Hinsdale South can't dig out of hole
Hinsdale South twice dug huge holes this week at the Montini Christmas Tournament.
It cost the Hornets the championship Friday.
Hinsdale South's furious rally from down 15 in the third quarter fell short, St. Joseph taking the title in Lombard with a 60-55 win.
On Tuesday Hinsdale South (10-4) trailed Montini by 17 in the third quarter, then stormed back to lose 35-34.
"We just weren't focused, didn't come out the way we needed to," Hornets coach Jen Belmonte said. "We got started on the wrong foot and couldn't quite catch up. We needed a few more minutes, same as Montini."
Hinsdale South, still down 46-35 with 6:45 left, got a three-point play and a 3-pointer by Toni Romiti to ignite the comeback. The Hornets got as close as 3 twice in the final minute on scores by Romiti, who had 13 points. Belmonte couldn't be too down about her team, which proved much more competitive in its second appearance at Montini.
The Hornets went 3-2, nearly beating Montini with a solid 45-41 win over Marian Catholic on Thursday on their resume.
"I'm proud of the way they played and that we finished the way we did," Belmonte said. "After beating Marian last night we could have come back and done a little bit better tonight. I know it's the same for everybody, but it is tough playing five games in four days."
St. Joseph (13-3), which came back from 10 down to stun Montini on Thursday, was playing without standout senior point guard Arriel Anderson, said to be "off" the team Friday. Anderson did watch the game from the stands.
In her absence the second half of the Chargers' dynamic backcourt due, Briya Wilborn, scored 14 points, including 6 free throws in the final 34.2 seconds.
"We just had to be calm at the end, take our time and make sure we knock down our free throws," Wilborn said. "At the end that's when you need to stay calm and make sure your team is calm around you."
St. Joseph actually surged ahead in the second quarter with Wilborn on the bench with two fouls. A 9-1 run gave the Chargers a 23-12 lead, capped by a coast-to-coast layup from tournament MVP Donna Koerber. Koerber scored 11 Friday.
Hinsdale South was outscored 20-10 in the second quarter, hurt on the offensive glass. No coincidence senior center Uzo Okoro sat almost the entire period with two fouls.
Okoro, also limited by recurring back problems, finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Andrea McNally had 13 points.
"Uzo has a bad back. She can barely move out there," Belmonte said. "She has the back of a grandma, we always say. It hurts when she gets into foul trouble and has to sit."