Timothy Christian’s girls didn’t earn any glamor points against Montini in Thursday night’s Walther Lutheran Class A regional final.
Not after the top-seeded Trojans shot 32 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.
But what the Trojans earned was their third consecutive regional championship by defeating second-seeded Montini 38-25.
“We played some ugly basketball for a while,” Timothy Christian coach Jill Groenewold said. “The kids were so tight.”
Nevertheless Timothy Christian (21-6), which finished fourth in the state last year, moves on to play St. Francis on Tuesday at the Plano sectional.
The Trojans defeated Montini (11-18) for the second straight season in the regional final.
Last year’s 48-43 game at Timothy Christian proved to be a much stiffer test.
This time around Timothy Christian jumped to a 14-4 lead after the first quarter and never allowed Montini to cut the deficit to single digits after that.
The Trojans’ defense gave Montini fits throughout the game with its full-court press and 2-3 zone.
The Lady Broncos turned the ball over 26 times and shot a paltry 19 percent from the field.
“The press did some damage when we needed it,” Groenewold said. “Offensively we struggled, but defense has been our foothold all year. Our defense spurs the offense.”
Barbie Heerdt paced the Trojans with 13 points and three steals. Sophomores Emily Carwell (10 rebounds, five points and three steals) and Larae Woudstra (10 rebounds, six points and three steals) both were major contributors as well.
“We couldn’t hit a shot,” Carwell said. “It was a battle of who could rebound more. We wanted to get out early and not look back.”
Montini coach Jeff Siegfried, whose team trailed 21-11 at halftime, said it wasn’t so much Timothy Christian’s defense that gave the Lady Broncos problems.
“We were probably a little bit tight,” Siegfried said. “We got good looks at the basket, we just didn’t hit our shots.”
Lauren Treckler led Montini with seven points and Andrea Esposito added six points and 10 rebounds.
Sean Duncan.
Mother McAuley 54, Richards 41: The No. 8 Mighty Macs (25-3) prevailed behind Lauren Levine’s 14 points and Kristyn Corley’s 10 points and 14 rebounds. Tina Hill led Richards with 10 points.
West Chicago 45, Wheaton Warrenville South 44: Beth Brinn scored 19 points to lift No. 11 West Chicago in the DuPage Valley.
IHM 53, Willowbrook 45: Krystal Hugelier scored 17 points and Gina Hugelier added 11 points and four steals to lift the No. 13 Fighting Tigers (24-3) in a non-conference game. Katie Mecklenburg tallied 14 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter for Willowbrook (17-10), which fought back from a 49-26 third-quarter deficit.
Naperville North 62, Glenbard North 55: Rachel Karos had a career-high 33 points, including 20 in the first half, as the Huskies (19-9, 11-3) upset No. 16 Glenbard North in the DuPage Valley. Sarah Lenert added 17 points for North, which held a 34-17 advantage at half.
“The last time we played them, Karos scored 27 in first three quarters,” Naperville North coach Tom Vargos said. “Sometimes you have a team’s number.”
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Jackie Falson’s 18 points led Glenbard (23-4, 10-4).
Naperville Central 74, West Aurora 45: Candace Parker had 20 points in the DuPage Valley rout by the No. 20 Redhawks (20-7, 11-3).
Crete-Monee 37, Tinley Park 32: Keisha Dingle scored 10 points to lift Crete-Monee (10-12).
Reavis 48, T.F. South 40: Jennifer Brent’s 11 points sparked Reavis (5-20) in a SICA crossover game.
Romeoville 68, Rich Central 56: Ashlie Lynch scored 12 points and Nicki Bormann 11 for Romeoville. Laquanda Cotton had 20 points for Rich Central.
Shepard 49, Eisenhower 31: Danielle Downes had 11 points to lead Shepard (6-19).
Class A regionals
Amboy: Lynn Burke’s 16 points gave Oregon a 41-39 edge over Byron in the title game.
Herscher: Bishop McNamara (13-11) bested Reed-Custer 53-50 in overtime behind Meghan Butterfield’s 16 points and Rachael Gliottoni’s 13 rebounds. Amy Maly paced Reed-Custer (16-10) with 19 points.
Holy Trinity: Chrissy Dizon’s 21 points helped Chicago Latin tip University High 44-42.
Peotone: Kate Schaafsma scored 16 points and and Kelly Mullin had 15 as Momence (21-5) breezed past Beecher 50-31 for the title. Megan Stluka (16-12) paced Beecher with 10 points.
St. Francis de Sales: Illiana Christian closed the game with a 5-0 run to top St. Francis de Sales 46-42. Patti Iperlaan’s rebound basket with 40 seconds left gave Illiana (17-9) the lead for good. Kim Bultema led Illiana with 13 points.
