Wheaton St. Francis continued on its path to Champaign with a 67-47 win over Hampshire Thursday night in the finals of the Class A sectional at Kaneland.
The Spartans (29-2) jumped out to an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter as Hampshire (21-9) shot just 4 of 15 from the field. St. Francis, which was plagued by poor shooting in regional play, shot 26 of 48 through three quarters before coach Dave Angerer cleared the bench in the fourth period. At one point in the last period, St. Francis extended its lead to 25 points.
Laurie Keane led St. Francis with 17 points, Jennie Driscoll added 15 and Susanne Mauch chipped in 14. Jennifer Henk had 16 and Katie Thompson 14 for Hampshire.
”They`re more talented than we are,” said Hampshire coach Milt Awe before the game. ”We need an excellent effort from our kids and a mediocre one from them to have a chance.”
The Whip-Purs didn`t get that excellent effort and St. Francis didn`t play mediocre ball . . . and the Spartans advanced.
”This is one of the best games we`ve had in a few weeks,” said Angerer. ”We`re playing well now and that`s where we want to be.”
St. Francis earned a spot in the Lemont supersectional Monday night against Chicago Christian.
Eisenhower sectional-Defending Class AA champion Mother McAuley led 23-17 at halftime, and defeated Queen of Peace 63-37 for the title. McAuley will play Lyons Township in the York supersectional Monday night.
Patty Harvey, who led McAuley with 16 points, and Kathy Thomas, who added 14, helped the Mighty Macs (24-5) go on a 9-2 run to open up the second half and take a 32-19 advantage. Harvey and Thomas then contributed 10 points as McAuley went on a 14-4 run to close out the last five minutes of the quarter and take a 42-27 lead.