Knights defeated in overtime

Immaculate Conception would not go quietly into the night.

Trailing late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's nonconference girls basketball game against Walther Lutheran, the Knights staged a valiant comeback to send the contest into overtime.

But in the extra session Broncos post player Emma Schmidt-Swartz could not be stopped. The senior center's play led the way for visiting Walther Lutheran as it pulled out a 49-42 victory over Immaculate Conception in Elmhurst.

Schmidt-Swartz finished with a game-high 28 points, including 5 of her team's 9 points in the four-minute overtime period. With the triumph, the Broncos improved their overall record to 10-3 while the Knights, who managed to score only 2 points in overtime, fell to 6-11 overall.

"In the first half I thought we did a good job of forcing (Schmidt-Swartz ) to catch the ball further away from the basket and force her into tougher shots," said Immaculate Conception coach Dan Murray, whose team held her to 10 points in the first two quarters. "In the second half she buried us low. Her positioning was key."

"Our big person is the key in our offense," added Walther Lutheran coach Todd Fisher. "We knew Emma was going to be the tallest person on the court. Our game plan was to wear them down."

For the Knights, they experienced an emotional roller coaster during the game. Murray called it a microcosm of the season. Immaculate Conception led 13-2 at the end of the first quarter and 19-16 at halftime.

The Broncos then pulled ahead 31-26 after three quarters and led 40-31 with 3:17 to play in the game. But unlike games earlier this season, Immaculate Conception dug itself out of its earlier hole.

Powered by the play of senior Mary Kate Manion, the Knights scored 9 unanswered points to deadlock the score. Manion drove hard to the hoop on numerous occasions and got to the foul line, sinking 5 free throws. Her free throw with 11.6 seconds left tied it. Immaculate Conception also got a huge 3-pointer from Erin Dunne, who banked in a shot from the left wing. Kaleigh Dempsey also made a free throw.

"We really wanted to run our offense and look toward the basket more than just shooting from the outside," Manion said. "We wanted to try to drive, draw fouls, get to the free-throw line and knock them down. That was basically our main focus."

"When we have gone into those lulls in the past, we really haven't gotten ourselves back out of them," Murray said. "We kept fighting and working and put ourselves in position to be on the free-throw line down 1 point. I am really proud of the kids in that regard."

Sophomore center Michelle Karges led Immaculate Conception with 12 points, including 7 points in the first quarter. Manion finished with 10 points and Dunne chipped in 9.