advertisement

Second chances cost Kaneland in regional final

Josie Ness had a fitting offensive rebound for Sandwich in the waning seconds of the Kaneland Class 3A girls basketball regional final Friday night.

Coming off the back end of a missed one-and-one, Ness' rebound was the 14th of the night on the offensive end for the Indians.

Sandwich sixth-man Claire Roberts, the game-leading scorer, then iced the Indians' 39-34 victory over Kaneland by also converting the front end of the bonus.

In extending their season-long winning streak to 32 games, the Indians captured their first postseason championship in the history of the program.

"Second chances hurt us," said Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe, whose fourth-seeded Knights had their season close out at 19-12. "We talked about it before the game that we thought it would be a game of runs. It was, and they had the last one."

The Knights' Chloe Conley forged the only tie of the game at 28-28 with two free throws on the first Kaneland scoring possession of the fourth quarter.

But the Indians' Jaylynn Vana had her second 3-point play of the quarter to cap a 7-0 Sandwich run.

Kaneland junior Keely Noel, who led the Knights with 11 points, drained a 3-pointer in response.

Then Conley truly upset the Indians' path to victory by halving the Sandwich 6-point advantage with a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play.

Conley then stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but the Kaneland attempt for the equalizer from beyond the arc missed badly.

"Know your role," Noel said of the Knights' philosophical approach to the game. "That is something we have been practicing on. It's moving the ball and making sure everyone on the court knows what their role (is)."

The beginning of the game was marked by unmistakable jitters by both teams.

Sandwich (32-0) missed 11 of its 15 first-quarter shots in taking an 8-7 lead after one over the turnover-prone Knights.

The Indians' Roberts, however, had three driving scores in the second quarter.

The sophomore point guard culminated the second with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Sandwich a 21-14 lead at halftime.

"I was just on a roll with my layups," said Roberts, who finished with 9 of her 12 points in the quarter. "When shooters get on fire, they get hot. When (the 3 at the buzzer) went in, it was definitely something that pumped up the entire team."

Sandwich drew first blood in the third quarter for a 9-point advantage, but Noel and Kelsey Modaff combined for 10 consecutive Kaneland points as the latter hit consecutive 3-pointers from the right wing.

"Coach told me to come in shot ready," Modaff said. "The team needed me. We didn't want our season to end."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.