Carmel goes the distance for another regional title

Traveling doesn't seem to faze Carmel Catholic's girls basketball team.

In fact, long bus rides into the big city seem to bring out the best in the Corsairs, who for a second year have won a regional title in Chicago.

Sixth-seeded Carmel pulled off a 52-47 upset over No. 3 Marian Central 52-47 in the Class 3A Northside regional final Thursday night.

Carmel (15-15) next meets seventh-seeded Lakes (16-16) in a Woodstock North sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Eagles were also winners by upset after ousting second-seeded Vernon Hills 46-38 to taking the Antioch regional.

The Corsairs have raised their game to another level at the right time of the season.

"I'm so proud of all of them, and we really learned a lot throughout the year," Carmel coach Ben Berg said. "People might look at our record, but we earned this. We play a pretty tough schedule, with a lot of 4A schools. I'm proud of the girls of the way they've grown throughout the year, and we're playing our best basketball right now."

Carmel's Kaytlyn Matz had scored 10 of her 16 points in the first half and hit a key 3 in the fourth quarter. Just before it, Marian Central (18-14) had been chipping away at what had been a double-digit Corsairs lead, getting it down to 41-37 on a jumper from Miami of Ohio-bound Vanessa Garrelts (23 points) with 3:19 left.

Matz hit her well-timed 3 from the corner to stem the tide with 2:25 left. Then Rayna Jamison (18 points) made a free throw and followed with a layup to put the lead at 10 with 1:28 left.

"It was a huge 3 for us to help get our momentum back, and then we were able to on a run at the end," said Matz. "It was some good competition and we were able to put up a good fight."

Marian Central held a 16-13 advantage after the first quarter. But Carmel's defense held the Hurricanes to just 4 second-quarter points to grab a 26-20 lead at the break.

Carmel extended its lead to double digits in the third quarter and held a 37-28 advantage entering the final quarter.

"We came close, and were preparing for this," Marian Central coach Tony Powe said. "I thought it would come down to a matter of executing. When you're chasing points (in the fourth quarter), you're really trying to apply as much ball pressure as you can. It's hard - and they have girls that can shoot."