Marshall's late run sinks Harvest Christian
OGLESBY - Harvest Christian threw everything it had at the legendary Marshall program Monday night in the Class 2A Illinois Valley Community College supersectional.
Leading 40-37 with a little over three minutes remaining, the Lions suffered their only bad stretch of the night against the Commandoes, coach Dorothy Gaters' powerhouse with 8 state championships.
In a back-and-forth game with 18 ties or lead changes, Marshall made its final charge at the right time, scoring 10 straight to turn that 3-point deficit into a 47-40 lead on its way to a 53-48 victory.
Marshall (23-7) will play Teutopolis in the state semifinals Friday at Illinois State University in Normal.
Harvest (27-5), after reaching the Class 1A state tournament last year, more than held its own in its first year of 2A.
"We knew we were coming in as the underdog team," senior Alyssa Iverson said. "They are a great program. We told everyone to keep playing hard until the clock hit zero and we did."
Up until Marshall's late run, neither team had gone ahead by more than 4 points all night. The Lions overcame a staggering 44-16 deficit on the glass by forcing 20 turnovers and only turning the ball over 8 times.
"Our biggest problem is rebounding and they just got us," junior Elena Porrata said.
"It was frustrating as times because I'm boxing out down low and I have people jumping over my back and at times it's their athleticism coming in hand but other times I think the refs missed some calls that we really needed," Iverson said. "Definitely we had to adjust to a different style of play."
Marshall led 24-22 at halftime thanks to three 3-pointers off the bench by Jalyn Jimenez, one of five Marshall sophomores or freshmen who played heavy minutes. The Lions quickly went back up in the third quarter on Iverson's floater and a 3-pointer by Porrata, who sank three.
Niyah Zamundio's buzzer-beating half-court shot put Marshall up 35-32 going to the fourth but the Lions again fought back, tying the game at 37 on Iverson's free throw with 4:23 left.
"That 3 at the end of the quarter took a little steam out but they battled back," Harvest coach Jeff Boldog said "That's just what these girls do."
Maddy Martin split free throws for a 38-37 lead, and Iverson found Grace Ringel down low for a lay-in to make it 40-37. After Dtanla Rainey sank 2 free throws for Marshall, a rare Harvest turnover led to an open 3 from Rainey at the top of the key to put Marshall ahead to stay, 42-40 with 2:55 left.
Even when Marshall missed free throws late, Harvest had a hard time coming up with the defensive board. Trailing 49-41, Jenn Kasper sank a 3. She also made a free throw with :23.1 left to make it 51-46 but the Lions couldn't get closer.
"We hustled, we got after it," Porrata said. "We wanted to make sure we came into this game not afraid and that's exactly what we did."
The all-stater Iverson led Harvest with 16 points in her final game, Porrata scored 14 and Martin 7.
"We missed a lot of bunnies, we missed free throws, in a game like this you can't miss those. And one loose ball here or there makes a big difference," said the first-year coach Boldog.
"When you look back at the adversity these girls went through, a new coach, learning a new system, three new girls coming in. and moving up a class. They did a great job and competed and battled through every adversity through the entire season. I was super proud of the effort. They didn't back down, they battled every step of the way."