Wheaton Academy, St. Francis win at Wheaton Shootout
It might have been Alexa Sharkey's most difficult game of the young season.
A fantastic finish made it all a footnote.
Sharkey's score with three seconds left rallied Wheaton Academy to a 39-38 win over Wheaton Warrenville South in the first game of the Wheaton Shootout at St. Francis.
Fiona McMahon's late basket lifted St. Francis to a 40-38 win over Wheaton North in the second game.
A three-point play by WW South's Katie Ottolin with eight seconds left in the first game pushed the Tigers ahead 38-37. Sharkey - whose 8-point total was only the second time she's been held below double digits all season - took a pass on the left side of the floor.
The Wheaton Academy senior drove into the lane and banked in a contested runner over a pair of WW South defenders, then was mobbed by teammates as time expired.
"It all went by pretty quick," Sharkey said, replaying the last few seconds. "It was a team effort to pull through the way we did. Really nice."
WW South coach Rob Kroehnke was less frustrated with the last few seconds as he was blowing a 9-point fourth-quarter lead.
"Shouldn't have ever come down to that last play," Kroehnke said. "You have a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter, you gotta finish. But the kids worked their tail off. It was a great game."
WW South's physical matchup zone grounded fast-paced Wheaton Academy for much of the night. Wheaton Academy jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, then was held scoreless for eight minutes during an 11-0 WW South run.
WW South led 33-24 with 7:25 left after a Destiny Neal free throw, but Wheaton Academy came back to tie it at 35-35 with 1:24 left on 2 Kristine Egebrecht free throws. Sydney Sharkey scored 14 points for the Warriors (8-1) - including four zone-busting 3-pointers.
"It was a great win," Warriors coach Beth Mitchell said. "We just kind of kept chipping away and chipping away, taking one possession at a time. I think the way we came back says a lot about our ballclub."
Annie Shain scored 11 points for WW South (6-3).
In the second game Wheaton North's Paige Fowler tied it 38-38 with 48 seconds left, scoring on an inbounds lob. McMahon, who scored 16 points after a personal-high 28 the night before, broke the tie with a basket from in close with 20 seconds remaining.
"After all the tough games we've had," McMahon said, "we deserved this win."
Wheaton North had one last chance with two seconds left. Junior guard Fantasia Vine - who had not played up to that point with a dislocated thumb - missed a tying jumper as time expired. Vine was cleared to play Saturday, but Falcons coach Dave Eaton planned to hold her out a second game.
"I put her in a hard spot," Eaton said, "coming off the bench cold and asking her to hit a game-tying shot. She was technically available, but I thought with us not playing again until Thursday, this kid's future is bright. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize that."
Wheaton North (3-5) led 35-29 with 4:01 left after a Fowler 3-pointer but couldn't hold the lead. Fowler had 13 points and A.K. Feltes 9 points and 15 rebounds.
"That's sort of been the story of our season so far," Eaton said. "We get a lead and defensively don't hold it. We've prided ourselves on defense the last few years. Right now we're not backing that up."
St. Francis (4-7), which lost a tough conference game to No. 11 Immaculate Conception on Friday, took a 38-36 lead on a Megan Bruggeman 3-pointer with 1:02 left.
"A much-needed win," Spartans coach Jeff Gerdeman said. "Wheaton North is physical, tough and they get after it. I'm proud of our girls. They really fought back."