St. Viator's Cinderella season ends with a battle
In the 40 seasons of girls basketball March Madness, true Cinderella teams have been few and far between.
Only eight teams in tournament history have ever won a sectional title with at least 14 losses, with Wheeling at 14-18 four years ago being the most recent.
On Thursday night, the St. Viator Lions were on the brink of being the ninth to achieve such a feat when they led second-seeded Johnsburg 31-30 following a pair of Maggie Leazer free throws in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Cahill Gymnasium.
Then, the clock struck midnight.
Behind an 8-1 run, the Skyhawks (28-3) held off a furious effort by the Lions and posted a 38-32 in Arlington Heights to capture their fourth Class 3A sectional crown.
It was first since the last of three straight from 2008 to 2010.
Johnsburg will face Chicago North Lawndale at the Concordia University (River Forest) supersectional on Monday night.
Lawndale defeated Marshall 51-48 in the Glenbard South sectional championship.
"I knew it would be a tough one tonight," said fifth-year Johnsburg coach Brad Frey of his team's opponent, who the Skyhawks had beaten 53-46 in Johnsburg in December.
"We've played a tough schedule that only helps you in these really tight games. St. Viator was so energetic this evening. They played us even harder than last time."
The energy which propelled the fifth-seeded Lions (17-15) throughout their postseason run was on display again.
Twice they came back from 8-point deficits.
The first came when they spotted the Big Northern Conference East Division runners-up an 11-3 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
The second was a 20-12 deficit with over a minute gone in the second half after junior guard Cortland Sommerfeldt completed a 3-point play.
Viator then went on an 11-2 tear, all courtesy of 5-foot-3 sophomore guard Olivia Solimene (game-high 17 points) to take a 23-22 lead into the final quarter.
It was highlighted by a 3-pointer that gave the Lions their first lead at 21-20 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
After Michaela Mueller's 15-footer gave the host school its biggest lead at 27-24 with 6:25 remaining, Skyhawks leading scorer Aannah Interrante (team-high 15 points) took over.
She used the free throw line as her vehicle of choice.
First, the 5-9 sophomore guard connected on both ends of a one-and-one that got Johnsburg within 27-26 at the 6:19 mark.
Then, after her only miss at the foul line, a putback by 5-10 junior Dani McCauley (7 points, 8 rebounds) put Johnsburg back on top at 28-27 with 5:31 remaining.
After Julia Bergstrom's layup got Viator the lead back at 29-28, Interrante's next 4 successful free throws sandwiched around a pair of Maggie Leazer charity tosses, gave Johnsburg the lead for the good with 3:40 at 32-31.
Interrante's final 2 free throws following a driving bucket by Morgan Madsen put the game away with 50 seconds left.
"She was unbelievable," Frey said. "Time after time she stepped up for us. Nothing more that I can say that she didn't show out there."
For St. Viator coach Jason Raymond, a 1992 graduate, his first season at the helm was one of the more special ones in program history.
When it defeated 2012 and 2013 Class 3A runner-up Vernon Hills, St. Viator won its first regional since Paul Bjerkness' group in 2010 and third in program history.
In knocking off top-seeded Antioch (Elite Eight qualifier last year in 3A) in Tuesday's semifinal, the Lions joined Bill Murmann's 2002 team in making it to a sectional final.
"The ball didn't bounce our way down the stretch," Raymond said. "This was the type of game that we like to be in. Unfortunately, there were some critical plays that we failed to make."
Raymond also looked at what the future holds for his team.
Three starters (Solimene, Haley Robinson and Myia Clark, who qualified for the Class 3A Queen of the Hill 3-point competition) all return as juniors.
Raymond also paid homage to the only two seniors, Bergstrom and Leazer.
"Their leadership has been tremendous," he said. "The impact that they've had on this team not only for us this season but for the future is tremendous. Our lower levels all had winning records. Our girls can learn from a game like this."
As Leazer and Bergstrom left their home floor for the last time to a round of applause from their fellow classmates, they reflected on their final effort while wearing their navy road uniforms with red trim.
"I was especially proud of how we played tonight," said Leazer, who added 5 points and 5 rebounds before fouling out in the game's final minute. "Our guys played their hearts out."
"I believe that our team proved that we were just as good as Johnsburg out there," added Bergstrom, who finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds and a pair of assists. "As a team, we showed that we belonged."