Whitney Young caps Public League sweep
NORMAL -- Whitney Young won its first state championship in girls basketball Saturday night, beating Bolingbrook 54-45 for the IHSA Class 4A state title at Illinois State University's Redbird Arena.
The sixth-ranked Dolphins had finished third in 2005 and 2006 and were playing in the title game for the first time. They finished the season 30-3.
Coupled with Marshall's Class 3A championship earlier in the day, it marked the first time two Chicago Public League schools have won state championships in the same season.
Buffalo Grove claimed the third-place trophy, downing Marist 66-50 in the final game of coach Tom Dineen's 29-year career at Buffalo Grove.
"We knew in the city that us and Marshall were the two best teams and we knew we both had a good chance to win state championships," said Young coach Corry Irvin.
For Bolingbrook, which won the 2006 championship, it was the second straight year of a runner-up finish. The Raiders lost to Fenwick in last year's title game. They finished this season 28-4.
Junior Ashlee Anderson led Young with 14 points. Junior Porsha Harris had 11 points and 7 rebounds, and senior point guard D'Frantz Smart had 9 points, all in the first half.
Harris came alive in the second half, just as she did in Friday's semifinal win over Buffalo Grove.
"In the first half I picked up some stupid fouls," Harris said. "But when it's crunch time I bring my A game."
The game was tied 20-20 at halftime and Young led 32-30 after the third quarter. But then the Dolphins went on an 8-1 run to start the fourth quarter, a run that led them to the win.
Anderson started the run with a basket and a free throw just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 35-31. After a Bolingbrook free throw, the Dolphins scored the next 5 points and opened up a 40-31 lead when Kiara Conner scored off an offensive rebound with 4:42 to play. Conner had 11 rebounds in the game as Young out-rebounded Bolingbrook 29-19. Young also made 19 of its 37 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
"Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding," said Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith. "They got 2-3-4 chances and we got one. In the second half we missed shots and we didn't rebound."
Bolingbrook did close the gap to 47-42 after two free throws by freshman Ariel Massengale with 1:43 to play but Smart was able to control the basketball and Young's Chanise Jenkins sealed the win by scoring her team's final seven points, five of them from the free-throw line.
"It starts with D'Frantz," said Irvin. "She's our senior point guard. When (Bolingbrook) beat us down here (in the 2006 semifinals) we let them take it from us. We weren't going to let that happen tonight. D'Frantz wasn't going to let that happen tonight."
Massengale had 22 points to lead Bolingbrook, which shot just 13 of 38 from the field.
"She's a special player," said Smith of Massengale. "Hopefully she can bring us back down here for three straight titles."