Downers Grove North falls just short vs. Whitney Young
Thursday's Class 4A Proviso West girls basketball sectional final was a matchup of opposites.
On one side perennial playoff power Whitney Young and its explosive offense; on the other a defensive-minded Downers Grove North squad that had already reached the furthest point in program history.
In the end, with neither team deserving to lose, it was the Dolphins who made a few more plays in a 53-47 victory in Hillside.
Whitney Young (25-3) advances to take on Bolingbrook in the Lewis supersectional. The Trojans (28-7) finished the year with a program record for wins in a season.
"They made some really tough plays," said Downers Grove North coach Stephan Bolt, whose team had won 12 of 13 coming in. "But I'm also proud of our kids in the way they executed plays and finished strong and gave ourselves a chance.
"I can't thank our seniors enough, they left it all on the line. And also all our young kids, who made some grown-up type plays in the game."
Trailing 25-21 at halftime, Downers Grove North got to within a single point on six occasions in the second half. Unable to get over the hump, the Trojans then trailed 49-47 with 1:40 left after a basket by Ryann Wendt before Whitney Young guard Timia Ware knocked down all four of her free throws in the final minute.
Ware finished with 17 points. Fellow guard Kayla Green tallied 18.
Ellie Gross, playing every minute, topped Downers Grove North with 18 points, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers.
Wendt has 9 points and Eleanor Harris totaled 8.
"I thought we played tough, I thought we played strong," Gross said. "I'm just proud of the way we went out. Everyone played together. We just left it all out there.
"We believed in each other, we believe in this program. It was a next-man-up mentality even though we lost some great players from last year. We really came together."
The young group, which started a trio of sophomores, jelled on the defensive end from the start. Thursday's 51 points yielded was only the third time an opponent had reached the 50-point mark all winter. And that was still nearly 20 points below the Dolphins' average output, with Whitney Young scoring 60 or more in all but seven of their games.
"It was a tough game and they are a very good team," said Trojans senior Alexis Parker, who had 4 points and 5 rebounds. "But I think we did well defensively. They usually score up to 80 points and we held them to 50, which is good.
"We played complete defense as a team. We hung with them and never gave up. It was an amazing year. We are all driven, all competitive. And we all wanted it so bad. Once we got that regional, we knew we could make a run. We gave it all we had every single game."