When things go well for Oak Forest, it’s a given somewhere at the core of that success is going to be Janae Kent.
That was certainly the case Thursday night in the Class 3A Evergreen Park Regional championship game against the host Mustangs. The junior guard/forward scored 26 points to lead the Bengals to a 49-36 victory.
But Kent, a highly regarded Division I recruit, made her own pick for MVP of the game.
“Oh, Colleen Zarembski was amazing,” Kent said excitedly. “She helped us big-time. That was crazy big. She did her thing. I’m so proud of her.”
Zarembski, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, made what was probably the biggest imprint of her career. She scored 12 points, most coming during a wild second-quarter sequence as she struck for four straight baskets — three from 3-point range.
The Bengals led 12-6 when the streak began. When it ended, it was 23-8.
Big-time, for sure.
“I had something like that happen one other time, I believe, at Tinley Park,” Zarembski said. “Once I get on it, I feel good and I’m confident in my shot.
“I was super psyched to have that happen. But I’m more happy my team could be there and we could all win it together.”
Oak Forest (18-10) plays Crete-Monee (15-12) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Kankakee Sectional semifinals.
Bengals coach Jeff Kelly doubled down on Kent’s praise regarding Zarembski’s clutch performance against Evergreen Park.
“We didn’t have Colleen the first time around when we lost to Evergreen,” Kelly said. “This time, she was the key to winning the game. Hitting three threes in a row was the difference.
“She’s a great kid. It was great to see that happen to her and for her to do that for her team.”
Zarembski, who’s averaging five points and four rebounds this season, is a two-year varsity player but a first-year starter.
“Her role is to make the open shot when she has the opportunity, and she usually does,” Kelly said. “She rebounds. She defends. And she is always upbeat, a great teammate.
“All the positives apply. She’s a great complement to Janae.”
Stepping up: Providence junior Annalise Pietrzyk was a bit under her average in Thursday’s 48-45 overtime win over the host Spartans in a 3A Wheaton St. Francis Regional championship game.
But not when it mattered the most.
The 5-8 guard nailed a 3-pointer late in regulation to force a 40-40 tie. Then, she closed the door on St. Francis late in OT by hitting 3 of 4 free throws.
Pietrzyk finished with nine points. She’s averaging 14.4 points.
But even on a subpar scoring night, crunchtime brought out her best.
“That’s when we put the ball in her hands,” Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver said. “She wants the ball. She looks to step up. On the free throws, she was confident up there.
“Annalise looks forward to those moments. What makes it even nicer is she can pass out of there, too. Her ability to see the floor and understand the game really helps us.”
Another standout for the Celtics was senior Kelly Knight. The 5-5 guard finished with 16 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer during overtime.
Knight was making her first start since tweaking her right knee during a Feb. 7 game against Mother McAuley.
“We’ve been using her at practice a little at a time,” Copenhaver said. “She came off the bench for a couple of games before we put her back in the starting lineup.
“She was sort of out of sync even before the McAuley game where her shot really wasn’t falling. So to come back here, it was great to see her have a breakout game when we really needed her.”
Providence (27-6) plays Sycamore (30-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a Kaneland Sectional semifinal game.
Did you know? Morgan Park Academy coach Tom Drahozal won the 500th game of his coaching career on Feb. 14 with a 76-22 victory over St. Francis de Sales.
Drahozal, who serves as the principal at MPA, has been at the school since 1987. He coached the boys team for seven seasons before taking over the girls program in 1994.