Big finish for Borries, Antioch
Disappointed with not advancing in the 3-point contest, Antioch guard Megan Borries saw her night get even rougher during her team’s Class 3A Vernon Hills regional semifinal against Lakes on Tuesday.
First, her dad, Sequoits coach Tim Borries, shared some tough-love words with her as she sat on the bench. Then, disappointed with some blown defensive coverage early in the third quarter, Tim Borries called a timeout and benched his daughter along with Antioch’s four other starters.
Megan Borries’ night ended wonderfully.
The junior scored 15 of her career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, rallying seventh-seeded Antioch to a 51-42 win and advancing the Sequoits to Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. regional final against No. 2 seed and host Vernon Hills.
“I’m glad that I finally got my shot down,” Borries said.
That Antioch (15-13) didn’t get down and prevailed in a closely contested game is nothing new. The Sequoits are 9-2 in contests decided by 4 or fewer points, not counting an overtime win.
“This is a blowout for us,” Tim Borries joked of his team’s 9-point win.
“I think (winning so many close games) helped us in this game. Out of our 15 wins, half of them we hung on. The other half we had to come back from six points down.”
Led by senior guard Ashlee Cunningham, Lakes (12-16) enjoyed a pair of eight-point leads in the third. Cunningham scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the quarter, but the Eagles also missed several shots close to the basket.
Lakes ended the third with Heather Hurlbut hitting a short jumper to give the Eagles a 33-26 cushion.
“We didn’t put (Antioch) away in the third,” Lakes coach Pete Schneider said. “We were up 8, but we should have been up 16. Give Antioch credit. ... They exposed some of our young players in the post.”
Borries opened the fourth quarter by hitting her only 3-pointer of the night, cutting Antioch’s deficit to 33-29.
“It just seemed to ignite the whole team,” Tim Borries said.
When Borries hit 2 free throws with 3:28 left, the Sequoits had their first lead (37-35) since the opening quarter. Lakes was still within two after a 3-point play by Cunningham with 50.1 seconds left, but Antioch hit 7 of 8 foul shots the rest of the way to beat its crosstown rival for the second time in three meetings this season.
“I think we know we’re the better team (against most teams on most nights),” Megan Borries said. “So we always have that confidence in our back pocket to help us pull through in the close games.”
Sophomores Paige Gallimore (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Alex Fracek (5 points, 3 of 3 free throws in the fourth, 6 rebounds) played big for Antioch, and senior Lindsey Gofron (7 points) provided critical leadership down the stretch.
“We didn’t let up,” Tim Borries said. “We just kept on playing our game.”
Junior forward Terese McMahon added 17 points and 7 rebounds for Lakes. Cunningham hit three 3s and also had 4 steals.
“(School-record) 12 wins or not, this was one of the most rewarding seasons I’ve ever had,” Schneider said. “Great kids. No drama.”
The game provided drama of another kind.