ACC sweeps series with Rosary

Delani Kosner has had a memorable final season for the Aurora Central Catholic girls basketball team.

A senior off-guard, Kosner became the Chargers' all-time leading scorer over the Martin Luther King holiday.

Thursday night at Rosary, Kosner had the two defining plays in the Chargers' Metro Suburban Conference Blue sweep of the Royals in Aurora.

Kosner hit a running one-hander in the paint for what proved to be the final points of a 29-27 victory for ACC.

The Kosner game-winner came with two minutes and 37 seconds to play after Zoe Ketterman drained 2 free throws to tie the came for the last time at 27-27 only seven seconds earlier.

"I just got the ball and had to go get it," Kosner said of her game-winning field goal. "We were just working to get our shots. We were motivated."

The Royals (12-14, 3-7) then immediately turned the ball over.

Aurora Central then would run almost two minutes off the clock.

"They have run two or three minutes off before," ACC coach Leveda Smith said. "They are patient. Four of them on the floor were seniors."

Rosary would have two more possessions, but Kosner intercepted yet another Rosary pass in the paint.

ACC would run again run off valuable more time as the Royals had four fouls to give in the final minute to get into the penalty.

"Part of that is understanding the situation," Rosary coach John Rutter said.

ACC subsequently missed the front end of the bonus but none of Rosary's two shots in the final seconds found the mark.

The fourth quarter was a frenetic affair as each team had monumental struggles with creating scoring opportunities for the opening three periods.

Vanessa Camp and Lizzie Albert each hit dramatic 3-pointers in the fourth quarter in leading the Chargers with 10 points apiece.

"She has a really quick shot," Smith said of Camp. "She will just catch and fire."

Madison Cibulskis' 9 points - all after halftime - paced the Royals.

But a central storyline in the game, especially after halftime, was how many more field-goal attempts ACC was able to hoist from the field.

The Chargers' had 17 attempts in the third quarter alone as Rosary repeatedly struggled with turnovers.

"We were turning it over far too many times," Rutter said. "Consequently, that makes our shot attempts that more important."

ACC (10-13, 6-4) led 12-10 at halftime as Ketterman had the only 3 points of the first quarter for Rosary.