The fifth time proved to be the charm for Barbie Heerdt and Timothy Christian on Monday.
After missing potential game-winning shots near the end of regulation and the first three overtimes, the Trojans senior scored five points in the fourth extra session to lead her team to a 72-70 victory over Illiana Christian in the Yorkville Class A supersectional.
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“We didn’t know when it was going to end, but we just kept battling,” said Heerdt, who closed with a team-high 22 points. “It was frustrating … that I couldn’t put the ball in the hole, but you keep shooting and [hope] the next one’s going in.”
The victory avenges last year’s supersectional loss to Illiana and sends Timothy Christian (20-11) into the Class A quarterfinals for the fourth time in seven years.
One of the biggest shots of the fourth overtime came from junior guard Fenna Kooima, who hit a three-pointer with 59 seconds to play to give the Trojans a 71-68 lead.
Illiana forward Patti Iperlaan answered with a bucket on a rebound with 38 seconds left to cut the margin to 71-70. But Heerdt closed the scoring when she hit a free throw with 22 seconds left.
The Vikings brought the ball downcourt, but a shot by guard Kim Bultema was short and time ran out during a flurry for control of the ball.
Heerdt, who showed no effects from a recent ankle injury, was frustrated after four potential game-winning shots failed. She missed a jumper at the buzzer ending regulation and at the end of the first overtime. With five seconds left in the second overtime, Heerdt missed on a baseline drive, and at the close of the third overtime, a last-second shot bounced off the rim.
Illiana (22-9) was led by senior guard Jess Eenigenburg, who scored 28 points, including 17 over the four overtime periods before fouling out with 22 seconds left in the fourth OT. Iperlaan added 23 for the Vikings.
— Jack McCarthy
Spring Valley Hall: Megan McCracken scored 25 points to lead Rock Island Alleman (20-11) to the state quarterfinals with a 52-33 win over Seneca. The Irish (28-2) were led by LeAnn Stahl and Amberley Callahan, who scored 11 points each.
Byron: Rachel Markham put in 14 points as Hampshire crushed Dakota 63-31.
Girls Class AA sectionals
What started out as a clash between Barrington’s Lindsay Richards and Johanna Solverson of Lake Zurich–future Iowa teammates–will be remembered for its bizarre ending.
Barrington’s Megan Teschner scored on a layup into the Lake Zurich basket with 55 seconds left, helping the No. 2 Bears (31-0) remain unbeaten with a 43-39 triumph in the Lake Zurich sectional.
Shortly after coming off the bench, Teschner, a Barrington forward, took an inbound pass and inadvertently gave Lake Zurich the lead for good at 40-39.
“We got lucky,” Lake Zurich coach Carl Krause said. “You never imagine anything like that. That’s not a scenario you think of.”
No. 18 Barrington (22-10) roared back from a 14-3 deficit after one quarter to take a 22-19 lead at the half due largely to a 17-1 run sparked by Richards (20 points).
With Richards accounting for all but four of the Fillies’ first 20 points, Barrington turned the 11-point deficit into a 20-15 lead with 1:23 left in the second quarter. Similar to Barrington’s forgettable first quarter, Lake Zurich missed 6-of-8 second-quarter shots and committed six turnovers.
The capacity crowd saw the lead change hands six times in the third quarter before Laura Mount nailed a long jumper just before the buzzer to cut Barrington’s lead to 33-31, setting up a memorable finish.
A Danielle Tinkoff putback gave Barrington a 39-33 lead with 5:37 remaining as Tinkoff scored nine of her 11 points for the second half. But a turnaround jumper in triple coverage by Solverson and a steal and layup cut that to 39-38. Solverson led all scorers with 23 points, while Jessie Miller added 13.
Following Teschner’s miscue, Lake Zurich made the home crowd nervous by missing three straight free throws in the final 30 seconds before Solverson iced it with a steal and free throw with 1.3 seconds left.
— Jonathan Schoenberg
Eisenhower: Fourth-ranked Fenwick started the game on a 9-0 run and the second quarter on a 9-2 run en route to its 63-43 victory over No. 19 Sandburg. The Friars (30-3) held Sandburg to 3-of-23 shooting in the first half as they reached the 30-win plateau for the third straight season.
“It was important for us to get off to a quick start,” Fenwick coach Dave Power said. “Sandburg is a dangerous team and they can get hot.”
Kristin Heidloff scored 21 points and Erin Lawless added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Fenwick. Melinda Queen led Sandburg (22-10) with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Benet: Candace Parker’s second dunk of the season sparked No. 5 Naperville Central to a 44-27 win over Glenbard North. Parker stole the ball at halfcourt and took it in for the dunk with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter, giving the Redhawks a 27-20 lead, their largest at the time.
“I’m just happy that we won,” Parker said. “I looked back and I thought [the dunk] would be a good momentum builder for our team. I’m happy it sparked some enthusiasm.”
Parker finished with 11 points as Courtney Peters and Rachel Crissy led Naperville Central (28-2) with 12 points apiece. Jacki Dimaggio had 11 points for Glenbard North (22-8).
Elgin: Ashley Sandstead had 11 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead Buffalo Grove (23-10) to a 52-48 win over Larkin. The Bison had an 11-point lead with 6:28 left only to see Larkin close to within two with 20 seconds left.
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“It wasn’t pretty, but at this stage of the season, we’ll take it. We did enough good things to win,” Buffalo Grove coach Tim Dineen said. “When we got the lead, we made some good decisions with the ball.”
Jennifer Guth added 14 points for the Bison. Courdney Jones had 14 points and nine rebounds for Larkin (17-14).
Plainfield: Chloe Kerr had 16 points and Lauren Martens added 13 for Bolingbrook (26-3) as the Raiders rolled to a 51-26 win over West Aurora. Kina Miller led the Blackhawks (17-13) with 10 points.
Boys Class A regionals
Burlington Central: Westminster Christian (12-13) breezed past Elgin Academy 80-42 behind John Beebe’s 21 points. Luke Chesek scored 20 points for Elgin Academy (6-17).
Chicago Christian: The host Knights (12-13) edged Luther South 64-59 as Adam DeGroot and Dave Boss scored 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Harvard: Tom Pieper had 14 points for Rockford Lutheran in a 63-45 win over Harvard. Adam Cahill had 14 points and nine rebounds for the hosts.
Holy Trinity: Jake Gantz scored 10 points for Francis Parker in a 44-40 win over Quigley.
Immaculate Conception: Rajiv Rhyne poured in 24 points for Northridge Prep (14-13) in its 71-47 victory over Ida Crown 47.
Lisle: Kurt Laurinatis 19 points and Mike Davis added 14 points for Montini (18-8) in the Broncos’ 52-42 win over Timothy Christian. Dan Vanderwal led Timothy Christian with 15 points.
Momence: Phil French had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Illinois Lutheran in a 55-41 win over Beecher.
Plano: Hinckley-Big Rock topped Aurora Christian 83-72 as Tim Peffer scored 24 points.
Reed-Custer: Trevor Huettmann had 17 points and Jon Butler had 14 points including the game winning free throws for the hosts in a 61-59 win over Wilmington.
St. Francis de Sales: Zeyen Wu had 19 points for U-High in a 65-58 overtime win over Morgan Park Academy.