Girls basketball: Maine South cruises to fifth straight regional crown
Friday evening's Class 4A regional final at Leyden's West Campus in Northlake couldn't have featured two more different programs vying for the title.
On one side you had second-seeded Maine South seeking its fifth consecutive square-sized plaque and 24th overall in its illustrious history.
On the other end you had No. 7 seed Highland Park. The Central Suburban North titlists were seeking only its second regional crown and first since 1990.
For the Hawks, who fell a game out of a fifth straight Central Suburban South title this winter to Glenbrook South, it still had made their way through a nonconference slate which included Benet, Grayslake Central, Hersey, Huntley, Libertyville, Batavia and Prospect which had them ready for the postseason according to one of their three senior starters in forward Ally Pape.
"It's like the communication that we have before the game in being able to hype each other up and the advantage of knowing their disadvantages (plus) being super serious and focused in practice while encouraging each other during the game is the most important part," Pape said.
It was that combination of schedule, experience, and focus that had Pape and her teammates ready from the opening tip. The Hawks used a pair of first-half runs to settle any doubts rolling to a 59-30 win for regional crown No. 24.
The Hawks earned a berth to Tuesday's second Glenbrook North sectional semifinal vs. No. 3 Glenbrook South, a 56-50 winner over New Trier in Thursday's Niles West regional final. The two squads who split their two Central Suburban South regular season contests will enter the rubber match Tuesday with identical 24-9 records.
After an opening hoop by Highland Park junior forward Reese Crosby, Pape, a West Point recruit, took over by scoring 11 straight points that helped build a 13-4 lead after one.
"I just went for it," said Pape, who led all scorers with 15 points. "That's what I've been practicing for and I finally used that training."
After the Giants worked their way to within 18-9 on a Crosby three with 4:40 left in the first half, Pape's senior teammate Katie Barker (14 points) took control with three of her four triples in the quarter. That fueled a 12-4 run over the final 4:11 of the half that had South safely ahead 30-13 at the break.
Another one of the keys to victory for the Hawks was a strong effort on the defensive end of the court. They held Highland Park (20-9) to just 29% shooting from the floor and outrebounded them 29-17 in addition to forcing 21 turnovers.
"Of course we have high expectations," Maine South coach Jeff Hamman said. "But we had to take care of business tonight. They know we had to come out here and set the tone early and I'm proud of them for doing that."
Senior forward Maddie Reitmayer had 10 points for Highland Park.