York ignores history with Glenbard West
Danielle Dennis and her York teammates were ready to forget history.
The York junior guard poured in 25 points to lead the Dukes to a 70-43 victory over Glenbard West in a Class 4A Hoffman Estates girls basketball regional semifinal Wednesday night. The ninth-seeded Dukes had lost twice to the eighth-seeded Hilltoppers during West Suburban Silver play this season.
"We've lost to them twice, so it was all about confidence," Dennis said. "Now it's about survival in the playoffs. It's a completely different mental game."
The third meeting between the two conference rivals was very different from the previous two, especially in the second half. York led 30-26 at halftime, then scored the first 6 points of the third quarter, taking a 10-point lead on a pair of Jaclyn Saco free throws. The Hilltoppers (16-11) cut the lead to 6, but York (14-12) went on another run and led by 12 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was more of what the third was like. After Glenbard West's Jamiyah Thomas scored to open the period, York answered with 11 straight points, taking a 57-36 lead after a steal and layup by junior Caylin Rufus.
"I know we're one and done in the state tournament, but in a very weird way the pressure was kind of off our girls," first-year York coach Maggie Ely said. "They really knew they had nothing to lose. They walked in 0-2 on this team already - and they're a fantastic team, great players and what Karen's done with their program in the last three years has been incredible - but they really kind of just figured these kids out. They really adjusted well, and they learned their players enough that our girls felt enough confidence going in without that pressure that they knew they could win this."
Dennis had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and even blocked a shot in addition to her big scoring night. Saco added 11 points and Rufus 10, and the 70 points were the Dukes' highest total of the season.
"I had time to warm up. It was definitely all about the shooting and taking advantage of the other team fouling and attacking the rim," Dennis said. "My teammates set me up really well this game. It's a playoff game. It's very nerve-wracking, but I definitely found my game tonight. I took the time to relax on the court and run everything we run."
"She's incredible," Ely added. "She keeps exceeding our expectations. It pays off because she works her butt off every single day. She never takes a drill off, and it shows. It shows when we play."
The Dukes will have a very tough assignment on Friday night when they meet No. 1-seeded Geneva in the regional final.
Samantha Skirvin led the Hilltoppers with 18 points.
"I think for us defensively we never settled in," Glenbard West coach Karen Persinger said. "That's our staple. We give up less than 40 points a game, and tonight we didn't do that. We looked a little scattered. Give credit to York. They did a nice job on offense tonight."