Antioch trails all night but finds a way to get past Grant

His run-and-gun girls basketball team had just shot 1 of 19 from three-point range and had failed to score 40 points for just the fourth time this season, and yet Antioch coach Tim Borries smiled.

Somehow, his team had found a way to win on a night it trailed for nearly all 32 minutes.

And speaking of smiles, there was the one Andi Potkonjak was wearing after her clutch steal and layup with 22 seconds left gave Antioch its first lead against visiting Grant.

Potkonjak started slowly but finished strong and so did the Sequoits, who hung on for a 36-33 victory that kept them two losses back of first-place Wauconda in the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division.

"An old-fashion slugfest I guess is what you call it," said Borries, whose team has three remaining divisional games, including a rematch with Wauconda on Tuesday. "It builds character."

Antioch (11-10, 6-3) stretched its season-best winning streak to four games and climbed above .500 for first time. It was also the first time the Sequoits pulled out a low-scoring contest. They had cracked 70 points in three of their previous five games.

"We've never been in this situation before," said Potkonjak, who scored 9 of her game-best 13 points in the final quarter.

Grant (11-13, 5-4) was trying to win three in a row for the first time and looked good early, building a 16-4 lead after one quarter and taking a 23-16 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs, who were led by Donnie Taggart's 11 points and 12 rebounds, were up 29-24 after three quarters.

But the visitors couldn't generate points in the fourth, going 2 of 8 from the foul line (3 of 12 for the game) and 1 of 7 from the floor.

The Bulldogs also turned the ball over seven times in the fourth.

"We had a couple too many turnovers, which gave (Antioch) opportunities," Grant coach John Eiduke said. "They took advantage of them."

"I told the girls, 'If your shots are not falling, you got to rely on the defense,' " Borries said. "They kept at it."

Grant still led 33-30 with 39 seconds left after Morgan Liles hit the second of two free throws, but Antioch's Allie Anttila made a pair with 27.9 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Anttila, who was sick this week and didn't start, had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Antioch finally took its first lead when Potkonjak made her key steal and scored on a drive with 22 seconds to go.

Before that basket, the junior scoring machine was 4 of 18 from the floor. She sank 2 free throws with 9.9 seconds left to finish the scoring.

"I couldn't let my team down so I had to keep with it," Potkonjak said. "I was so stressed out, and then once I made that (go-ahead) basket, everything just went away and I felt normal again."

Lauren Tiffany pulled down 13 rebounds for Antioch. Potkonjak and Lindsey Gofron (6 points) each had 3 steals.

Heather Chapman grabbed 11 rebounds for Grant, which held an opponent to fewer than 40 points for the 13th time.

"We came out thinking that we were going to win (easily)," Potkonjak said. "We got a little ahead of ourselves."