CL South clinches share of FVC Valley crown
Maybe it was revenge.
Perhaps it was Senior Night, or maybe it was the fact a win would give Crystal Lake South a slice of the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division girls basketball championship.
Whatever the motivation, the Gators clicked on all cylinders in dumping Jacobs 54-39 in a first-place battle in Crystal Lake Tuesday.
The Gators, who avenged a gut-wrenching 49-47 setback to Jacobs in Algonquin on Jan. 23, clinched a tie for the conference championship with an 8-1 record. A win at Woodstock Friday night gives the Gators, 22-4 overall, the outright league title.
"This is a great feeling," said Gators coach Kyle McCaughn. "I thought we played all right at Jacobs. Give Jacobs credit. They played a great game. In that game, we gave them way too many second shot points. We emphasized that tonight and we did a good job of limiting them to second shot points."
The Gators, who held a 27-22 lead at halftime, blitzed the Golden Eagles during the decisive third quarter.
After a layup by Hailey Cnota that cut the Jacobs deficit to 27-24, South took control of the game with 9 straight points. Spearheaded by 4 Jacobs turnovers, the Gators converted all the Jacobs' miscues into layups during a 1 minute and 37 second span and took a 36-24 lead with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Michelle Gaede scored 3 layups and Jenny Hanrahan had a layup as the Gators opened up a 12-point lead.
Katie Burton led the Gators with 17 points.
"Our intensity was better this time we played them and we were more patient," said Burton. "We also played very well at the defensive end. This has been a fun season and it is awesome to win conference."
Senior Caitlin Mize added 10 points with 8 rebounds for the winners.
"It is a great feeling to win the conference on Senior Night," said Mize. "We played with so much more heart tonight than the last time we played them."
Cnota led Jacobs (18-9, 6-3) with 15 points while Maria Tamburrino scored 10.
"Give South credit," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens. "They deserved to win tonight. We got punched in the mouth tonight. Let's see how the kids respond."