In the fourth quarter of the Class 3A St. Joseph Regional final, Fenwick cut a nine-point St. Joseph lead to two points during a run that included two technical fouls called on Chargers players.
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As St. Joseph verged on collapse, Chargers senior Davane Gross reminded her teammates Friday that the game was still in their hands.
“After the two techs and multiple fouls I just said, ‘Guys, look at the clock. We have a minute left. We have to play that minute and not worry about the techs,'” Gross said. “Finishing out the game was up to us.”
St. Joseph hung on for a 52-49 win, advancing past the regional round for the second consecutive season after placing fourth in state last year. The win sent the fifth-seeded Chargers to a Class 3A sectional semifinal game Monday against top-seeded Marshall at Glenbard South.
Kayla Green led the Chargers with 20 points, and Maia Marshall added 11. Gross, a 5-foot point guard, helped the team stay calm as the fourth-seeded Friars rallied late.
“She’s the engine. She kept her team in order,” St. Joseph coach Andrew Winston said of Gross. “I’m trying to gather them together on the court to talk to them and she’s already talking to them, telling me ‘one second’. I can appreciate that.
“That’s my little point guard.”
Gross was in leadership mode before the game even started.
“I try to keep the energy and intensity up,” Gross said. “Before the game, during warmups, I could see we were (flat). I told them that if we don’t have the same energy Fenwick is warming up with, we were going to be in trouble.”
Fenwick (21-10) led 13-11 after a quarter, but St. Joseph (23-8) took a 24-19 halftime lead. Fenwick tied the game at 30-30 in the third quarter on a McKenzie Blaze basket, but St. Joseph went on a 9-0 run to the end of the quarter, featuring six points from Marshall.
The Chargers used a suffocating defense to keep the Friars in check for most of the game.
“Defense is our main go-to,” Gross said. “And as long as our defense is on point, it gets our offense going and keeps us focused.”
Fenwick junior Kate Moore scored 17 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, including four 3-pointers. The Friars tied the game 44-44 down the stretch, but St. Joseph baskets from Takyra Jackson and Green put the Chargers in front for good. Moore launched a final 3-pointer at the buzzer that hit the back of the rim and bounced away.
Winston said it took a “total team effort” to defeat Fenwick, which had won five straight entering the game.
“My bench was staying positive, talking and making sure people knew their assignments,” Winston said. “Fenwick is a really good team. … My girls just came to play tonight.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press