Conant 41,Hoffman Estates 39

There was an urgent message for Conant on its scoreboard late in the third quarter Thursday night.

It was a 10-point deficit in its Class 4A girls basketball regional championship game to rival Hoffman Estates.

"Here's our season," said Conant senior guard Ariana Zades. "After halftime we said, 'Not on our court. We're seniors, they're juniors.'"

No. 4 seed Conant went on a 16-point run, survived a tying rally and pulled out a 41-39 victory at Perry Gymnasium for its eighth regional title and first since 1998.

"Ten years, geez," said a surprised Zades of the gap between regional titles. "It's definitely a great feeling. The seniors wanted this so bad and now we've got it."

Zades' 2 free throws in a bonus situation with 55.5 seconds left put the Cougars (23-6) ahead to stay at 39-37.

Now they play in Tuesday's 6 p.m. Lake Park sectional semifinal against the winner of tonight's Fenwick regional between the defending big-school state champion Friars or Wheaton North.

There was nothing easy about Conant's third victory of the season against No. 5 Hoffman (22-8), which has only one senior on its roster and was trying to end a 16-year regional title drought.

Juniors Megan Fischer (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Megan Evans (9 points, 7 rebounds) pushed Hoffman to a 29-19 lead with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

"When we went in at halftime coach (Dan Travers) talked to us and we all realized it could be our last game," said Conant junior Emma Loos, who came off the bench after missing most of the regional opener and Wednesday practice with a right leg injury. "None of us wanted it to be our last game."

After missing its first seven 3-point tries against Hoffman 2-3 and 3-2 zones, Lisa Parisi banked one in from the baseline. Then Zades (10 points) hit one and Conant turned on the full-court pressure.

"We did everything we could," Travers said. "We just battled. That's what we've done all year, battled, battled, battled."

Loos (11 points) hit a pair of 3s and made a top-of-the key bounce pass to Michelle Rawleigh for a layup and a 30-29 lead with 6:06 left.

"We weren't really getting open very well," Evans said of the Hawks' 5 turnovers in a 16-0 run that put Conant up 35-29 with 2:48 left. "We were leaving her (point guard Carol King) to hang out there."

But Hoffman responded as Fischer sandwiched 2 free throws and a right-corner 3 off King's feed around a Conant turnover to tie it at 37-37 with a minute left.

"That was real exciting," Evans said. "I was real happy because we've had a hard time finishing games this year."

Zades hit her tiebreaking free throws and Hoffman missed 2 shots and a 1-and-1. Rawleigh split 2 free throws with 15 seconds left but Megan Bernardoni's baseline drive got Hoffman within 40-39 with five seconds to play.

Zades hit the first of 2 free throws and Hoffman threw away a floor-length pass after a timeout with a second left.

"Our girls kept believing," Travers said.