The points came so easily early on, it didn’t seem likely Johnsburg would be left scrambling for just one more.
Johnsburg scored the game’s first 10 points and held a double-digit lead for much of the third quarter before Freeport stormed back for a 53-52 victory in the Class 3A supersectional Tuesday night in Elgin.
Johnsburg fell one win short of the Final Four for the second year in a row while Freeport, the 2008 3A runner-up, earned a return trip to Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill., where it will face Springfield (29-3).
“We just kind of fell apart at the end,” said Johnsburg junior Danielle Slivka, who scored 13 points. “Last year’s game wasn’t as close (a 60-37 loss to Marshall). Losing like this makes it a lot harder.”
Johnsburg (27-8) led for the game’s first 29 minutes, including a pair of 12-point advantages in the third quarter, before a three-pointer by Caitlin Greene (11 points) gave Freeport (30-3) a 46-44 edge it would not relinquish.
After Freeport made 3 of 4 free throws to go up 53-49 with 10.7 seconds to play, Johnsburg sophomore Melissa Dixon (12 points, seven assists) hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds showing. Teammate Megan Lopez then stole the inbounds pass, but her pass to an open Krista Volden sailed out of bounds.
— Mike Helfgot
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Peoria Richwoods 56, Hillcrest 47: Through all the missed free throws and layups that went awry, Uniquah Hampton never gave up.
The Hillcrest junior tried to ignite a late rally all by herself in the Class 3A supersectional at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill., but Peoria Richwoods persevered.
Richwoods (32-3) advanced to the noon semifinal Friday against Marshall (25-6).
“I tried to take over the game,” Hampton said about her back-to-back steals and a layup that brought Hillcrest (26-5) within 49-43. “I didn’t want our season to end.”
Hampton scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the fourth quarter and also finished with six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome a 9-2 Richwoods run that preceded Hampton’s twin steals and gave the Knights a 49-41 lead.
— Bob Sakamoto