Oswego denies Rosary's bid for regional title

The referees called nary a foul in the opening quarter of the championship game of the Class 3A Yorkville girls basketball regional.

It suited Oswego just fine.

"I think it's to every player's advantage," Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said of the officials' let-them-play mindset.

Unfortunately for Rosary, though, the top-seeded Panthers needed few additional favors in the teams' postseason rematch of a year ago.

Winthrop University-bound guard Simaya Wright and sophomore forward Paige Harmon combined for 37 points as Oswego never trailed in posting a decisive 57-34 triumph in Yorkville Thursday night.

Oswego (26-2), which has lost only to undefeated Geneva and twice-beaten Waubonsie Valley, advances to the DeKalb sectional.

Second-seeded Rosary saw its campaign close at 21-7.

Wright, who scored a game-high 22 points, and Harmon, who displayed strength on the inside with finesse on the perimeter, scored all of the Panthers' 16 first-quarter points.

The Panthers forced 7 Rosary turnovers in the quarter, and senior forward Katie Petrando was the lone player to score for the Royals in the first quarter as Oswego led 16-6 after one period.

"Our intensity right from the get-go was terrific," Pohlmann said. "We played defense for four quarters and didn't let up."

"We knew coming out of the gate that we had to come out on them fast," Wright said.

Breann Maryanski and Jordan Rettig scored single field goals in the second quarter, and Petrando added another pair from the field to keep Rosary within the realm of a comeback.

Petrando had 10 of her team-high 15 points in the opening half, which ended with Oswego sporting a 28-14 lead.

"Anything to get the team going," Petrando said. "My shots were falling (in the first half), fortunately."

Rosary did, however, make its long-awaited run to start the third quarter.

Rettig opened the half with an old-fashioned 3-point play, and the senior post followed another Maryanski 3-point play with a floater off the window to draw the Royals within 31-23 three-plus minutes into the quarter.

But Rosary was cited for back-to-back traveling violations on its two ensuring possessions, and Harmon later had consecutive field goals to restore the Panthers' 14-point halftime lead.

"That didn't help our cause," Rosary coach Dave Beebe said of the Royals' consecutive turnovers. "They're phenomenal team. We just couldn't get any rhythm on offense because they were pressuring the ball (so well)."

With Rosary forced to press the action defensively, Oswego turned the game into a rout in the last quarter; Wright made more free throws than Rosary did as a team, while Harmon finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Oswego point guard Brittany Collier added 13 points.

Rettig, Petrando, Stephanie Haugen, Katie Eckberg, Lane Richmond and Carey DeKing had their Rosary basketball careers end with the loss.

"They don't realize it right now, but they left their mark on the program," Beebe said.

Rettig and Maryanski each scored 8 points for Rosary.