Maine West gets past Loyola
You can only keep Angela Dugalic and Maine West down for just so long.
The defending Class 4A state champion Warriors overcame a 1-for-14 shooting start to outlast Loyola 31-21 at the Maine West sectional Monday in Des Plaines.
Maine West (29-3) will meet Evanston in Thursday's sectional final at 7 p.m. Maine West beat Evanston two weeks ago in the Central Suburban title game.
It was a very tough night shooting for Maine West according to coach Kim de Marigny.
"That was a lackluster performance on the offensive end by the Maine West Warriors," de Marigny said. "Luckily they did not fold because the ball wasn't going in. We weren't getting good shots but our defense was the key."
It was the first half when neither team could have thrown the ball into the ocean if they were standing on a beach. The teams combined for 17% (7-of-41) in the first half as Maine West took a 12-6 advantage.
"You are going to have nights like this when you cannot throw it in the ocean," de Marigny said. "Defense will never let you down. It is something you can control and sometimes the ball just won't go in."
It was that Maine West defense that stretched and kept Loyola away from the basket. And when the Ramblers did venture inside, Dugalic, who had three blocks, was there to keep them away.
"We knew that was going to be one of our main intentions," de Marigny said. "We wanted to push them out. They struggled the same way we did."
The Oregon-bound Dugalic, who became the all-time leading scorer in the storied Maine West history, was not immune to the shooting lapse. Dugalic missed her first 8 shots before her putback off her own miss got her going.
"They pressured us so much," Dugalic said. "I did force a few and the game was physical."
Loyola (23-11) led 6-2 early in the second quarter when Dugalic took over. She scored the next 12 points, and 14 of the next 16, for the Warriors as Maine West forged ahead 18-9 with 2:53 left in the first half.
"I just realized that I had to give it my all," said Dugalic, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. "If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be talking right now because I would be too sad."
Dugalic said she and her teammates were trying to overcome Loyola's defense.
"We were trying to work through it," Dugalic said. "It was just a whole bunch of chaos. We figured our way out."
Loyola stayed close and the Ramblers pulled within 24-21 with 5:27 to play.
Lena Albo came up with key basket and Dylan Van Fleet, Jaclyn Riedl and Dugalic each hit free throws as Maine West scored the final 7 points to put the game away.