Carmel downs St. Viator in OT to advance in ESCC tourney
With the score knotted at 47-47 with 6.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter of an East Suburban Catholic Conference Tournament girls basketball quarterfinal Wednesday night at Saint Viator, Carmel Catholic sophomore Jordan Wood wanted to take a practice free throw - before other players had taken their position outside the lane.
The referee refused the request.
Wood laughed.
So did the referee.
The 6-foot-5 Wood missed the freebie, and Viator junior guard Nora Ahram nearly made a game-winning jumper at the other end.
Overtime commenced.
Wood, no longer laughing, turned serious and poured in all 11 of her team's OT points - including 7 from the free-throw line - in the sixth-seeded Corsairs' 58-52 defeat of the third-seeded Lions.
Wood finished with a career-high 31 points.
Carmel (6-8), winners of four in a row, plays at Marist in an ESCC tourney semifinal Friday night.
Spot-on entry passes from 6-4 Carmel junior Grace Sullivan (12 points, 8 rebounds) to Wood proved vital down the stretch Wednesday night.
"Amazing ... her passes were amazing," said Wood, who also came down with 10 rebounds and teamed with Sullivan to block a pair of OT shots in a nine-second span.
"That was probably our best defensive effort of the season," said Carmel coach Ben Berg, whose daughter, senior guard Emma Berg (8 points), guarded several of Viator's dangerous guards and hit a clutch trey that made it 43-43 at 2:29 of the fourth quarter. "Viator is such a tough team to guard."
Saint Viator junior guard Joy Bergstrom is tough, period. The 5-11 Lion struck for 16 of her team-high 25 points in the first half, snared 9 boards and answered Berg's 3-pointer with a 3-pointer of her own to put the hosts up 46-43 with 2:12 left in regulation.
But she fouled out with 57 ticks left in the fourth stanza.
"Kudos to Ben and his team," Lions coach Jason Raymond said after his club slipped to 7-6. "They made great adjustments and attacked our foul trouble.
Viator senior Emma Morrisey tallied 12 points, with 7 of them coming in the first three minutes of the fourth frame. Ahram finished with 6 points, including her team's seventh and final triple of the back-and-forth contest.
Carmel sophomore Mila Gillis had 5 points. Her putback beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter.