Harvest Christian falls in 1A sectional final
Early on Thursday night at the Class 1A sectional final everything seem to be on track for the Harvest Christian girls basketball team to make a return trip to the supersectional.
However, that plan quickly got derailed in the second half as visiting Seton Academy rallied from 11 points down and raced past the Lions in the second half for a 64-52 win in Elgin.
Harvest, which has often lived or died with the 3-pointer - more often than not flourishing in that area - was on the downside this time around. The Lions shot just 4-of-21 (19 percent) from the arc. Meanwhile Seton, which made just 1-of-10 3-pointers in the first half, knocked down 4 huge long distance shots in the second half.
"We have really relied on the 3-point shot with this group," Harvest coach Rich DeTamble said. "And this is probably the least amount of 3s we have had in a game all year. You have to give (Seton) credit. They really extended their pressure on the ball and took us out of our game. They forced us into some tough shots."
The Lions led 19-8 after the first quarter but that lead was down to 35-31 by halftime. Then everything changed at the start of the third quarter when Seton got back-to-back 3-pointers from Danielle Bailey and Janay Turner to to take a 37-35 lead. It was the start of an 11-0 run that put Seton up 42-35.
Harvest struggled mightily in the second half, shooting just 5-of-30 from the field and turning the ball over 11 times. The Lions managed to climb back within 46-43 with a transition basket by Paulino Castro, but Seton responded right back with 8 unanswered to put the game out of reach.
"The 3-pointers by them were heartbreaking," DeTamle said. "When we scouted them they didn't shoot many 3s, so we knew if they made some we might be in trouble. Plus they were able to really handle our pressure pretty well because they had several different players that could bring the ball up. They deserve the credit. They were the better team."
Castro finished with 19 points to close out an amazing high school career with the last 2 years at Harvest after transferring from Montini following her sophomore year.
"It's been great," said Castro, who has signed with Northern Illinois. "I'm so glad I made the decision to come here. I couldn't have asked for better teammates and Coach DeTamble has been nothing short of awesome. He made the transition so easy. I love Harvest and always will."
Sophomore Alyssa Iverson led the Lions with 20 points.
"I am so proud of our team," DeTamble said. "I had the best leadership I have ever had on a team with my seniors Paulina and Rachel (Oostdyk). The younger girls really responded to them. I still have eight girls coming back next year and five new girls coming in. So we will continue to grow and get bigger and stronger."