No. 18 seed York stuns Bartlett in title game
Who really cares about seeds come postseason time? Not the York girls basketball team, that's for sure.
Just two nights after stunning No. 2 seed Hoffman Estates, the 18th-seeded Dukes pulled off another upset Friday, downing No. 7 Bartlett 58-52 to win the Class 4A York regional championship.
York (13-17), which won its first regional since 2003, will take on No. 3 seed Lake Park at 8 p.m. Monday in the Addison Trail sectional. Bartlett finished the season 17-11.
"We had injuries and suspensions and it took us some time to jell," said York coach Frank Kaminsky. "I was concerned about the kids' mindset after such a big win (Wednesday), but as long as we got off to a good start I wasn't worried about what (Bartlett) did."
The Dukes did get off to a good start, running out to a 13-4 lead after one quarter. And even though Bartlett caught up and tied the game at 27-27 by halftime, the Dukes never once gave up the lead, nor did they allow Bartlett to ever forge another tie in the second half.
Senior Courtney Owens led York with 18 points and 14 rebounds and played the entire second half with three fouls after picking up her third with just 30 seconds left in the second quarter.
"That was one of my dumbest fouls ever," said a jubilant Owens while clutching the regional championship plaque. "I just had to play smart (in the second half)."
Owens said a regional title for an 18th seed is hard to fathom.
"You don't explain it," she said. "To be honest we're not an 18th seed. We had a lot of turmoil early in the season and that's why we're 18th. Bartlett and Hoffman Estates are great teams but we knew we had the talent to get it done and we did."
Kaminsky gave all the credit to Owens.
"She's a smart kid and she put this team on her shoulders," he said. "These last two games have been her best two games. She's a leader and she has a lot of energy and enthusiasm."
Mary Colon added 11 points and Amanda Heuser 10 for York, which made 7 more 3-pointers after hitting 9 from behind the arc in its win over Hoffman. Meryl Cripe added 9 points Friday, all on 3-pointers.
Sophomore Jacki Gulczynski led Bartlett with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Ashley Santos scored 10 points and senior Becca Cronin had 9.
"We made our share of mistakes," said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna, shoe team turned the ball over 19 times, many of them unforced. "York knocked down a lot of shots and we just never got in sync. This was good experience for a young team but we have six seniors who worked very hard and I'm disappointed for them."