Grayslake Central overtakes St. Viator in 2nd half to win sectional
After pulling off big upsets to win regional title and sectional semifinal games, No. 10-seeded St. Viator was hoping to work its magic again when the Lions faced top-seeded Grayslake Central for the Class 3A Antioch sectional championship Thursday night.
And while St. Viator (10-25) did put together a great effort leading 28-21 at halftime, the Rams were able to pull away in the second half for a 58-52 victory and their fourth sectional crown in school history.
With the win, Grayslake Central (27-6) advances to the Concordia University supersectional at 7 p.m. Monday against Glenbard South sectional champion Montini.
Led by 19 of Mia Bergstrom's game-high 36 points in the first half, the Lions took a 28-21 lead into halftime.
But the Rams really turned things around in the second half as they outscored St. Viator 18-6 in the third quarter to take a 39-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
A free throw by Katelyn Marcelain (9 points, 6 rebounds) gave the Rams their biggest lead at 54-39 with 2:52 to play.
The Lions put together a great late rally as a free throw by Kalin McCrea (7 points) capped a 13-3 run to cut the gap to 57-52 with 29.7 seconds remaining. But St. Viator's Maggie Ratzki missed on a drive and Central's foul-plagued Madison Hoffman (9 points, 6 rebounds) hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to account for the final score.
Junior Annie Wolff (17 points, 6 rebounds) had a big game for the senior-less Rams squad as did freshman teammate Peyton Hoffman (15 points). The Lions had 13 turnovers in the second half to 12 for Central. Mosey Drevline scored 5 points for the Rams as did St. Viator's Meghan Hayes.
“Our halftime talk really brought us back together and he (coach Steve Ikenn) kept us calm and focused,” said Wolff, whose team only hit 23 of 41 (56%) of their free throws. “We have played with each other since sixth grade so that alone has helped with our team chemistry.”
The Lions outrebounded the Rams 34-33 while St. Viator shot 19-for-51 from the field (37%) to 16-for-37 (43%) for Central.
“Their defense was taking us out of everything we were trying to do and we needed everybody to start taking their shots,” said Ikenn. “Bergstrom is a force offensively and our girls stayed calm and kept their composure.”
St. Viator coach Kyle Braheny was proud of the late-season run by his team.
“It was an absolutely great game to be a part of and I'm proud of our girls,” said Braheny. “They showed a lot of character, they fought to the end, and it was a great group.”