St. Gregory: Stephanie Mangawan had 12 points as St. Benedict downed St. Scholastica 47-35.
Somonauk: Sally Keisler and Stephanie Scalf had 13 points apiece to help Newark tip Hinckley-Big Rock 53-49.
Yorkville: The host Foxes captured their third title in four years as they easily handled Lisle 43-29.
Stingy defense, particularly in the first half, allowed Yorkville (22-5) to claim a 19-7 lead by the half as Yorkville held the Lions to only two field goals through the first two quarters. Lisle, which finished the season at 22-5, never got any closer than six points in the second half.
“We had to play a close, hard man-to-man and we had to box out and not let them hit the boards,” said Foxes senior Alissa Perry, who led her team with 14 points.
Lisle center Michelle Kittrell led all scorers with 16 points, including 13 in the second half. Ashley Walker added 10 for Yorkville.
Public League playoffs
Curie 65, DuSable 46: Shimera Jones scored 24 points to go with eight assists and Michelle Hodges added 18 points to pace Curie (17-3).
Boys basketball
Cary-Grove 84, Crystal Lake South 75: Chris Frosaker had 16 points and Andy Hill chipped in with 15 to pace Cary-Grove (17-4, 12-1) in the Fox Valley. Jason Murren and Dan Evans scored 14 apiece in the winning effort. Will Benson’s 16 points led C.L. South (12-10, 9-4).
Clemente 56, Senn 51: Santos Burgos put in 17 points to lead the Wildcats (13-12, 4-6) in the Public Blue North.
Cristo Rey 58, Universal 50: Urbano Luna scored 18 points to lead Cristo Rey (4-13, 1-3) in the Metro Prep.
DeKalb 64, St. Charles East 59: Justin Diedrich scored 14 points and Chad Pecka added 13 on four three-pointers to ignite DeKalb (21-3, 10-2) in the Upstate Eight. Brian Schmitt’s 13 points led St. Charles East (15-8, 8-4).
Dunbar 84, Harper 66: Aaron Spears’ 18 points led five players in double figures as the Mightymen (15-7, 9-1) rolled in the Public Red Central.
Englewood 57, Bogan 54: Jamal Thomas scored 16 points and Michael Dunlap added 15 for Englewood in the Blue Central.
Hubbard 62, DuSable 55: Rashaun Johnson scored 31 points and dished off seven assists for Hubbard (14-13, 7-4) in the Red Central. Richard Moody’s 20 points led DuSable (9-13, 4-6).
Jacobs 71, Crystal Lake Central 62: Brendan Holleran put in 25 points and Derek Nielsen added 17 for Jacobs in the Fox Valley.
King 54, Gage Park 52: Joseph Toney scored 16 points and David Easterling and DeAngelo Slaughter each added 14 with 10 rebounds for King (8-14, 5-5) in the Red Central.
Lake Zurich 69, McHenry 62: Lake Zurich rallied from a 10-point deficit to claim the Fox Valley contest. Bernard Middleton led Lake Zurich (16-4, 11-2) with 18 points and Brett Mathison added 16. Jim Ernst led McHenry (8-14, 5-9) with 19.
Lincoln Park 66, Lane Tech 63: Royce Parran hit the game winning three with :02 left to give the Lions (5-13, 4-6) the edge in the Red North. Parran finished with 15 points as Andrew Phalen and Michael Henderson each scored 12.
Lindblom 63, Kennedy 54: Jonas Harper collected 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds to lift Lindblom (9-15, 3-7) in the Blue Central.
Mather 82, Prosser 78: Michael Shamon netted 23 points and Allen Aguada chipped in with 14 to give Mather (15-9, 7-3) the edge in the Red North.
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Phillips 51, Northside Prep 43: Lamar Bowman scored 17 points for Phillips (9-13, 7-3) in the Green North-Central.
Richards Academy 69, Kelvyn Park 65: Richards prevailed in overtime on the strength of 27 points by Tjuan Woodley and 20 from Andre Tucker.
Schurz 56, Lake View 52: Schurz (12-17, 6-4) held on in the Blue North behind Ronnie Jordan’s 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight steals. Steffen Villareal helped out with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Von Steuben 81, Steinmetz 61: Despite clinching the Red North title Tuesday, Von Steuben continued its winning ways behind Phillip Watson’s 27 points and 19 from Luke Rogers.
“It was no problem scoring, but they were lackadaisical on defense,” Von Steuben coach Vince Carter said. “Once we stepped up on defense, we were able to hold them in the second half.”