Jacobs 53, DeKalb 34
Jacobs couldn't get its offense untracked in the first half, but the Golden Eagles' defense still staked them to a 9-point halftime lead. Then the offense joined the party as the Eagles defeated DeKalb 53-34 behind Markie Rahn's 17 points in a semifinal of the Jefferson Class 4A regional in Rockford.
Jacobs plays for the regional title at 7:30 Thursday.
The Eagles led 21-12 at halftime, but exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Barbs 18-9 to take control. Rahn had 7 points in the period, and Hailey Cnota Sam Vojtsek scored 4 each. After De Kalb scored the first basket of the second half, Jacobs responded with a 12-5 run.
"That's the best I've seen our team as a team play," said Rahn. "It was just nonstop making that extra pass, and we're looking for that other girl instead of taking the shot. That's the best we've ever played as a team."
Cnota added 11 points and Vojtsek finished with 8 for the Golden Eagles. Rahn and Maria Tamburrino both grabbed 6 rebounds as the Eagles dominated the backboards.
The first half was a defensive struggle in which Jacobs (16-11) held the Barbs to 29 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers.
"I think the girls came out a little nervous, with a new environment and stuff like that," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens. "But they had the consistency on defense and did great. They started picking it up as the game went along."
"Our defense is what we live off of," said Rahn. "We know our offense is our reward to get there. Our defense is what we work the hardest on in practice."
DeKalb attacked inside with 6-foot junior Emily Murphy (10 points) and outside with Ali Ford and Carlie Varga (6 points each, all on 3-pointers). Helen Muleya drove to the basket for 6 points, but that was about it offensively for the fourth-seeded Barbs.
The Barbs still had a chance after a length-of-the-court drive by Muleya made it 33-21, but Jacobs responded by scoring the final 6 points of the third quarter.
Varga's 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter made it 39-24, but Keri Bultman drove and hit a pullup and Cnota scored off a feed from Bultman to make it 43-24. The teams basically traded baskets thereafter.