St. Viator outlasts Vernon Hills in overtime
The St. Viator girls basketball team has played two overtime games this season.
The first came back in mid-December when it fell to Vernon Hills in double-overtime.
On Friday evening, when it counted most at the Class Antioch regional final, the Lions were involved in another extra session game against - you guessed it - second-seeded Vernon Hills.
And when the dust settled and the final horn sounded, St. Viator found itself holding its fifth consecutive regional title after coming away with a 50-43 win.
"I wish we could have knocked down a few more free throws but we played good basketball in the overtime," said Lions coach Jason Raymond, whose seventh-seeded team moves to 13-16 overall and will play Resurrection in the Crystal Lake South sectional semifinals Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Sophomore guard Joy Bergstrom led the charge in the overtime, scoring 4 of her 13 points.
"The big difference between this game and the first time we played them was our composure," said Bergstrom, who sits at 986 points for her short career thus far.
"As the season went on, our composure grew and that's what helped us tonight. We were a little rattled in the beginning."
Tied 38-38 at the end of regulation, the Lions opened the OT with a 10-2 run to create separation at 48-40 with just under two minutes left. Junior forward Aubrey Horbach (10 points) had 4 points as well during the OT.
Vernon Hills junior guard Daniella Jarrell popped in a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 48-43 with 10 ticks left. From there, junior guard Emma Morrisey converted 2-of-2 free throws for the final margin of victory. She finished with a game-high 16 points.
"This is Emma's fifth game back (from injury). She really solidifies the lineup for us," said Raymond.
With the score 38-36 and eight seconds left in the fourth, junior guard Emmy Woodrow's layup tied the game at 38 and eventually forced the overtime. Horbach's trey just missed at the buzzer for the Lions.
After a Horbach bucket, the Lions had opened the fourth with a 7-2 spree and 32-25 advantage with six minutes left in the frame.
"They (St. Viator) had some nice runs in the third quarter," said Vernon Hills coach Paul Brettner, whose team finished 19-11. "And they made plays in overtime."
Vernon Hills wasn't going anywhere.
Freshman forward Grace Koepke poured in 8 of her team-high 13 points in the fourth to keep the Cougars within striking distance.
"They (Vernon Hills) did a great job of getting her (Koepke) the ball. She was a handful for us," noted Raymond. "But we talked about containing and we did a good job of that."
Both teams came out a little nervous as the score was 12-8 in favor of St. Viator after the first frame.
Bergstrom popped in 5 points in the first.
A defensive-minded second quarter saw the Lions outscore the Cougars 5-3 in the frame, with a lone trey by senior guard Olivia Sweeney. Sophomore guard Nora Ahram (8 points) and Horbach had buckets, while guard forward Keely McCellan had a free throw as St. Viator trailed only 15-13 at intermission.