Thornton shocks No. 10 Hillcrest

Thornton hasn’t seen many bright days during 24 years of participating in the Hillcrest Holiday Classic, coming away with three consolation titles during that span.

But Thursday night, Thornton’s chances for a tournament championship got brighter as the Wildcats punched their ticket into the semifinals for the first time since 1989 with a thrilling 51-50 upset of No. 10 Hillcrest.

“I told the kids that this game was ours and that Hillcrest wanted it, but it was ours,” Thornton coach Noel Drain said. “I told [Daijon] Jefferson, [Ayesha] Neasley and [Pamela] Vaughn to take it through Hillcrest and go to the basket. I told them, `Ladies, if you want the game, you’ve got to take it.'”

It was Vaughn who answered the call after Hillcrest (12-1) took a 50-49 lead with 12 seconds left following a Nikita Odom put-back. After a Wildcats’ timeout, Vaughn, a 5-foot 2-inch senior guard, knifed her way through three Hillcrest players and scored the game-winner on a layup with five seconds to play.

“I was just thinking of going to the basket,” said Vaughn, who scored eight of her team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter.

“I was just thinking of getting fouled or hitting the shot. This victory means everything to us.”

Thornton (9-2) can thank its defensive effort, using a box-and-one to hold Nadia Bibbs, Hillcrest’s go-to player, to a season-low 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Odom, who had 27 points and 14 rebounds, kept Hillcrest afloat and converted a three-point play that made it 44-41 Hawks with 4:32 to go. But the lead quickly dwindled to 46-44 with 2:51 left after a Jefferson three-pointer and a Vaughn layup.

Bibbs’ bucket knotted the game at 46-46 with 1:34 to play before a layup by La Tasha Friday and Odom’s rebound basket put the Hawks back ahead.

“You have to give credit to Thornton and coach Drain because I thought they did an excellent job handling our press,” Hillcrest coach John Maniatis said. “They stepped up big and made big plays in big moments. We had our opportunities and didn’t close the door on them.”

In other action, Missy Mitidiero scored 20 points and Lauren Lacey chipped in with 16 as No. 4 Marian Catholic (12-1) rolled past Thornwood 61-38 to earn its third straight semifinal appearance. Shari Welton’s 12 points led Thornwood (8-4).

Stagg outscored Rich South 17-8 in the third quarter en route to a 55-45 win in the opener. Erin Neiheisel poured in a game-high 18 points that included four three-pointers, while Heather King added 12 to lead the Chargers (11-2). Rachel Reed paced Rich South (9-4) with 15 points, while teammate Nicole Garcia tallied 10.

A 9-0 second-quarter spurt keyed Sandburg’s 52-35 win over Homewood-Flossmoor. Erika Nelson scored 11 of her game-high 22 points in the second quarter and keyed Sandburg’s run with a jumper and a three-pointer. The Eagles (8-5) feasted off Lady Vikings miscues, converting 18 Homewood-Flossmoor turnovers into 27 points.

Deserea Brown led H-F (8-5) with 15 points.

Henry Del Valle.

At Wheaton North

There will be a new champion this year at Wheaton North.

Glenbrook South held off a valiant effort from Hinsdale Central, the tournament champion the past three years, to defeat the Red Devils 57-50 in the day’s final quarterfinal.

Glenbrook South (14-0) outscored Hinsdale Central 10-2 over the final 2 minutes 36 seconds to rally from a one-point deficit. Hinsdale Central (7-7) had taken a 48-47 lead with 2:53 remaining on two free throws from Stephanie Reif, who finished with 11 points.

Pam Findlay responded for the Titans by hitting a 12-foot jumper in the lane to put the top-seeded Titans back in front. Findlay scored a game-high 24 points.

Danielle Nabolotony then scored on an offensive rebound and 5-foot guard Allison Iglehart knocked down a three-pointer for her only basket of the game to put Glenbrook South ahead by six points with 1:36 left.

“They are one of the top three teams in the tournament,” Glenbrook South coach Steve Weissenstein said of Hinsdale Central. “It’s too bad we had to play them on just the second night.”

Nabolotny scored 17 points on her 18th birthday to go over the 1,000-point mark in her career despite sitting out much of the first half with foul trouble.

Margaret Flystra, starting in place of injured forward Kristen Wilk, scored a career-high 19 points to lead the Red Devils. Melanie Ploger entered the game in the third quarter and played a total of 4:24, scoring three points.

In other quarterfinals, St. Francis, the only Class A team in the field, upset Lyons Township 42-39. Emily Ann Darin led the Spartans (13-2) with nine points. Jenny Vokral, Katie Sabella, and McKenzie Fauth each scored eight points for Lyons (9-5).

“We had trouble Monday against Wheaton North and didn’t give our best,” St. Francis coach Kate Kowalski said. “Today was, by far, our best game of the season.”

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Five Hersey players scored in double figures in the Huskies’ 58-50 victory over West Aurora. Julie Cantal came off the bench to score 12 points to lead Hersey (8-4).

Cantal replaced starter Shana Lieberman, who went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter. Shar James scored 15 points for West Aurora (7-5).

“We have a very unselfish team,” Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. “There is not a kid out there who wants to score 20 a game, but we have kids that can score 20 a game.”

Kelly Wernert and Hannah Ostermann each scored 15 points and Shay Green added 13 as Schaumburg (8-5) beat Willowbrook 47-33. Meri Niehaus hit four three-pointers and scored 14 points for Willowbrook (7-6).

Bob Skolnik.

Peoria Manual: Akila Harris paced No. 6 Hope (12-1) with 30 points, while Shuntae Roberison chipped in 11 in a 55-39 victory over Danville. . . . Harris later poured in 27 points in an 81-42 win over Springfield Lanphier. . . . No. 11 Marshall (8-2) trounced Joliet Catholic 75-45 behind 19 points from Jacquay Holmes and 13 points apiece from LaShonda Grant and Shanise White. Allie Quigley led Joliet Catholic with 29 points. . . . Holmes scored 21 points in the Commandos’ second game, a 70-59 win over Peoria.

Mother McAuley: Katie Jarger came off the bench to score 13 of her 17 points in the second quarter as No. 7 Trinity downed Illiana Christian 57-32. Ciara Johnson added 16 points for the Blazers (10-3).

Morton: Brittany Marshall scored 26 points and Aubrey Hampton added 21 as No. 16 Oak Park (14-1) downed Addison Trail 77-45. . . . Aubrey Rauktys scored 24 points to lift Hinsdale South (10-5) to a 64-51 victory over Proviso West.

St. Viator: Briana Lasco collected 12 points, six rebounds and five steals to lead No. 18 St. Viator (8-1) to a 76-9 win over Good Counsel. . . . Monica Gupta shot 14-for-14 at the free-throw line and finished with 34 points to lead Wheeling to a 54-43 win over Julian. . . . Lindsay Schrader scored 10 of her 19 points in the first quarter and grabbed seven rebounds as Bartlett (9-2) downed St. Charles North 69-28.

Niles North: Natasha Williams tossed in 20 points to lead the host Vikings (11-3) to a 64-43 win over Zion-Benton. . . . Brooke Peterson’s 14 points and eight rebounds led Rolling Meadows (8-5) to a 54-40 win over Niles West. . . . Beth Rosendahl scored 11 points as Simeon edged Mundelein 55-53. . . . Lori Tanaka’s 18 points paced Lane Tech in a 45-36 win over Highland Park.

Warren: Brittany Ousterhout’s eight points led Lake Forest (12-2) to a 34-27 win over Carmel (9-5). . . . Amy Peters scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Warren (11-4) knocked off Deerfield 62-41.