Oswego rallies from 13 down to upend Rosary
The calendar still says November, but Rosary and Oswego fast-forwarded a couple months with March-like intensity Friday at the 22nd annual Geneva Thanksgiving tournament.
That should come as no surprise given how often these teams have met in the postseason recently, and how many key players are back from those teams.
Rosary looked like it was on its way to avenging last year's regional championship loss to the Panthers, racing to a 13-point first half lead and still holding a 3-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. Oswego battled back from both for a 53-49 win, moving the Panthers (5-0) into the championship game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Geneva.
Rosary (4-1) will play St. Charles North (2-1) at 1 p.m. in the third-place game.
"This is a rivalry game for us," Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said. "We've had battles with Rosary the last few years. It was a heck of a ballgame."
It's the fourth time they've played in last three years including twice in regionals. Rosary won the first two meetings and has dropped the past two.
"They are a tremendous team," Pohlmann said. "Their girls are as competitive as anybody. It's a fun little rivalry that is brewing over here."
Jordan Rettig scored 12 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, helping Rosary take a 31-23 halftime lead. It only took the Panthers three minutes in the third quarter to catch up at 33-33 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Alexis McClain.
Oswego took its biggest lead of the game at 39-33 when Samiya Wright drove for a basket, capping a 16-2 start to the second half by the Panthers.
"Coach always tell us if we get down to stay focused and stay positive and to focus on our defense and rebounding," Wright said.
Rosary hit just 2 of 9 shots in the third quarter and turned the ball over 7 times. For the game Rosary only made 15 of 51 shots.
"We just couldn't score," Royals coach Dave Beebe said. "Part of that is their defense but we missed wide-open layups and missed 2-foot shots. We have to work on that."
The Royals responded in the fourth quarter, going back on top on Katie Eckberg's bucket with 5:10 left - the first of four lead changes down the stretch.
Stephanie Haugen drained a 15-foot jumper for a 47-45 lead, and Lane Richmond's 2 free throws with 1:25 remaining extended Rosary's advantage to 49-46.
Rosary didn't score again. With the Royals trying to hold the ball with a 1-point lead, Brittany Collier's steal and layup put the Panthers ahead 50-49. Rosary missed from point-blank range to retake the lead, then down 51-49 had 2 free throws to potentially tie the game with 11 seconds left that didn't fall.
"I'm not disrespecting Oswego but we handed the game back to them," Beebe said. "How many opportunities did we have? We had chances to hit free throws, we had the ball and all we need to do was run the clock out and we threw the ball away. I told the kids to use it as a learning experience. It's a long season and we're not going to be defined by one loss today."
Sophomore Paige Harmon led Oswego with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Haugen joined Rettig in double figures for Rosary with 11. Rettig (11) and Eckberg (10) helped the Royals win the rebounding battle by 9.