NEW CARLISLE — Though it may seem difficult to believe, Hanover Central frequently works on half-court shooting during practices.
The repetition of playing half-court knockout with teammates paid off in a big way for Brooke Sterkowitz, who drained a go-ahead, midcourt heave to end the third quarter in Monday’s sectional championship.
The shot was the most memorable image of a game filled with momentum swings, as Hanover Central upended Kankakee Valley 57-49 to win the school’s first sectional title since 2010.
“I saw the clock counting down, and I saw one second, so I shot it,” Sterkowitz said. “The strength from practice helped a lot, and so did the energy of the game.”
The Wildcats (16-9) played much of the second half without Lisa Gac, who sat with four fouls. Sterkowitz also flirted with foul trouble, picking up three before halftime.
“We had to find some depth,” Hanover Central coach Doug Nelson said. “It wasn’t perfect, but we got it done. We held it to a reasonable game so that we could come back. The bench kept us in the game.”
Soon after Gac returned to the floor, she completed a three-point play after missing back-to-back layups and pulling down her own rebounds. Gac’s instant impact gave the Wildcats a 51-47 lead with 2:07 left in regulation.
Hanover Central’s Carley Siems did not make a field goal in the game and had yet to score with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, she came through in the game’s waning seconds.
Siems knocked down two free throws with 20.4 seconds left to expand Hanover’s lead to 53-49. After an intentional foul called against Kankakee Valley led to two more trips to the foul line, Siems went 4-for-4 to seal the game.
“Coach Nelson helped me fix my shot a couple days ago,” she said. “He told me I had to keep my foot forward instead of turning it. He’s the reason I made those; I give him full credit.”
The Wildcats reversed the outcome of a 62-51 loss to the Kougars (17-8) on Dec. 9. Hanover Central didn’t work on facing Kankakee Valley’s trap defense in practice, but found a way to solve it while the game was in progress.
More Top Picks Best Cordless Ratchets
“Sterkowitz is a tough one to get trapped,” Kankakee Valley coach Ryan Myers said. “She’s really good about splitting our traps, and that got us on our heels and scrambling. They handled our half-court pressure much better than the first time.”
Sterkowitz finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Sarah Blue joined her in double figures with 12, while Breanna Toppen led the Kougars with 18.
Sterkowitz called Monday’s win the highlight of her career.
“She stepped up the whole sectional,” Nelson said. “She’s got a different look in her eye; she doesn’t want to lose.”
Kankakee Valley will have all five starters back for next season, after losing four to graduation coming into this year.
“It’s a team that overachieved a little bit,” Myers said. “I don’t know if I gave them enough credit. We’ll have plenty of motivation in the offseason to improve.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance writer.