For some reason, South Elgin’s Ella Winterhalder does not like shooting in Larkin’s gym.
The Royals’ rims have been nothing but trouble for Winterhalder, who is the Storm’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, regardless of gender,
“I have no idea why,” she said. “I’ve struggled the last four years I’ve played here.
“I changed up my ritual. I put on different socks — something to try to get myself going.”
The 5-foot-5 senior guard just may have exorcised that demon Tuesday night.
Winterhalder hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to spark South Elgin to a 59-17 victory over Elgin in a Class 4A Larkin Regional semifinal.
South Elgin (25-5) will face Jacobs at 7 p.m. Thursday for the regional title. Jacobs defeated Larkin 42-35 in the other semifinal.
“Defense turns into offense, and I think that really helped,” Winterhalder said. “Our press, my team getting me the ball in the open court, it just kind of helped me get my shooting going.”
Winterhalder got going indeed, scoring a game-high 23 points for the Storm.
“She just shoots with such confidence,” South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack said of Winterhalder. “If she misses, that just means the next one is going in.”
A big key, as Winterhalder referenced, was turning defense into offense.
The stifling defense of Caroline Croft and Caitlyn Tolentino at the top of the press helped the Storm to a 24-2 lead, and the game was effectively over for Elgin (4-27).
“We generate a lot of points off our press and our pressure, half-court defense,” Mandernack said. “Caroline and Caitlyn lead our press. We call them hyenas.
“They just never get tired. They’re so fast. They’re in the passing lanes. They set up everything.”
Even with the lopsided final score, Winterhalder was still pleased with how the Storm went about building that lead.
“I feel like we always come out with the first punch,” Winterhalder said. “We always have high intensity. It’s a game of runs, but I feel like our strength is coming out strong, and that’s what we did.”
Croft added 11 points for South Elgin and Raina Yang had 10.
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While Croft recently committed to NCAA Division III Dallas to continue her career, Winterhalder will not play in college, instead deciding to focus on majoring in forensic science.
Both Croft and Winterhalder are in their fourth varsity seasons. And that gives these games even more meaning for Winterhalder.
“I don’t think it’s quite hit yet, but I think it will start getting emotional the last couple games,” she said. “I’m just playing every game like it’s my last. Hopefully, we have another game and we’ll see how far we can go.”
South Elgin beat Jacobs 54-34 in the season opener, but Mandernack is making sure his team doesn’t get too far ahead of things.
“It will be a war on Thursday,” Mandernack said. “The environment will be different. It’s going to be more people, more intensity.”
Winterhalder remembered winning a regional title as a freshman with a double-overtime victory over Barrington at Elgin.
“We weren’t really aware of how big that was,” Winterhalder said.
The following season, the Storm lost in the regional semifinals to Cary-Grove, while last season’s state series was canceled by the Illinois High School Association due to the pandemic.
Led by Winterhalder, the Storm are not taking lightly the opportunity to bring home some more hardware Thursday night.
“We’re all just eager to get that win and go out strong,” Winterhalder said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.