Short-handed COD wins again
They don't have close to enough players to run a 5-on-5 drill.
Injuries have whittled their roster so they just have enough for a 3-on-3.
But the top-seeded College of DuPage Chaparrals showed Saturday night that six is more than enough. They won their third consecutive Region IV championship and 10th in the past 13 years, defeating No. 2 seed Rock Valley 71-57 at Harper College in Palatine.
After taking fifth at the national tournament last season, COD (21-11) advanced to the NJCAA national tournament Thursday through Saturday at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.Y.
"It's unreal," said first-year COD coach Chris Cotton, whose roster has been trimmed to six players for the past five games. "Six, seven, eight young ladies throughout the season and they have been able to endure me at times. It's been beautiful."
Even with sophomore Bonnie Nge saddled with foul trouble -- whistled for 2 in the opening 6:40 -- the Chaparrals rolled off the final 16 points of the first half after Rock Valley pulled within 17-16 on a layup by freshman Keosha Campbell.
Chaparrals freshman Danielle Roden scored 4, Mary Beth Broda had 3 of her 15 and Geneva product Dana Frederick scored 5 during this spurt, including a 3-point basket from the left wing that beat the halftime buzzer.
"I felt that I needed to step up for the team," Frederick said after hitting three 3s and scoring a team-high 20 points. "We've been in foul trouble before, but this is our first time (all season) we've had someone foul out (Nge with 1:26 left)."
After shooting 26 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Rock Valley (16-11) outscored the Chaparrals 6-0 in the first 1:11 of the second half, capitalizing on 2 offensive charge calls on COD and trimming the Chapparals' lead to 33-22 on an 18-footer by freshman Simone Coburn, who finished with 15 points.
But COD responded as Nge made her first basket, Frederick nailed her second 3-pointer and Nge, the tournament MVP, hit a 3.
Freshman Erin Butler, who scored 27 in the 84-76 semifinal win against Joliet on Wednesday, had 15 for the Golden Eagles.