Richmond's jumper caps Rosary comeback
It might not have been like Rosary coach Dave Beebe drew it up, but he'll take it.
His point guard Lane Richmond had not scored all game - she had only attempted 2 shots - until she swished an 18-foot jumper with 12 seconds left against Glenbard East Thursday night at the Oswego Holiday Classic.
Richmond followed by forcing a turnover and hitting a free throw, the final point in the Royals' come-from-behind 50-48 win that advances Rosary to the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday against undefeated Batavia.
Beebe didn't have Option A on the court, center Jordan Rettig, who fouled out with 55 seconds left with game-highs of 19 points and 9 rebounds.
The Royals trailed 47-45 at that point, then 48-45 on Nikki Hall's free throw, the only foul shot Glenbard East made in the final minute in 4 attempts.
Petrando's basket brought the Royals within 48-47. After another missed 1-and-1, Stephanie Haugen drove and drew two defenders, then passed to an open Richmond who drained the open look from the right baseline.
"We talked about taking that outside shot and not being afraid to shoot because they still collapsed down low on Katie (Petrando)," Beebe said. "Someone had to step up and take a shot."
That would be Richmond, who said the following thought went through her head.
"Stay calm and pray that it goes in," Richmond said.
Not much was going in early for Rosary (10-3), who shot 4-of-14 in the first quarter to trail 17-9.
Glenbard East (10-3) led by 14 points in the second quarter. Kelsey Taylor scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half.
"We came out slow but in the locker room at halftime we decided we were going to pick it up and play as hard as we possibly could and we weren't going to let down no matter what," Richmond said. "It paid off in the end."
Rosary outscored Glenbard East 16-7 in the third quarter to turn a 29-21 halftime deficit into a 37-36 lead.
"I thought they stepped up the pressure in the second half and had a lot of momentum shifts their way," Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller said. "It came down to execution at the end of a ballgame and they were able to execute."
With Petrando in foul trouble, the Royals got a lift from Sarah Butz (3 steals) and Breann Maryanski (6 rebounds) off their bench. Haugen scored 12 points and Petrando added 8 points and 7 rebounds.
"Those guys (the Rams) are 10-3 and ranked in the Top 20 of the Daily Herald, we knew they were going to be a tough challenge," Beebe said. "To come back and win like that, especially without Jordan, it shows other people on our team can step up."
Glenbard East didn't have much time to recover from Wednesday's triple-overtime win over Minooka. The Rams will play Oswego for third place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
"These girls have put a lot out there the last couple days, I'm proud of them," Miller said.
Rosary turns its focus to Batavia, who reached the championship game by winning in 2 overtimes Wednesday night over Oswego.
"Against Batavia, it's not going to be our size that's going to win, it's going to be what can we do against their speed," Beebe said. "They are very, very fast."