Bolingbrook Unseated by Whitney Young

It took four overtime periods to unseat the Bolingbrook Lady Raider basketball team from its championship run that extended over six seasons. For the first time since 2005, there will not be a Bolingbrook team represented at the Class 4A IHSA final four after losing 74-65 to their nemesis Whitney Young in quadrupal overtime at the Class 4A Hinsdale Central supersectional Monday night.

Bolingbrook (27-2) dominated in the first quarter using a 9-0 run to build an 11-2 lead in a blistering pace that saw Connecticut bound senior forward Morgan Tuck light up the scoreboard with seven points, an assist and a steal to get the Raiders pointed in the right direction and midway through the second quarter holding a 22-9 lead, there was no reason to believe that Bolingbrook wouldn't coast to another blow out victory but this was undefeated Whitney Young (32-0).

With 6:12 remaining in the half the Dolphins got fire and turned to their leader, Janee Thompson who led the charge back scoring nine of her game high 34 points cutting the lead to only five, 32-27 at the break.

In the last game of the regular season, Romeoville traveled to Plainfield Central who was celebrating their senior night but it looked more like a Spartan celebration in the first quarter. Romeoville (6-20) built a 16-4 lead by the end off the first quarter playing solid defense and knocking down shots and had complete command of the contest but the Wildcats (7-13) finally started to hit a few shots and went into the half trailing 6. In the third the two teams traded big shots and big turnovers but with 5 minutes to go in regulation, Central took the lead for the first time on an alley-oop pass from Curtiss Harrington to Andre Norris for a dunk and the momentum. Trailing two with 5.5 seconds left Romeoville tied it up after Uchenna Akuba dropped in a layup for two of his game high 21. In OT Central kept the Spartans at bay and slipped away with an amazing 54-51 senior night win.

Southwest Prairie Conference rivals Plainfield Central and Plainfield North squared off last Friday night both seeking a win and while the game may have been meaningless in terms of a post season seeding or an potential conference championship as both teams were not in contention, it was one of the best games I have seen this season.

Central took the advantage early and used their inside out game of three pointers from senior guard Zach Warner and three pointers the old fashion way in the paint from senior center Andre Norris to build a 7 point lead midway through the 2nd quarter but the Tigers fought back. Trailing 8 midway through the second, North freshman Trevor Stumpe drained a three-pointer and the momentum shifted with the Tigers holding a one point lead at the half.

In the second half the lead changed 5 times but North pounded Central in the paint behind junior center Corey Evak who simply couldn't be stopped once he got the ball on the block. With 3.9 seconds left to play and the Tigers holding a 67-66 lead, Central had an opportunity to win but a three point attempt went off the front of the rim preserving the Tigers 6th win of the season as the student fans rushed the floor in celebration.

Green and orange streamers crisscrossed the stands and T-shirts were handed out shortly after Plainfield East captured the school’s first Southwest Prairie Conference championship in any sport with a 64-45 home victory over Plainfield South Friday in Plainfield.

But, shortly after running their records to 24-1 overall and 13-0 in the SPC, the Bengals shifted their focus to going unbeaten in the league. Plainfield East is at Oswego East Thursday.

http://www.s pcreport.com/champions.html

The Minooka Indians (13-16) didn't come into the Class 4A Joliet West regional with a flashy record but they left it with some new bling for their hallways. Minooka senior guard Sara Placher hit two three pointers in the opening minutes for a 9-2 Indian lead and led all scorers with 24 points on the night including a 3-of-5 performance from behind the arc.

The Indians used the three-ball and critical free throw shooting down the stretch to put an end to host school Joliet West (11-16) in a game of runs 60-56. The Tigers battled back in the third quarter trailing by 13 behind a tenacious defensive effort that turned into fast break opportunities to climb back in the game.

Entering the 4th, West trailed only two, 42-40 and kept the pressure on the Indians who never relinquished the lead but led by only one point after Tiger center Aaliyah Stepney spun into the lane with a put back. With two minutes to play Joliet was forced to start fouling but Minooka hit their shots shooting 10-of-13 from the line to secure their second consecutive regional championship.

No. 5 Plainfield East (21-8) finished their season at the Class 4A Lockport Regional with blowout loss to No. 2 Benet Academy 62-37 in the championship game.

Benet jumped out to a 7-0 lead before East got on the board and built a 22-10 lead at the half. In the third, Benet's sister duo of Kristen and Sidney Prasse shot the lights out combining for 42 points mostly from three-point range. The Redwings shot 51% from the floor and was 8-of-14 from beyond the arc keeping the Bengals out of contention for any sort of comeback.

While the loss stung for the program only in its third season, the Bengals will likely be back as they will return perhaps the best core group of players in the Southwest Prairie Conference next season with a 21 win season to build from.

In the final game of the regular season, Romeoville let a 14 point lead slip away in the second half of their contest against Plainfield East with sole position for the Spartans first ever SPC championship. With the 51-42 loss, the Spartans were forced to share that crown with Oswego East and drew the Bengal's for their opening game of the Class 4A IHSA state playoffs at the Lockport Regional semi final game only five days later.

Talk about de ja vu...only this time there was nothing but a long bus ride home for the Lady Spartans.

Opening their playoff match with Romeoville (22-5) Tuesday night, the 10th seeded Bengals (20-7) were the underdogs but didn't play like that early jumping out to a 5-0 lead. 7 seed Romeoville looked like a deer in headlights before settling in and seemingly taking command midway through the second quarter 21-9 behind a 13 first half points from junior Kierra Currie but East chipped away at the lead.

Plainfield East pushed their record to 21-1 on the season after a punishing third quarter against visiting rival Plainfield North in which the Bengals went from a 31-21 lead at the half to a 30-point cushion behind a defense that pressured the young Tiger backcourt into 8 turnovers in the quarter. East kept that cushion in large part to senior guard DeAndre Brown who capped his sensational prep career scoring 27 points on the night and reached the career 1000-point mark in the process. Brown simply couldn't be stopped as he was able to penetrate and finish at the rim as well as draining three-pointers from beyond the arc effortlessly. In a magical season to this point for East, Brown is an example of a player that not only displays his skill set on a nightly basis but does it with the kind of character every coach seeks when drawing up their starting line-up. The Tigers on the other hand are in a rebuilding year and have struggled to 5 wins but they are not a team I would take my eyes off in the post season and could shock a few teams.

Riddled with injury and inexperience, the Tigers were in the lions den in Bolingbrook last week and they knew it. The Bolingbrook pep band opened with the national anthem but it could have very well been "Taps". The Lady Raiders (19-1, 11-0) opened the first quarter by missing their first three shot attempts shooting 3 of 10 in the early going but it was nothing more than a nuisance for Brook fans who jeered some at the missed layups but were treated to a first class thumping of a Tigers team that suited only seven girls for the contest due to injury. West was held scoreless until 6 seconds left to play in the games opening half when a 6-foot jumper from junior Vicky Orasco found the bottom of the net and avoided being blanked in the half 41-2. Bolingbrook was simply too quick, too big and in the end too smart to allow the Tigers hope of competing with them on their home floor in a 72-16 "two for me none for you" basketball showcase win.