Robinson, Zion-Benton shut down Hersey
Friday's Class 4A championship game at Zion-Benton was just not meant to be for the Hersey girls basketball team.
The No. 4-seeded Huskies kept the game close for just over a half on the No. 5-seeded Zee-Bees' home court.
But they could not contain Zion-Benton senior Juanita Robinson or the Zee-Bees' second-half momentum as the hosts rolled to a 57-32 victory over Hersey (23-8) to end the Huskies' season.
Zion-Benton (23-6) will face top-seeded Libertyville (29-0) at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Mundelein sectional semifinals in what will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams.
After playing to a 10-10 tie after one quarter, Hersey struggled in the second quarter as the Zee-Bees outscored them 20-10 to take a 30-20 lead into halftime.
DePaul-bound senior Megan Rogowski's driving basket to open the third quarter cut the lead to 30-22.
But that was as close as the Huskies got as Zion-Benton went on a huge 19-3 run with a buzzer-beater on a rebound by junior Octavia Crump giving the Zee-Bees their biggest lead at 49-25 entering the fourth quarter.
Rogowski scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the first half, but overall Hersey really struggled with its shooting from the field. The Huskies finished 10-for-43 overall from the floor (23 percent).
Meanwhile, the streak-shooting Robinson was locked in as she scored 15 of her game-high 23 points in the first half while hitting 11-of-19 shots from the field.
"Hersey is a great team; playing on our home floor and getting the regional here was huge for Zion," said Zion-Benton coach Tanya Johnson, whose team shot 60 percent from the field. "Helena and Samantha Rodriguez played a great defensive game, and I think they had a lot to do with Rogowski missing shots."
Robinson had some good scoring support from Crump and Samantha Rodriguez with 12 points each. Stefanie Mueller scored 6 points for Hersey, followed by Eileen Zydek and Maggie Hogen with 4 points apiece.
"It just wasn't our night across the board defensively and it was not indicative of the way we played most of the season," said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. "I'm just really proud of the kids, they had 23 wins, and they won our (MSL East) division."
After outscoring Hersey 39-15 in the second and third quarters combined, Zion-Benton and Robinson were able to cruise to victory in the final quarter.
"We just wanted to play our game and not play our opponent's game," said Robinson. "We did good, but it's not enough though. We've got sectionals next."
Fendley was still pleased with her squad's overall season despite the disappointing ending.
"To have only one returning starter and to have as much success as we did was a great season," said Fendley. "Zion-Benton played a really good game and I wish them nothing but the best."
Zion-Benton hopes to finally beat Libertyville after going 0-3 against the Wildcats so far this season.
"When Robinson is working on all cylinders she is hard to guard and she had a great offensive game tonight," said Johnson. "Libertyville is a great team and their undefeated. But I really just want to enjoy this right now."