Big finish for Kennelly, Maine West
Maine West’s girls basketball team turned in a big finish to its regular season on Friday night in Northbrook.
Down by 9 points to Glenbrook North with 2:42 left, the Warriors erased the deficit with three consecutive 3-pointers, two by senior Stephanie O’Neill (6 points) and one by junior Megan John (7 points) to tie the game at 50-50.
Warriors coach Derril Kipp, who used all five of his timeouts in the final two minutes, then watched senior Kayla Kennelly cap the big rally.
The 5-foot-10 forward hit a turn-around jumper in the middle of the free-throw lane with 4.4 seconds to lift the Warriors to a 52-50 win in the Central Suburban North finale.
Kennelly led the Warriors with a career-high 19 points and 5 rebounds.
Senior Toni Dumitriu made a steal in the final second to seal the verdict.
West will take a 12-19 record into the postseason and finished second in the conference at 8-2.
In Kipp’s 30 seasons, the Warriors have seven runner-up finishes and 23 league titles.
Kennelly led the Warriors with a career-high 19 points and 5 rebounds.
West trailed 26-18 at half but freshman Brittany Collins (7 points, 7 rebounds) got the Warriors back into the game by scoring the first 5 points of the third quarter.
Junior guard Amanda Hoye also chipped in 6 points for West.