Marian Catholic sophomore Madison Davis can always count on her twin brother Josh to cheer for her at games.
“He’s so supportive,” Davis said. “He’s at all the games. It’s fun to see him have fun in the crowd.”
Josh, who plays baseball, was standing near the baseline Wednesday night when Davis was sent sprawling while attempting a layup. He was the first one there to help her get up.
“Yep, that was him,” Davis said, laughing. “I love the energy I get from him.”
Madison Davis was as good as an energy drink for the host Spartans during a 53-40 victory over Providence in a semifinal game of the Marian Catholic Classic in Chicago Heights.
Davis finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four steals for Marian (8-2). Zikora Okonkwo added 12 points and four rebounds, while Anna Kleszynski had 11 points.
Gabi Bednar paced Providence (11-1) with 17 points. Kelly Knight added eight points and four rebounds, while Annalise Pietrzyk contributed six points.
Marian will play Fenwick at 7 p.m. Friday in the championship game.
Davis, a 5-foot-8 guard, usually starts at the shooting spot. She took over point duties against the Celtics because of an injury to teammate Mia Skelton.
“I’ve run a little bit of secondary in a couple of other games,” Davis said. “It was fun to run off the point and be a leader on the floor.”
Davis had her biggest moments Wednesday in the third quarter.
She started with a running hook to put the Spartans in front 26-20. On her next chance, she drained a 3-pointer.
Perhaps the biggest play Davis made came with 5:13 remaining in the quarter when she stole the ball at midcourt and drew a foul by Pietrzyk.
Pietrzyk had to spend the rest of the quarter on the bench with three fouls.
“I didn’t realize she had two fouls,” Davis said. “I was just trying to make a play. Obviously, my teammates’ great defense led to me getting that steal and have a chance to build up our lead.”
Davis is averaging 14 points for the Spartans during an eye-opening sophomore season. She averaged only six points in the spring as Marian coach Dan Murray started her right off on the varsity.
“Last year, she didn’t get a full season,” Murray said. “The big thing was she didn’t get as much practice as we usually do. Now that we’ve been able to work with her, she has a much better feel for it.
“She has a ton of potential. She’s an extremely hard worker who loves the game and steps up in big moments. She did a fantastic job stepping in for Mia.”
Another big contributor for the Spartans was Okonkwo, a 5-10 senior forward who dominated under the basket.
In a key sequence during the second quarter, she hit two free throws and followed with a layup as the Spartans rallied from a four-point deficit.
It took some of the air out of the Celtics, who came into the game with a program-record 11 wins to start the season.
“Providence is a good team and we knew this was going to be a big game,” Okonkwo said. “We knew we had to step up, close down shooters and really do it on the defensive end.”
The Spartans did an excellent job on defense, especially underneath. Providence converted seven 3-pointers but never did get into a real offensive rhythm.
“We switched between a 1-3-1, 2-3 and man,” Okonkwo said. “We tried to get them confused and keep them off the arc as much as possible.”
Providence coach Eileen Copenhaver saw in Marian what her own team had done for 11 games.
“We played a very good team on their court and they hit every shot,” Copenhaver said. “Hopefully, down the road, we learn to defend a little bit better. But they did very well.
“Most of the game we were hustling, doing a lot of things with a lot of energy. We just couldn’t get over the hump. Kudos to them. They just flat out beat us.”