Timothy Christian outlasts Immaculate Conception in 2 OT
It seemed fair to Timothy Christian: lose in triple overtime in the 3-point shooting contest before Thursday’s Class 2A Timothy Christian regional final, then win the game in double overtime.
The Trojans celebrated a 59-55 victory on their home floor after finally defeating a persistent Immaculate Conception team in an all-Elmhurst final.
“Maybe it was an omen,” Timothy coach Ryan DeKoekkoek said of the 3-point shooting contest. “We’ll take this one. We’ll definitely take this one.”
The Knights (15-15) built a 7-point lead early in the fourth quarter when guard Allie DiVito got hot, tallying 8 of her 13 points in the period. Timothy (17-10) scored the next 9 points to take a 45-43 lead on a Tessa Bosman basket with 35 seconds left, but DiVito hit 2 free throws with 18.2 to play to send the game to the first overtime.
“It’s just a testament to the girls,” DeKoekkoek said. “They just stayed in it. They battled. There was adversity all over the place. To be down by 7 in the fourth quarter and to have those girls turn it on was just amazing to watch. As a coach it’s a helpless feeling because you can’t do anything on the court.”
“We just started to execute a lot better,” Timothy senior Kari LeGrand said. “We hit some really big shots and we were able to knock them down toward the end.”
IC again had the lead late in the first overtime, but again Bosman struck, tying the game on a basket down low off a Cassidy Block assist.
“We fought,” Knights coach Aubree Lawrence said. “You couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”
The second overtime alternated between a Trojans lead and a tie game, with the Knights never gaining the advantage. Block’s 2 free throws with 1:33 to play gave Timothy a 56-54 lead, and after a Kaleigh Dempsey free throw for IC, LeGrand hit 3 of 4 in the final 28.6 seconds, getting a steal with four seconds left to seal the win.
“It just happened,” an out-of-breath LeGrand said. “It was exciting.”
Bosman led Timothy Christian with 19 points, Block added 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Jordyn Platt had 13 points.
Junior Kellyanne Remy led Immaculate Conception with 20 points.
“She came out of nowhere tonight,” DeKoekkoek said. “She got hot in that second quarter and third quarter and we just couldn’t stop her.”
“She’s been pretty consistent like that lately,” Lawrence said. “She’s been quiet all year, though, and I feel like this is a pretty good way for her to end because we’ve got big shoes she needs to fill next year.”
Timothy Christian advances to the Westminster Christian semifinals on Tuesday against Walther Lutheran.