Defense does it for Hohenadel, St. Viator

That was in-your-jaw, good defense.

St. Viator's girls basketball team held Wauconda to fewer than 30 points in the Class 3A Vernon Hills regional final Friday night.

"Wow," senior Susan Hohenadel said, "I didn't know that."

By winning 53-29, the Lions can boast an even more impressive number - 2010. That's what will be added to the girls basketball banner in St. Viator's gym after the Lions captured their first regional championship since 2002 and just their second ever.

"We see all the soccer championships, all the golf championships," coach Paul Bjerkness said. "We wanted to put a number up on the girls basketball (banner)."

The Lions reward is a berth in their own sectional. St. Viator (21-10) will play Johnsburg (23-9) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Arlington Heights.

"We're going home for the sectional on our floor and we're jacked about that," Hohenadel said. "That's like the best thing we could hope for, playing in front of our home crowd. ... Hopefully we'll get a student section."

Hohenadel led the way against Wauconda (21-7). The Rockhurst University recruit scored a game-high 17 points, hitting two of her three 3-pointers in the first half.

Meghan McGrath added 10 points, while Ronnie Mack hustled for 11 rebounds and scored 9 points.

"They're a good team," Wauconda coach Jaime Dennis said. "They have a solid (starting) five. They're all scoring threats, all can handle the ball, and all are fast. And then he subs and they don't lose anything. That's tough to play against."

St. Viator jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never relented. It didn't help Wauconda that point guard Tammy Ellis went to the bench with her second foul less than two minutes into the game.

After St. Viator ended the opening quarter up 17-6, Weber went with a small lineup primarily consisting of Ellis, Kate Martino, Melanie Prudhomme, Diana Enriquez and Cara Nance, as well as Janelle DaCosta.

"We had to go fast, so I put my fastest five girls out there," Dennis said. "They did as good as can be expected. Cara and Janelle haven't played a lot of minutes this year, and I thought they did one heck of a job."

Two free throws by Enriquez had Wauconda within 24-17 with 1:27 left before halftime, but St. Viator closed the half with eight straight points.

Lions junior Taylor Skala finished the half with a steal and length-of-court drive and basket. It was her fourth steal and Wauconda's 15th turnover.

Skala (5 points) finished with 7 steals.

"She does a really good job with ball pressure," Bjerkness said, "and she does a real good job sometimes just changing the course of the game."

Martino is that player for Wauconda. She closed out her four-year varsity career with a team-high 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

The Lions impressed her.

"They got to go at least six or seven girls deep," said Martino, who celebrated her 18th birthday. "They're fast, they move the ball up the court, and they push it like none other."

For St. Viator, the regional title was worth the wait.

"I never thought we'd do this," said Hohenadel, a two-time All-East Suburban Catholic Conference pick. "It's been a long time coming. I've played with these girls since sixth grade, and this is what we've always wanted to do. This has been our goal forever."