Girls basketball: South Elgin rallies in second half, tips Larkin to clinch share of UEC title
Trailing Larkin 20-11 at halftime, South Elgin’s girls basketball team relied on some recent history to fight back Wednesday night.
Outscoring the Royals 18-5 in the third quarter, the Storm (16-13, 10-1) carried a 29-25 lead into the fourth quarter, stretched it to as many as 7 at 32-25, then withstood a late rally to pull out a 34-32 Upstate Eight West victory in South Elgin.
“We’ve actually had a couple games like this recently,” said Storm coach Emily Driessen. “We were down by a similar amount against Schaumburg and came back and won in overtime. We’ve been in that position so relying on our experience and trying to build off that.”
With the win, the Storm clinched a share of the conference title and earned a measure of revenge from a 42-37 loss to the Royals (18-10, 9-2) on Dec. 18.
South Elgin will wrap up sole possession of the UEC West title with a homecourt victory over Bartlett Friday night.
“They can enjoy this tonight, but tomorrow we have to get back after it because we have a big one on Friday,” said Driessen.
South Elgin used an 11-3 run during the first 6 minutes of the second half to pull within 23-22, as Taleah Banner and Liv Miller combined for 9 points.
After a basket by senior Mia Carter (12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals) put Larkin up 25-22, the Storm closed out the quarter with a 7-0 surge that included back-to-back layups from senior ZeZe Smith (7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) and Anevay Hernandez’ 3-pointer to make it 29-25.
The fourth quarter opened with Liv Miller’s putback and Banner’s free throw, as the Storm built a 32-25 lead with 4:26 remaining.
Larkin scored the next 7 points, tying it at 32-32 on MacKenzie Wemken’s 3-pointer with 1:08 left.
Smith split a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left to put South Elgin up 33-32, and following a few missed opportunities by the Royals, Molly Stahl’s free throw with 2.6 seconds remaining sealed the decision.
“It was just about a work ethic and being able to push through,” said Miller, who finished with 9 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 steals. “It’s a huge win.”
While defending Carter most of the game, Banner contributed 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals.
“I’m proud of my girls because we’ve faced a lot of adversity this season with injuries and stuff like that,” said Driessen. “They’ve stayed together.”
MacKenzie Leaver, Yesi Escobar, and Wemken added 5 points each for the Royals, who need help from Bartlett to gain a share of the conference title for the first time since 1979.
“I did a poor job,” said Larkin coach Deryn Carter. “We stopped trapping for a little bit in the third quarter and it kind of let them off the hook. I didn’t want to give them the open looks they got in the second quarter, but then they got in their comfort zone in the third quarter.
“I let the girls down. This is going to be a tough one for me to swallow. I pride myself in trying to put the girls in the right spots. Tonight, I didn’t feel like I did it.
“All is not lost by any stretch of the imagination. It’s just a disappointing game.”