Cary-Grove prevails over Warren in OT
Warren senior Kim O'Leary began Tuesday night by participating in the IHSA's 3-point shooting contest. She scored 7 points and was one of four shooters to advance.
Of course, her biggest shot wouldn't come until later, deep into the fourth quarter of an IHSA regional semifinal against Cary-Grove. O'Leary's 3-pointer with less than 3 seconds remaining tied the score at 48-48 and forced overtime.
In the extra session, Cary-Grove scored the first 5 points and held on for a 61-57 victory. The Trojans, the No. 6 seed, will play No. 3 Mundelein for the regional title at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Warren.
Going into the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Trojans were in control. They had limited No. 11 Warren to 3 points in the third quarter and led 38-28.
"We came out with a lot of energy and enthusiasm," Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert said.
But the Blue Devils elevated their defense and made a furious comeback. Cary-Grove ended up with 21 turnovers.
Warren (12-17) took the lead 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Joree Green (17 points) with 59 seconds left. Cary-Grove senior Tori Sandstrom, before fouling out, answered with a pair of free throws. Cary-Grove (22-6) increased its advantage to 48-45, setting the stage for O'Leary.
O'Leary, who had played less than two minutes, calmly buried an open 3-pointer to tie the score.
"I didn't have much time to think after the shot because my teammates were jumping on me," said O'Leary, who made a second key 3-pointer in overtime.
Sandstrom said it was hard not to be out on the court during overtime.
"When I jumped up I almost fell down I was so excited," she said.
Sandstrom was certainly excited by the performances of sophomore Meg Straumann, sophomore Claire Jakubicek and junior Liz Bart.
Straumann finished with a team-high 17 points and contributed 5 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds. Her jumper right before the halftime buzzer gave Cary-Grove a 27-25 lead.
"Meg took a huge step up," Saffert said. "She played the game of her life."
Jakubicek had 9 points and 10 rebounds. Bart hit a trio of 3-pointers, one of which came in overtime, and finished with 13 points.
Cary-Grove was 16 of 21 from the free-throw line compared to 10 of 20 for Warren.
Warren pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, but the Blue Devils too often settled for outside shots. They were 5 of 20 from behind the arc.
"We had a size advantage, and at times I don't think we followed the game plan," Warren coach John Stanczykiewicz said.
This season, Warren endured its share of growing pains playing one of the state's toughest schedules. Those struggles should pay off next season and beyond.
"I thought we left some wins on the floor, but we've come a long way from our first game to tonight," Stanczykiewicz said. "We had a lot of younger players play big minutes for us. The future looks bright."