Grott's got game as Prospect edges Rolling Meadows

Hannah Grott has had her share of big shots this season for Prospect's winningest girls basketball team in school history.

But none were bigger than Friday night in the championship game of the Class 4A Grayslake North regional.

With the No. 2-seeded and state-ranked Knights trailing No. 7 seed Rolling Meadows 27-26 and less than six minutes remaining, Grott fired home a 12-footer from the baseline to give Prospect a lead it would never relinquish in a hard-fought 38-32 victory.

Prospect (25-2) will face Hersey (21-6) in Tuesday's 7 p.m. semifinal of the Palatine sectional.

Grott's go-ahead 12-footer was hardly the extent of her highlights.

After Taylor Will's deflection on Meadows' next possession got the ball back in the hands of Prospect, Grott stepped up with a 3-pointer to provide the Knights some breathing room at 31-27.

"Player of the game," said Prospect coach Ashley Graham without hesitation. "She has been our sixth man all season and tonight was her night. She was huge."

Grott finished with 8 points, including a 3-pointer in the first quarter that tied the game at 8-8 after the Knights fell behind 8-2.

"And talk about someone who puts in the work," Graham said. "Every day Hannah comes to practice the same way, ready to give everything she has. She probably gets more bruises than anyone and she never complains.

"She'll be in tears and she'll still say 'No, no I'm fine.' I am so happy for her to be on this stage and to come through the way she did."

"It's my last year with all these girls," Grott said. "I just wanted to give it my all."

Prospect had defeated Meadows by 8 and 16 points earlier this season.

"We knew nothing was promised," Grott said. "We knew we were going to have play hard to pull out a win."

"I felt we had a good defensive game plan," said Graham, whose team did not allow a field goal in the middle quarters - but the Mustangs made 13-of-14 free throws in that span. "But so did Rolling Meadows. They took us out of our strengths but somehow we found a way to win."

Sophomore Haley Will had two of the Knights' five 3-pointers and finished with 7 points while Catherine Sherwood and Brenda Kendziera chipped in 4 apiece.

Junior guard Megan King (9 points) hit her third 3-pointer to get Meadows (19-10) to within 33-30 with 2:26 left.

But Prospect junior Nikki Matters came through with two clutch free throws to make it 35-30 with 49.2 seconds left.

"I just said I had to make those," Matters said. "I stepped up and took a deep breath."

The Knights fans were finally able to take a deep breath after 2 free throws by senior Taylor Will with 11.2 seconds clinched the verdict with 11.2 seconds left.

Prospect won its first regional title since coach Martha Kelly's 2009 and 2010 teams and the ninth in school history.

For Taylor Will, it was her first regional crown in a four-year career that has seen her score a school-record 1,733 points after leading the Knights with 13 on Friday.

"It's great to do this with this group of girls," she said. "Everyone is so positive, so energetic. Even though this game was close all the way, we stayed positive and came out on top."

The Mustangs started on top with a 6-0 lead, thanks to a driving layup by Kyra Spwiak (12 points, 4 rebounds), a driving bank shot by Hannah Mickey (8 rebounds) and a layup by Katherine Nolan (8 points, 6 rebounds).

Morgan Campagna grabbed 5 rebounds for the Mustangs while Jamie Berry had 2 along with solid defensive play.

"I am extremely proud of our kids," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky, whose 2013 and 2014 teams finished second in Class 4A. "They executed our game plan.

"Prospect is a great team and made some big plays down the stretch when it had to.

"I think our kids exceeded expectations (after the top eight players from last year graduated) throughout the season, and it was a testament to our senior captains, Jamie Berry and Nora Rasche."