Girls basketball: Wauconda’s record-setting season continues with regional win over Streamwood

Ashley Maxwell: Good to the last … quarter.

The Wauconda senior forward turned in a caffeinated fourth-quarter performance in Thursday night’s Class 3A Wauconda girls basketball regional final, scoring 8 of her 10 points and grabbing 6 of her 10 rebounds in the second-seeded Bulldogs’ 47-34 defeat of seventh-seeded Streamwood.

“I just go for them, do my best to read (missed shots),” the 5-foot-8 Maxwell said of her rebounding acumen.

She finished with 6 boards off the offensive glass, including 3 in a fourth-quarter possession. Junior teammate Kelsey Funkhouser (6 rebounds) extended the same possession with an offensive rebound.

Wauconda (26-2) didn’t score on it, but that didn’t concern Bulldogs coach Jaime Dennis.

“That possession took a lot of time off the clock,” said Dennis, whose squad led 27-19 at halftime, 34-29 after three quarters and 42-34 with 3:19 left in the fourth quarter.

Streamwood coach Sam Kruel admitted Wauconda’s number of second-chance points — Bulldogs junior Alessandra Rodriguez had an 11-point, 10-rebound night, including a pair of putback buckets — hurt his visiting Sabres (20-11).

“We were outsized, and we needed to finish better around the rim than we did,” said Kruel, who received a splendid 21-point effort from junior guard Ayumi Ishikawa.

The triumph — Wauconda’s second straight regional title and third since 2011 — advanced the Bulldogs to a Grayslake Central sectional semifinal Tuesday night (7:30 p.m.) against third-seeded Saint Viator, which edged sixth-seeded Lake Forest 30-29 for the Antioch regional championship Thursday night.

Wauconda senior point guard Alexia Manola had a pep in her step from start to finish Thursday night, tallying 9 points to go with 8 assists. Two of her fourth-frame helpers landed in the hands of Maxwell in the first 2:50.

The second of Maxwell’s two easy bank shots opened up a 38-29 advantage.

But Manola’s most entertaining assist came with time running out in the second quarter. Manola shoved a shot-put-like pass, while falling near the baseline, to freshman Sophie Giles (5 points), whose ensuing basket beat the buzzer by 3 seconds.

Streamwood produced a 10-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to take a 17-13 lead. Dennis then called a timeout at the 5:50 mark.

“We had to get our act together,” she said. “We had to stop panicking.”

Her Bulldogs did that and then some, outscoring the Sabres 14-2 from the break in action until intermission.

“Execution — that helped, too,” the coach added.

Streamwood, a Class 4A team last winter, battled and hung around behind Ishikawa’s 10 points (2 treys, 2 field goals) in the third quarter. The 5-foot-4 gamer finished with 4 three-pointers.

“She’s super special,” Kruel said. “We’re lucky to have her.”

Sabres junior guard Karen Mendez scored all 9 of her points from three-point hardwood.

In the end, Wauconda’s height and tenacity in the paint, combined with its offensive balance, proved too formidable. Seven of Dennis’ hoopsters scored at least 3 points as the Bulldogs extended their program record for wins in a season (last year’s edition had amassed a then-record 24 victories).