Kaneland breaks free from scrappy St. Edward
It took Kaneland awhile to get going in its Class 3A regional semifinal Wednesday night.
It didn't take the Knights long to put the game away once they did.
Kaneland closed the first half with a 10-0 burst in a little over two minutes to erase St. Edward's last lead. The Knights then outscored the Lady Wave 38-19 in the second half on the way to a 66-39 victory.
The No. 4 seeded Knights (19-11) will play No. 1 and undefeated Sandwich (31-0) for the Class 3A Kaneland regional title Friday.
"We're pumped and we're ready to play and this is the seniors' chance for a regional championship at home," senior guard Hannah Armin said. "We think we can do it.
"We came out a little nervous but I think we cleaned it up in the second half. We just needed to stop turning the ball over and stay calm. It was very messy but we did a good job coming back."
The scrappy Lady Wave frustrated Kaneland early forcing 8 turnovers in the opening quarter. A steal and layup by Mia Castro turned into a 3-point play and the second foul on Chloe Conley, giving St. Edward a 13-11 lead with 3:14 left in first quarter.
The teams battled through 7 ties and 6 lead changes in the first 14 minutes. A 3-pointer by Castro and a basket from Hailey Niehaus left the Lady Wave up 20-18 with just 2:18 before halftime.
Keely Noel tied the score with 2 free throws. Bryanna Kigyos, who gave St. Edward trouble inside all game, scored to put Kaneland up 22-20.
Armin immediately stole the inbounds pass and laid it in. Conley hit a pair of free throws and Maddie Wheatley went coast to coast for a layup just before the buzzer.
What had been a tight game throughout the first half was suddenly a 28-20 Knights lead.
"My girls played really confident, lots of energy," St. Edward coach Michelle Dawson said. "Then the swing at the end of the second quarter, a couple turnovers, a couple fouls and that really turned the tide. We had trouble recovering from that."
Kaneland never looked back in the second half. After those eight turnovers in the first quarter, they had seven in the final three quarters.
Sophomore Kylie Holubecki scored 6 quick points in a 90-second stretch to give Kaneland a 47-31 lead going to the fourth.
The Knights dominated the glass, outrebounding St. Edward 39-10 led by Kigyos with 8.
"We're proud of our kids inside," Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said. "Bryanna had a great night and works real hard. Holubecki you can see she's really improving."
Ten players scored for Kaneland led by Kigyos (14 points), Conley (13), Noel (9) and Holubecki (8).
After losing to Sycamore in last year's regional final, Kaneland will try to hand Sandwich - who defeated St. Francis 69-50 in the first game Wednesday - its first loss.
"We think we are a pretty good team too and we're playing well," Colombe said. "They are the 1 seed for a reason. Like we told our kids we don't have anything to lose. Pressure is on them. Just come out and have fun. What a great opportunity for our kids."
Niehaus, the only senior in St. Edward's starting lineup, led her team with 10 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman Brooke Biggins added 9 points.
It's the second straight season the Knights defeated St. Edward (12-19) in the regional semifinals. St. Edward has played up at 3A the past two postseasons because of the success factor of making it to state in 2A in 2017.
"We're a school of 300-some and we're playing a 3A regional," Dawson said.
"My girls played with heart. That's been their trademark all year long. We can never ask for more intensity or hustle from them. We fall short sometimes when our inexperience and some fundamental skills we're still working out the kinks with. But it's been a pleasure coaching this team because you can't coach this type of hustle. It comes from within."