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St. Francis looks to the future after loss

The present was tough on the St. Francis girls basketball team Thursday at the Class 3A Nazareth regional final. The future, however, is much brighter.

The North Lawndale Phoenix, seeded third in the Orr sectional, burst out in the second half for a 33-11 scoring advantage en route to a 57-35 victory.

The Spartans' season ends at 18-11. However, Thursday night's 15-player roster contained just two seniors.

"The arrow is pushing up for our kids and our program," said St. Francis coach Mike Phillips. "Our young kids will all work hard over the summer. We haven't won a regional championship in 11 years and it's a goal to win one."

North Lawndale (19-11) led 16-11 after the first eight minutes and enjoyed its biggest lead of the second quarter at 7 when Jamaria Williams' jump shot made it 20-13.

Then the sixth-seeded Spartans caught a spark and finished on an 11-4 run to tie the game at 24 at halftime. The play of St. Francis in the final 2:14 of the first half was crucial in tying the contest.

Mia Mazza got past the Phoenix defene for a layup all alone. Leah Riccolo followed with a basket of her own and then she fed Antwainette Walker, who tied the game at 22. Riccolo put the Spartans up 24-22 before North Lawndale's Kia Brooks tied the game with 47 seconds left.

The Phoenix came out much stronger in the second half and its defense was crucial to limiting St. Francis to just one field goal during the third quarter and North Lawndale outscored the Spartnas 15-3.

"They turned it up a notch and we spent a lot of energy getting back into the game in the first half," Phillips said. "We haven't played that style of physical play. But it was a good experience to learn that you have to step up in whatever type of game it is. It was an unfortunate game for our seniors, but good experience for the kids returning.

Walker, a freshman, led St. Francis with 12 points and 13 rebounds after missing most of the first quarter after being cut on the forehead when she collidied with a North Lawndale player.

Nadia Miller led the Phoenix with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Next up for North Lawndale is a Tuesday sectional semifinal against Marshall.

"We picked it up in the second half. There are six seniors on the roster that weren't ready to have their season end. We started making our shots and we went after it," said Phoenix coach Corey Morgan.

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