First conference title for Dundee-Crown in 12 years
On Jan. 10, Dundee-Crown dropped a 53-38 decision at Hampshire and fell to 3-5 in Fox Valley Conference girls basketball action.
Chances for an FVC title looked bleak.
One month and 8 consecutive wins later, the Chargers are FVC-quad champions after a hard-fought 38-35 win over District 300 rival Jacobs in Algonquin Friday night.
D-C, 16-11 overall, shares the title with an 11-5 record with Cary-Grove, Huntley and Hampshire. It's the Chargers' first conference title since 2004-05.
"We did a lot of soul searching and had some meetings after the Hampshire game," said D-C coach Sarah Miller. "We were super unhappy. We weren't playing as a team and we weren't playing up to our potential. We started trusting ourselves. We overcame a lot of adversity and I am super proud of our accomplishment."
The Golden Eagles made the Chargers earn the win.
Jacobs (12-14, 8-8) actually took the lead at 22-21 on a layup from Carly Sidor with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter. The Chargers responded with a 9-0 run with 5 points from Paige Gieseke including a conventional 3-pointer and 4 points from Allison Michalski.
D-C led by 8, 30-22, with 2:43 left in the quarter.
The Golden Eagles didn't quit and rallied for the final 5 points of the third. Sidor scored 3 points and freshman point guard Kyra Cabusao connected on 2 free throws and Golden Eagles whittled the lead to 30-27 after 24 minutes.
The Chargers' biggest lead of the fourth quarter was 36-29 after a driving layup by Michalski with 1:43 left.
Michalski paced the Chargers with 16 points, 11 in the second half. The senior center added 10 rebounds with 3 assists and 3 blocked shots.
"We weren't clicking as a team earlier in the season," said Michalski. "We started playing as a team and started playing unselfishly. Coach Miller really got on us at halftime. We were making silly unforced turnovers. We are starting play up to our potential and it feels great to be conference champs."
Kennedy White, just returning to the lineup after an injury, scored 8 points including a pair of 3s in the second quarter.
"It is huge Kennedy is back," said Miller. "She gives us another dimension on the floor."
Gieseke added 7 points with 8 rebounds.
'This team battled through a lot of adversity," said Gieseke. "We knew we had a lot of potential and we are starting to put the pieces together."
Sidor and Maggie Grady paced the Eagles with 9 points apiece.
"I tip my hat and congratulations to D-C for winning the conference," said Jacobs coach Joe Benoit. "I am proud of my girls. They played hard and left everything on the court."