Dundee-Crown stymies Crystal Lake South
Sure, Dundee-Crown has a plethora of offensive weapons.
But it was defense which spearheaded the second-seeded Chargers to a 45-22 win over seventh-seeded Crystal Lake South in the title game of the Class 4A McHenry girls basketball regional Thursday night.
D-C (18-11), winners of 10 straight, claimed its third straight and 15th overall regional championship.
The Chargers will play Rockford Boylan in semifinal action of the Hampshire sectional Monday at 6 p.m.
"We studied a lot of film on South and we had good focus defensively," said D-C coach Sarah Miller. "The kids really bought in defensively. To hold a good offensive team like South to 22 points shows we have a lot of pride in our defense. We did a great job taking away their transition offense and we didn't let them get many easy shots."
The Gators (14-15), who were a woeful 30 percent (4-of-13) from the free throw lane, managed to make only 9-of-39 from the floor for 23 percent. South misfired on all 10 of its 3-point attempts.
"D-C is a gifted team that plays great defense," said Gators coach Mark Mucha. "They took everything away we wanted to do offensively. They did a great job of covering up the gaps and they play defensively with great athleticism and discipline."
The Chargers, who never trailed in the game. seized control from the outset scoring the first 11 points.
Making their first 5 shots of the game, Allison Michalski scored 3 baskets for 6 points, Kennedy White buried a 3-pointer from deep in the right corner and Paige Gieseke scored on a left-handed driving layup and D-C held a 11-0 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter.
The Gators' first points of the game came on a putback by Annika Sevcik to make the score 11-2 with 2:58 remaining in the initial 8 minutes.
The Chargers, who led 17-4 after 1 quarter, took a 29-13 advantage into the halftime locker room when freshman Cassidy Randl beat the buzzer with a 12-footer in the lane.
Dundee-Crown's biggest lead was 30, 45-15, with 6:26 left after a putback by Michalski.
Michalski, 9-of-13 from the floor, paced the Chargers with 19 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"I got the ball in great position to score," said Michalski. "We were really focused especially at the defensive end. This is three regional championships for me. It is always great."
White, Anna Kieltyka and Madilyn Tripp (9 rebounds) scored 6 apiece for the winners.
"It is amazing to 3-peat as regional champs," said Kieltyka, "We value defense and getting stops. We are playing together as a unit on both ends of the floor."
Madelynn Bush led South with 8 points.