Rosary answers challenge, downs defending 1A champs
When Rosary's four-year varsity guard Lane Richmond saw what her coach was wearing Saturday night, she knew one thing.
Big game.
The giveaway? Dave Beebe's tie, the first time he has worn it this year.
Richmond then went out and played a big game, scoring 12 points in Rosary's 54-48 victory over defending Class 1A state champion Hinckley-Big in front of 1,200 fans in a postseason atmosphere at Waubonsee Community College.
"You only wear ties for important games," Richmond teased Beebe afterward.
It certainly felt like a big game, not just because of the large crowd but also the success of both programs and the unique matchup of a Class 1A school going up against a 3A one.
Hinckley-Big Rock has 263 total students in its school - Rosary has 960 girls in its. It put the Royals in an unusual position of not wanting to lose to such a smaller school while also knowing it was going up against a talented basketball team as good as any it sees on its 3A and 4A schedule.
"We didn't really feel pressure coming out, just play our game, do the best we can," Richmond said. "They are state champions so we have nothing to lose."
"I don't know if we were favored coming into this game," added Hinckley coach Greg Burks. "It was two very good basketball teams on the floor."
Hinckley Big-Rock's (16-2) only two losses are to Suburban Christian schools, the other by 1 point to Immaculate Conception. Saturday night's game originally was scheduled against Driscoll, but when that school closed Rosary (14-4) represented a natural replacement.
"I thought it was a great local draw," Burks said. "I think we can compete with anybody in the area, 3A, 4A. I wish we could play a dozen games like this a year and if we lost 10 of them we lost 10 of them."
The game was tight throughout, tied at 11 after one quarter with Rosary up 21-20 at halftime. The Royals began to stretch the lead in the third quarter, then found themselves in a similar position to Friday night's overtime win against St. Edward.
The Green Wave rallied from an 8-point deficit in the final minute to force overtime. Hinckley closed an 11-point deficit to 53-48 with 36 seconds left and got the ball back and a shot that nearly fell to make it a one-possession game.
"I'm not going to lie, I got a little nervous but I wasn't going to sit there and call a lot of timeouts," Beebe said, "because sometimes I think we call a lot of these timeouts and the kids get worked up and get the panic mode and I don't want that."
Jordan Rettig, in her first full day as Rosary's all-time leading scorer, led the Royals with 16 points. Richmond's 12 points included three 3-pointers, something that caught Hinckley by surprise. Katie Petrando scored 11.
"Their size inside was tough to match," Burks said. "Their point guard hit some shots we weren't prepared for. Tip your hat to them.
"They made a couple shots when it counted. We couldn't quite get in a good rhythm. Everything we did they counteracted and answered. I don't know if there's a team better than this in Class 1A."