A Fantastic Finish for OLW Boys Basketball

It was a great week and weekend for Our Lady of the Wayside's basketball teams during the Northwest Suburban Catholic Conference playoffs. The final games were played Sunday night at St. Viator High School. The OLW 8th Grade Gold team, which had tied for first place in their conference of 10 teams, beat St. Norbert in a truly exciting finish. There were three lead changes in the last minute when St. Norbert hit a three-point shot with 23 seconds left, putting them ahead by one point. OLW moved the ball around the court and then made a basket with nine seconds left to go up by one point, 34-33. That turned out to be the final score. During the playoffs, OLW started with a bye, and then beat St. Theresa, 45-34, followed by a win over St. Gilbert, 46-29. The OLW 8th Grade Gold team also won the championship game last year as seventh graders.

Additionally on Sunday night, the OLW 7th Grade Silver team won their championship game against St. Gilbert. The team was 1st in their conference for the season. During the conference playoffs, OLW first played a spirited St. Hubert team and won, 26-21. Next they played St. Theresa in an incredible game that saw OLW down five points with one minute to play in regulation. Some aggressive defense and clutch free throws sent the game into overtime when OLW won the game 24-22. In the title game against St. Gilbert, OLW jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game and never looked back! Great team defense, good shooting and an incredible effort by everyone on the team led to a 31-22 victory and the NWSCC Tournament Championship for 7th Silver!