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WW South rallies from 20-point deficit to beat Conant

Maria Dohse had an explanation for Wheaton Warrenville South's slow start Tuesday night.

"We wanted to give Coach a heart attack," Dohse said jokingly.

Thankfully, WW South coach Rob Kroehnke's heart is fine, though he was breathing a big sigh of relief after the Tigers rallied from 20-point deficit to edge Conant 40-36 at the Class 4A York regional semifinals in Elmhurst.

Fourth-seeded WW South (20-8) will play eighth seed York, which beat Elk Grove 36-28, in Thursday's championship game.

"I think we just aged Coach 10 years," Tigers guard Mira Emma added.

That's understandable considering nothing went right for the heavily favored Tigers in the first half. No. 13 seed Conant (10-18) stunned them with an early 16-1 run as Stephanie Mazurek sank her first 5 shots, 3 of which were 3-pointers.

Mazurek's layup gave the Cougars a 26-6 lead with 4:41 left in the second quarter, prompting Kroehnke to burn his second timeout.

The Tigers shot just 4 for 23 in the first half. Freshman Lily Huntzinger sank a 3-pointer and Mackenzie Stebbins scored on a layup to end the second quarter, but the Tigers still trailed 28-13.

"We went in the locker room shooting 17 percent," Emma said. "Shooting 17 percent, you're not going to get anywhere.

"It was like there was a cover on the basket. But you've got to keep your composure."

Emma did just that. The senior point guard missed 6 of her first 7 shots but made 4 of her last 5, scoring 13 of her 16 points in the final nine minutes, including a trio of 3s.

Emma's 3 out of the right corner pulled the Tigers within 2 midway through the fourth quarter. On the ensuing possession Dohse stole the ball and Stebbins found Emma for the go-ahead 3 that put WW South ahead to stay, 35-34, at the 2:52 mark.

"You can't think about (past misses)," Emma said. "You've just got to step up and shoot it."

Dohse and senior Kylie Ruggles forced turnovers on the next two Conant possessions and Dohse split a pair of free throws with 48.7 seconds left. Emma and Stebbins, who made her last four shots and had 9 or her 12 points after halftime, closed the game with a pair of made 1-and-1s.

Dohse, a defensive specialist who was saddled with 2 early fouls, scored only 1 point but was a big reason why the Tigers gave up only 8 points in the second half. She had 2 steals down the stretch.

"I came out making my shots in warmups," Dohse said. "I thought I was going to be on fire and unfortunately I got two fouls called early on.

"The shots weren't falling, but I knew I had to do what I could on defense to make up for it."

Dohse, Emma and Stebbins are four-year starters who each have played nearly 120 varsity games, while Ruggles and senior Abby Struebing are in their third year on varsity.

"It's good to have seniors staying composed when you get yourself in a hole like that," Kroehnke said. "We always say if you play defense, you give yourself a chance, and we gave ourselves a chance today."

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