Rosary upsets Aurora Central Catholic for regional crown
After a challenging 10-17 season that included a 6-game losing streak and stinging defeats by as much as 47 points, few people gave Rosary much of a chance of winning the Class 3A Rosary girls basketball regional.
Fortunately for the Royals, the few who did believe in the team were the ones who mattered most: the players and coaches themselves.
And after a 63-40 victory over Plano in the semifinals on Wednesday, the Royals secured their first regional title since 2008 by upsetting their Edgelawn Drive rival, Aurora Central Catholic, 40-29 in the regional finals on Friday.
The championship may have seemed improbable to most of the fans at the ML Kunold Athletic Facility, but it fulfilled a season-long goal for Rosary's scrappy underdog squad.
"We talked about regionals all season," said senior point guard Quincy Kellett, who paced Rosary with 12 points, 4 assists, 2 steals and 9 rebounds. "Since we're no longer in a conference (the Suburban Christian Conference disbanded last year), we focused on winning regionals all year. We prepared all year for this game. Every day we talked about the regional. Every day. We wanted this so badly."
Although Rosary coach Jessie Terrell was one of the team members who kept telling her players they could win the regional, even the third-year coach admitted that the Royals' championship performance would take a little time to fully sink in.
"If you had told me we would win a regional title within three years (of Terrell's arrival as coach), I wouldn't have believed it," said Terrell, whose squad advanced to the Hampshire sectional semifinals, where it will face Woodstock at 6 p.m. Monday. "I attest this to God. We have such a faith-filled team."
Like most of its season, Rosary's victory wasn't easy. Neither the Royals (12-17) or Chargers (17-11) led by more than five points until the fourth quarter of this tense defensive struggle. Rosary held leads of 9-8 after one quarter and 19-17 at halftime before Aurora Central evened the score at 21 midway through the third quarter on a turnaround jumper by 6-foot-3 sophomore center Taylor Harazin (8 points).
The Royals went ahead for good 22-21 on a free throw by Lauren Smith with 1:09 left in a third quarter where the tension of the regional final seemed to wear on the players. The teams combined to miss 20 out of 23 field goals in the period, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, and both teams failed to capitalize on several layups and shots in the lane.
But Rosary played with great poise when it counted most in the fourth quarter. The Royals built a 29-21 cushion by scoring the first seven points of the period, capped by a steal and breakaway layup by senior forward Megan Conlin (11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) with 5:37 remaining.
ACC crept back within 31-26 on a free throw by Harazin, but Smith countered with a free throw, and Conlin snatched a second steal and uncontested layup to push the lead back to 34-26. Conlin continued her heroics with an offensive rebound and layin of a missed free throw that extended Rosary's edge to 38-29 with 1:41 left, and Kellett prompted Rosary fans to begin celebrating the championship when she canned two free throws for a 40-29 lead with 1:00 to go.
"This is off-the-chains the best feeling," Conlin said of winning the regional in her final appearance on the Royals' home court. "I'm a bundle of emotions. It's so rewarding when the whole, entire team contributes. We prepared so hard for this game. We even pumped crowd noise into our practices over the loudspeakers to get us ready for this atmosphere. It took great teamwork, dedication, hard work, commitment. It was a team effort."
ACC coach Mark Fitzgerald said his squad executed its game plan, limiting Rosary to even fewer points than the Royals scored in the Chargers' 57-43 victory over Rosary in December.
"But Rosary played an inspired game tonight," Fitzgerald said. "They played good defense, they hustled. We got the shots we wanted inside. We just couldn't get our shots to fall. That's basketball. I love my team and have great respect for our six seniors. They're true Chargers and they will always have a special place in my heart."
Speaking of seniors, Terrell made sure to highlight Kellett's gutsy performance. The four-year varsity player even helped Rosary to a surprising 27-21 edge on the boards against the bigger Chargers.
"When Quincy was a sophomore, she just relied on her raw talent and speed," Terrell said. "Now she knows the game of basketball. She's such a smart and heady player and a great floor leader. One of our goals tonight was to get (ACC) in foul trouble, and she was so good at attacking them off the dribble and getting to the line."
Rosary shot 24 free throws to ACC's 7.