Rosary rolls past ACC
Aurora Central Catholic actually led the nightcap of the Class 3A Yorkville girls basketball regional semifinal on Wednesday night.
But, unfortunately for the Chargers, Rosary made sure it lasted for all of 15 seconds.
The Royals were unmerciful against their neighborhood rival - albeit played out of town - during an extended stretch bridging the first and second quarters.
Rosary hit the Chargers with a 32-point unanswered blitz, forcing Aurora Central into 16 consecutive misses from the field in the process, and cruised into the regional final tonight against Oswego with a 62-25 victory.
The top-seeded Panthers (25-2) dispatched host Yorkville (10-17) in the opener 58-38; they not only beat second-seeded Rosary (21-6) earlier this season during Thanksgiving play but also ended the Royals' season last year in the regional final.
Aurora Central bowed out at 13-14. "That's a very, very good senior-driven team," said Aurora Central coach Mark Fitzgerald.
Sophomore guard Jacqueline Cardona drained a 3-pointer to give ACC a 3-2 lead, and Ashley Wilk scored moments later for the Chargers to bring the squad to within 7-5.
But the Royals proceeded to bury their conference rivals with an avalanche of inside strength, outside wizardry and defensive intensity.
Jordan Rettig was a force inside for Rosary; the senior collected 8 rebounds and 6 points in the first quarter alone.
With ACC concentrating on Rettig, the Royals' diversified their upperclassmen-dominated lineup. Katie Petrando roamed the baseline with impunity; Lane Richmond orchestrated the attack from the point, and forward Breann Maryanski mopped up on the inside.
Rosary scored the last 15 points of the first quarter and turned on the afterburners with 17 straight to start the second to take a commanding 39-5 lead.
"I think it was just our readiness to play," said Rettig, who had game-highs of 10 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in limited minutes. "We didn't want to take this game lightly."
Virtually all of the Rosary second-quarter continuation of the opening frame was provided by its reserves. Brenda Rocha personified the contributions from the bench, entering the game early in the second and scoring twice in transition while dishing for another easy deuce.
"We wanted to play four good quarters of offense and defense," Rocha said. "(The bench players) wanted to get into a groove."
"I was really happy with the way the bench played," Rosary coach Dave Beebe said. "We can't play (against Oswego) with five or six (players)."
Wilk finally ended the ACC drought with two minutes to play before the break, which ended with Rosary holding an insurmountable 41-9 lead.
Thirteen players in all scored for Rosary; Maryanski and Petrando finished with 9 points apiece, while fifth starter Stephanie Haugen had 8.
Blythe Nelson had all 8 points in the fourth quarter to pace Aurora Central.
"This is the best we've done in 12 years," Fitzgerald said of he Chargers' win total. "We're making progress."