Proviso West finishes Conant

A fateful four-minute stretch was too much for Conant to dig out of.

Proviso West hit the No. 8 seed Cougars with a 9-0 run in the second quarter and led the rest of the way, winning 57-43 on Wednesday at the Class 4A West Chicago regional.

No. 9 seed Proviso West (21-10) moves on to play No. 1 Geneva on Friday for the regional championship.

Conant (14-14) led 12-10 after a quarter, and it was 14-14 a minute into the second after an Emma Loos score. But an Ashley Segers basket off a Conant turnover touched off the critical run and Proviso West took a 30-21 lead into the break.

"We just couldn't get a stop when we needed to," Conant coach Dan Travers said, "but the girls sure did battle."

Segers, a junior just returning to form after ankle injuries, led three Panthers in double figures with 16 points. Britney Landers added 12 and Celeste Jones 10.

"When Segers steps up," Proviso West coach Kellee Robertson said, "everybody else works around her."

Conant pulled within 32-29 with 6:18 left in the third on a Lauren Jason turnaround jumper but couldn't draw closer. Not helping the cause, Proviso West was in the bonus midway through the third quarter and attempted 18 free throws in the second half.

Loos finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

"Emma was all over the floor for us," Travers said. "I'm proud of all of our seniors. They left it on the floor.

"And all our seniors have played tremendously. I'm so proud of them. They worked so hard to get where they are today."