Maine West responds to challenge, wins at D-C

When you've won your first 15 games by an average margin of 41 points, a 1-point lead at halftime isn't exactly familiar territory.

But Maine West's girls basketball team hardly seemed fazed when it took the court for the second half on Thursday night in Carpentersville.

The Warriors scored the first 13 points and never looked back in a 59-42 semifinal triumph over Hononegah.

They will now have the chance to defend their 2016 Komaromy Classic championship at Dundee-Crown at 8 p.m. today when they face Trinity (9-3) of River Forest.

The Blazers topped last year's Komaromy runner-up Naperville Central 45-39 in Thursday's second semifinal.

"At halftime, coach 'D' (Kim de Marigny) got on us and made us realize that we need to go and take it to every team," said Warriors senior point guard Allison Pearson (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals). "Every game isn't going to be a 40-point margin, and we had to show what we were made of."

The Warriors (16-0) showed it with strong play at both ends of the floor, and getting a game-high 21 points from junior Rachel Kent (3 rebounds).

"They (Hononegah) are a really good team and we had to play our best," Kent said. "We came out real strong in the second half. We knew we had to come out with intensity, and we did."

Sophomore Angela Dugalic (8 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks) started the big rally with a 6-footer followed by Pearson's short jumper. Both baskets came on second shots on the same possession.

"We gave up two offensive rebounds and they scored two easy ones there," said Hononegah coach Randy Weibel, whose team's only other losses are to Peoria Richwoods and Naperville Central. "To beat a team like Maine West, you can't have letdowns like that. And we had a few coming out of the second half."

Kent's rebound bank shot and 3-pointer increased the lad to 34-24 before back-to- back layups by senior Catherine Johnson (8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) made it 38-24.

A 3-point play by junior Cali Schmitz (11 points) gave the Indians their first points of the half with 2:38 left in the third period.

"We talked about the things at halftime that we had to adjust," de Marigny said. "We wanted to really come out after them instead of just sitting back. We played a pretty good first quarter (the Warriors led 18-9 after the first 10 minutes) but just kind of became complacent in the final six minutes of the half.

"We decided we need to change that attitude and the girls really had a different mindset coming out of the locker room for the second half."

The Warriors outscored the Indians 22-11 in the third quarter which ended with junior Jocelyn Jacob hitting a baseline 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give West a 47-35 lead.

Alisa Fallon (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) connected for her third 3-pointer in the fourth period, lifting the Warriors' lead to 56-38.

Kent scored 10 of her points in the second half, including two of her three 3-pointers.

"Rachel (Kent) had a very nice game," de Marigny added. "She is a tremendous player. It's hard to get into a rhythm when you don't play all the time (lopsided wins) but we really appreciated Rachel's defensive effort as well as her offensive game. She really did a great job on No. 23 (Jordan King), who's a great player."

King, a 5-11 junior, finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds.

"I liked the way we fought in the first half," Weibel said. "Jordan got her third foul early and we made a run after that.

"Maine West is just awfully good. They've got shooters and post players for an inside and outside game, and that's tough to defend. So we just got beat by a good team and we'll learn from it. They've got a chance to make some noise come tournament time, and we hope they do."

Back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Marissa Kershner (11 points) got the Indians back to within 40-33 in the third period, but the Warriors answered with Pearson's 10-footer and a nice left-handed bank shot from Dugalic for a 44-33 cushion.

Hononegah (13-3) never got closer than 9 points.

"It's great to have a game like this." Pearson said. "We'd rather be playing these kinds of games. It feels great that we are living up to the (Derril) Kipp legacy. We are doing this for him."

Kipp is the late Maine West hall of fame coach who guided the Warriors to five championships at the D-C tourney and to a state title in 1988 with a 35-0 team.

"This is great tournament," de Marigny added. "They do a great job here. There's great teams, so we are very fortunate to be back in the championship again. We want to continue to make Derril and Maine West proud. Hopefully, we'll take away a win (today in title game). We just want to do our best."