Maine West claims 4th straight Komaromy Classic title
A lot of onlookers were calling the championship of the 37th annual Komaromy Classic the 'Maine' event.
"Of all things, two Central Suburban League teams," said Maine West girls basketball coach Kim deMarigny, the coach of CSL North member Maine West which faced CSL South entry Maine South in Monday's night's finale at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville.
And when it was over, the main storyline was that one of the most dominating runs in this prestigious 16-team tournament continued.
The Warriors (15-1) topped the Hawks 45-36 for their fourth straight Komaromy title, one shy of Fenwick's five in a row from 2004 to 2008.
"Ending this way is just amazing," said West standout Angela Dugalic (22 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals) who along with classmate Dylan VanFleet (10 points, 4 steals) has been a part of all four titles. "It's so close to my birthday (Dec. 29) so it's way a nice birthday present but I'm just very proud of my team."
One of her teammates, Jane Rothweiler, chipped in with a career-high 9 points.
"It's an honor to play with this team," said Rothweiler, a junior in her second varsity season. "I love all of the girls. I love the coaches."
Head coach Kim de Marigny, now 12-0 at this event in her four seasons in charge, loves her squad.
"They're a great bunch of kids," said de Marigny, who also has ties to Maine South where she has been a teacher. "Kudos to Maine South. They're well-coached. They play hard and they can shoot the lights out."
It was West shooting the best in the early stages.
A 17-footer by Rothweiler, two inside buckets by Dugalic and a layup by VanFleet off a steal from Lena Albo gave the Warriors an 8-0 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
Ellie Ronan's layup got South on the board with 2:09 left and the junior converted 2 free throws to make it 8-4 after one quarter.
Nicole Gardner's 3-pointer tied the game at 10-10 with 4:50 left in the second quarter.
That's when Maine West made its main move.
The girls from Des Plaines went on a 14-0 run that lasted all the way until 6:30 of the third quarter when Greta Miller made 2 free throws for South to make it 24-12.
West gained it biggest leads at 28-12 and 32-16.
"And then we stopped scoring," de Marigny. "We just turned the faucet off and that was that. But the girls didn't give up."
Freshman Jackie Riedl's left-handed driving lean-in bank shot got West ahead 38-23 with 4:16 left in the game.
South kept chipping away, getting to within 38-31 on Nicole Gardiner's 3-pointer with 2:01 left.
But free throws from Dugalic, VanFleet and Rothweiler down the stretch helped the Warriors hold off the girls from Park Ridge.
"At the end we started to slow down a bit but we pulled through," Dugalic said. "So that's all that matters.
"Mrs. Kipp (husband of late West hall of fame coach Derril) sent me a text. She couldn't be here today but she sent her best wishes and congratulations."
Derril Kipp won three straight D-C titles from 1987 to 1989.
"We're getting there," de Marigny added. "We're still not where we need to be. But at least we don't give up."
Nicole Gardiner led Maine South with 14 points while her twin sister Niamh added 13.
"We did miss some easy shots in the first half but that's going to happen," said second-year South coach Jeff Hamann. "They (Maine West) rush you a bit. They put a little bit of pressure on you. It's a big game with a lot of people in the stands.
"Credit to Maine West. They are a terrific basketball team and I give them all the credit.
"We know we are a good basketball team. We know we can compete with the best in the area and best in the state so we are honored to have gotten this far."
The Hawks are 11-5.
"The competition we played here was impeccable. Lake Park, Fenwick, Stevenson and obviously this great Maine West team. I'm proud of how our kids fought. That's what's going to happen when you see the Maine South Hawks. They're going to fight all the way to the end and they did tonight so I am proud of them."