaitlin Payne (15) led Fenwick.

"We had a size advantage on them," said Fenwick coach Dave Power. "That hurt them and we have a little more experience. If we can keep playing defense like we did, we can still be a little off offensively, and still win."