A 'Super' effort for Burlington Central
ROCHELLE - One could easily say the Burlington Central defense Thursday night was just "super" again.
Clamping down on Rockford Boylan like a vise grip, the Rockets had just enough offense to beat the Titans 34-25 in the championship game of the Class 3A Rochelle girls basketball sectional, BC's third sectional crown in four years.
"Phenomenal," smiled Central senior Kayla Ross, who not only had a game-high 16 points but also held Boylan senior point guard Jessie Schiro to one field goal.
"We work on defense so much and it's really showing."
The 10th-ranked Rockets (26-4) now get a shot at top-ranked and defending state champion Morton on Monday in the 7 p.m. Bureau Valley supersectional in Manlius. Morton defeated Washington 42-35 to win the Galesburg sectional Thursday.
"Just a phenomenal effort by five seniors who don't want to see this end," said Central coach Mark Smith. "We've got some kids battling some sickness but they played through it. It wasn't pretty - one of those grind-it-out games but we'll take it and we're happy to be moving on to the next step."
Central trailed only once all night, 15-14 with 20 seconds left in the first half. But junior reserve Madison Hodgson made 2 free throws 11 seconds later to give the Rockets a 16-15 halftime lead.
Boylan (23-10) did a stellar defensive job on BC leading scorer Sam Pryor, holding her scoreless and to only one shot in the first 16 minutes. But Ross scored 6 points and senior Samantha Cruz hit a big 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
"They played good defense on me but they can't stop all of us and that's a great testament to how far we've come as a team," said Pryor.
Leading 18-17 early in the third quarter Western Illinois signee Pryor, who finished with 8 points, shook a defender and hit a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 Rocket run, in which she had another 3, that ended with Central up 27-17 after a Ross free throw with 1:22 left in the quarter.
"When Sam hit those 3s it really turned things for us, and Kayla Ross was the tone-setter on both ends tonight," said Smith. "We locked down on them defensively and that starts with Ross. I keep saying it, but if she isn't one of the best defensive players in the state something's wrong."
Boylan spent much of the fourth quarter chasing the basketball as Central played an effective game of keep away. With only one team foul entering the period it took the Titans until there was 1:33 left in the game to get BC to the free-throw line. Once the Rockets did get there, Ross hit 3 of 4 down the stretch to seal the win.
On the other end, the Titans made just 3 of 9 shots in the fourth quarter, all by junior Sarah Welsh, who had a team-high 12 points. Boylan made just 11 of 36 from the floor for the game, 2 of 8 from the line and turned the ball over 18 times.
BC, meanwhile, was just 10 of 37 shooting but had only 13 turnovers - 3 in the first half. Boylan won the battle of the boards 32-21 but missed four second-chance field goal attempts.
"They just play tough, aggressive defense and we couldn't get anything going offensively," said Boylan coach Paul Perrone, whose team dropped down to Class 3A this season after winning a Class 4A sectional two years ago and a 4A regional last year.
The five Rocket seniors, who have been a part of 105 wins the past four seasons, get to see their season continue with a shot at their second trip to Redbird Arena on the line Monday.
"After being in this program four years we knew what it was going to take to get to this spot again," Ross said. "We're playing every game like it's our last and we have so much intensity and heart right now."
Added Pryor of winning another sectional title: "It hasn't hit me yet. This is just a great group of girls who don't want this to end."