Vernon Hills shoots down Rams
A cellphone held snug against her ear, Vernon Hills center Meri Bennett-Swanson skipped away from the happy chaos on St. Viator’s court to talk long distance with her dad and tell him about the wild finish.
More animated than Belushi or Farley at their wackiest, Bennett-Swanson gave a play-by-play account to her dad, who was in New York on business Thursday night.
She told him that she and her teammates trailed Grayslake Central 39-38 in the teams’ Class 3A sectional final. She jumped while explaining she rebounded a missed Grayslake Central free throw with 10 seconds left. The 6-foot-2 junior moved her feet as she told her dad how the Cougars quickly dribbled into the frontcourt. She shot a pretend jump shot as she explained a teammate’s missed shot, and she leapt high again as she announced that Julie Pecht rebounded the miss and scored at the buzzer to give Vernon Hills an improbable 40-39 win in Arlington Heights.
Shane Swanson’s apparent response was, “No way,” because his daughter answered quickly with “Way!”
“My heart’s still pounding,” Bennett-Swanson said. “That was amazing.”
You had to be there. You, too, Shane Swanson.
Pecht’s only basket of the game ended Grayslake Central’s season at 26-6 and gave Vernon Hills (25-5) its first sectional championship. It also earned the Cougars, who rallied from eight down in the fourth quarter, a berth in Monday’s 6 p.m. Elgin supersectional against Belvidere North, a 43-31 winner over Kaneland at Sycamore.
“It was incredible,” said Pecht, the Cougars’ only four-year varsity player, still wearing a smile that couldn’t get any bigger after being mobbed and buried by teammates after her heroics. “This is just surreal. I’ve been with so many players that had so many different skills. Just leading up to this moment, all those (past) games made it incredible, and it means that much more with it being Abby (Springer’s) and my senior year.”
It was Springer who fired up an off-balance 17-footer in the closing seconds. The ball caromed directly to Pecht, who made no mistake with her rare scoring opportunity.
“It wasn’t by design,” Cougars coach Paul Brettner said. “I was out of timeouts and, really, I couldn’t call anything off the missed free throw. We had something kind of set up, but with 10 seconds left it was maybe, maybe not. It was more, if they make (the free throw), we needed a 3.”
Pecht was the unlikeliest offensive hero on the court. Consider that she is the Cougars’ fifth option on offense when she’s on the court. Known for her tenacious defense, she rarely shoots and, in fact, had attempted only one shot before her buzzer beater.
“I love my role of being a defensive player,” Pecht said. “I love being back there and trying to work hard. Sometimes it’s not noticed, but it’s what our team notices the most.”
“She is absolutely our defensive savior,” Bennett-Swanson said of Pecht after Vernon Hills held Grayslake Central without a field over the final 5:57, after the Rams went up 38-30 on a transition layup by Skyler Jessop (game-high 16 points).
“She is the one that pumps us up when we’re down. She’ll say, ‘We got this. Lauren (Webb), those shots are going to fall. Syd (Smith), those shots are going to fall. Meri, keep taking it hard to the basket.’
“Maybe she’ll take a shot every once and a while,” Bennett-Swanson added with a laugh. “She’ll pop the little baseline corner shot once every three games.”
“She’s a great kid, great leader,” Brettner said.
Right place, right time for Pecht? Call it a savvy play by a veteran.
“Coach Brettner always tells us to go rebound, go to the basket and just be there and box out,” Pecht said. “It just worked out. Everybody else (on Grayslake Central) was occupied because they were guarding our best shooters.”
Sophomore forwards Smith and Webb led Vernon Hills with 10 points apiece, while Springer added 8. Smith and Springer each sank two 3s.
Grayslake Central, which was seeking its second straight sectional title, took a 34-27 lead into the final quarter after Jessop drove and scored to beat the buzzer.
Vernon Hills’ rally started when Brie Bahlmann (6 points, 4 offensive rebounds) put back a missed shot with 5:37 to go.
“The game wasn’t decided in the last few seconds,” Grayslake Central coach Steve Ikenn said. “The game was decided when we missed a couple of box-outs, and they got a couple of nice easy putbacks. Which gave them a little confidence.”
In the end, it was Pecht’s buzzer beater that was the difference.
“You got to give Vernon Hills credit,” Ikenn said. “They made the plays down the stretch. And it still came down to a wild shot at the end that caromed right to one of their players. To her credit, she put it in. If it caroms a foot the other direction, we’re celebrating.”