Skala, Viator swipe a victory at Regina

With just under seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter on Monday night in Wilmette, St. Viator's Taylor Skala dislocated her pinkie.

But the junior guard hardly had trouble locating the ball in the final 12 seconds against host Regina.

Skala came up with 2 steals in a span of six seconds to help the Lions hang on for a 40-39 victory over the Panthers in the nonconference girls basketball game.

"Those were two huge steals by Taylor at the end," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness, who watched his team improve to 13-4 over the 4-13 Panthers. "She stayed with it mentally and that was outstanding. That just typified our whole team. These girls play non-stop for 32 minutes and that's great."

Senior Meghan Malone made a great drive to the basket for a bank shot that gave Viator the 40-39 lead with 3:20 left in the game.

Neither team scored again as senior Mary Calov came down with 2 big rebounds to help limit the Panthers to one shot on its two possessions following Malone's game-winner.

Calov finished with a team-high 7 rebounds while seniors Susan Hohenadel and Ronnie Mack each had 6.

Hohenadel, an all-area guard last winter making her first appearance of the season after recovering from an ankle injury, had a pair of key 3-point plays and finished with 8 points. Malone and Mack also scored 8 while senior Megan McGrath led Viator with 11 points, 3 steals and 2 rebounds.

"We played good defense at the end," said Malone, who also had 2 rebounds. "We had to pick up our pressure."

Calov was one of a few Lions who won a regional volleyball title two months ago in the Regina gymnasium.

"This (basketball) was completely different," Calov said. " But both games were fun."

Calov has fun rebounding.

"We needed the ball," Calov said of her 2 boards in the final minutes. "And I love being aggressive."

Hohenadel was also aggressive coming back from her ankle injury as she drove to the basket with authority on more than one occasion.

"She knows how to score," Bjerkness said of the Rockhurst University-bound Hohenadel. "Hopefully, now we'll have our entire team and won't lose anyone else the rest of the way."

Regina rallied from a 25-19 halftime deficit and led three times at 26-25, 32-31 and 39-38.

"I think we're getting better," said Regina coach Jim Russo. "We took our lumps a little at the Dundee-Crown tournament. We played a quality team (St. Viator). I thought we hit some big shots when we needed them and played good defense."

Senior Anne Wallenberg led the hosts with 14 points.

"We respect St. Viator," Russo said. "They run a real nice offense. We had a chance to fold, but we didn't, so I'm real pleased. Maybe a game like this will help us win a close one in the regional.

"If the cards fall right, we could possibly see St. Viator at its sectional (both teams are Class 3A)."

The Lions will play at Hersey on Wednesday in the opening round of the Season's End tourney.

"I thought Regina played a great game," said Bjerkness, who also received 3 points and 3 rebounds from Bridget Urbanus. "We had a lot of balance. It's always a team effort and that's the beautiful thing about this group."