Maine South knocks off Niles West in overtime

By Rob Valentin

Sports editor

GIRLS BASKETBALL- The Maine East Sectional final held last Thursday between Maine South and Niles West was expected to be a thriller.

The Hawks are a young but very deep and talented squad and they were facing a team that has one of the best players in the country, Jewell Loyd, surrounded by some young up-and-coming players of their own.

Neither team disappointed but at the end of the day Maine South proved to have the better team as they knocked off Niles West 54-47 in overtime to advance to the Loyola Supersectional.

Maine South's Mackenzie Duffy drives to the basket while being guarded by Niles West's Nicole Moy (left) and Jewell Loyd.

“This is the third (sectional title) in the last six years for us,” Hawks’ head coach Mark Smith said. “They seem to get harder and they seem to get more special. This one is about as special of a sectional win as we’ve ever had.”

Maine South absolutely dominated the early going as they raced out to a 13-0 lead. Sophomore center Jacqui Grant had three field goals, junior Michelle Maher had a field goal and a pair of free throws and Kaitlyn Mullarkey knocked down a three-pointer to start the game.

Niles West (22-9) got its first field goal with 2:22 to play on a three-pointer from Loyd. By the end of the first quarter the Wolves were able to trim the lead to 18-10.

Niles West continued to chip away at the deficit. Another three-pointer by Laurie DiJohn and back-to-back steal and layups by Loyd pulled the Wolves within 20-19 midway through the quarter.

Maine South, however, was able to finish the half with a little run of its own as it took a 30-24 lead into the break.

DiJohn hit three of four three pointers in the first half. Coupled with unbelievable defensive play by Loyd, Niles West was still in the game.

“You win, you go on; you lose, you go home,” Loyd said. “So I think I got into everyone’s head. We didn’t want to go home.”

The Wolves would make a run in the third quarter. Trailing 38-31, Loyd knocked down a long three ball and then a field goal. A bucket by Nicole Moy suddenly tied the game at 38-38.

Maine South took a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter as both teams slowed down their offenses to find good shots. Thanks to a three-pointer by Mackenzie Duffy and then a Niles West turnover, the Hawks had a 47-43 lead with the ball and less than two minutes.

But a steal by Loyd and pass to Molly Kleppin led to one Wolves’ bucket with 1:53 to play and Dashae Shumate recorded a steal on the inbound a second later and scored with 1:50 to tie the game at 47-47.

Neither team scored on its next possession and Maine South found itself with the ball and 40 seconds left. Smith called a timeout as the Hawks tried to set up for one last shot. But a turnover with 20 seconds left gave the Wolves the last chance. The Hawks made sure Loyd didn’t get the ball and a little runner by Shumate was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.

“We absolutely wanted the last shot,” Niles West coach Tony Konsewicz said. “We didn’t want to take a shot with seven seconds left and give them a shot to get down the floor. We had two screeners supposed to get to (Loyd’s defenders) but we just didn’t execute as well as we wanted to.”

Neither team could get much going in overtime. The Hawks finally scored the periods’ first point after a driving layup by Mullarkey with 2:40 to play.

After a defensive stop it was déjà vu for Mullarkey as she hit another driving layup with 2:01 to play. A pair of jump balls and a Niles West turnover as the clock wound down forced the Wolves to start fouling but Duffy sank both tried with 14.8 seconds left to seal the win. Maher added a free throw with six seconds left to complete the scoring.

“It was very exciting,” Mullarkey said. “I was just thinking that I had to make more shots and had to play hard, play good defense. The offense will come and it did in overtime.”

With Maine South having no seniors in their top seven, Loyd knows that Niles West will have its work cut out for them next season.

“Every time you play them, it’s going to be a tough game,” she said. “They’re running the same sets since I’ve been here.”

While Niles West has a good core group of players coming back in Loyd, Shumate and Kleppin, they’re going to miss the contributions from Moy and DiJohn.

“Absolutely, they stepped up tonight,” Konsewicz said. “Moy has decent size, really good quickness, good feet and is long for a guard. She can guard in the post and then go out guard the ball-handlers. And we’re going to miss Laurie’s shooting. And she did a pretty good job battling (Maine South’s) Nina Duric in the post when she had to.”

“Next year we have to rebuild our whole program again,” Loyd said. “We still have a young group and we have to put in the work over the summer. It’s not going to be easy at all.”

Loyd will start playing with her AAU team, Midwest Elite, in a couple weeks. Mullarkey is also on the team.

rvalentin@buglenewspapers.com

Downers Grove South steamrolls Proviso East

By Rob Valentin

Sports editor

When Downers Grove South beat Proviso East in a West Suburban Gold game on Jan. 21, it was looked at as an upset by an up and coming team.

But last Friday in Downers Grove, the Mustangs showed who the top dog is in the WSC Gold with a 60-48 dismantling of the Pirates.

South (21-3, 10-1) raced out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter and the defense was dominant all night long as the Pirates (19-5, 9-2) could never recover from the early onslaught. Four different players scored in double digits for the Mustangs, led by junior Jerron Wilbut’s 16 points.

“The main focus is always defense,” Wilbut said. “Then we had to handle their defensive pressure, stay in front of their people and just push the ball.”

Downers Grove South's Jerron Wilbut goes up for a basket against Proviso East. Wilbut scored 16 points in the win.

“We really wanted to set the tempo like we did last time,” added junior Jamall Millison, referring to South’s win by the exact same score, 60-48, on Jan. 21. “We had to make sure we stayed on our man and not get beat off the dribble.”

The victory guaranteed South at least a share of the West Suburban Gold title. The Mustangs can win conference outright with a victory over Addison Trail on Wednesday night.

South put on quite the show in the first quarter as four different players knocked down three pointers. The defense was phenomenal and Proviso East’s only highlight was a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 20-9.

The Mustangs kept it up in the second quarter as they scored the first five points. South allowed just two field goals in the quarter as they led 28-13 at halftime.

The Mustangs led by as many as 22 in the third quarter but the Pirates were able to cut the lead to 44-32 by the end of the quarter thanks to eight straight points from Paris Lee.

Proviso East started the fourth quarter re-energized by the run and their pressure defense was fierce. But South weathered the storm and scored the first four points of the quarter on two free throws apiece from Wilbut and Millison (12 points). Good ball rotation in the quarter led to some easy layups by senior point guard Danielius Jurgutis (10 points) and the Pirates were never able to get within single digits.

“Proviso East is a really good basketball team and they’re known for defense and their relentless scoring,” Wilbut said. “Just to be in that category with them and beat them actually, that’s a blessing. That’s what we work hard for every day in the gym.”

Senior Ziggy Riauka (11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks) and junior Kevin Honn (9 points, 7 rebounds) were also key contributors for South as they clogged up the lane and pulled down key rebounds.

“We got off to a good start and that was what mattered,” said the 6-foot 8-inch Riauka, who started a key 11-0 run in the first quarter with a three-pointer. “I started off pretty bad and I just took the three-pointer and it went in by accident.”

South coach Jay Baum was extremely pleased with his team, especially with its defense. The Mustangs didn’t allow a single point in the first two minutes of any quarter.

“We try not to give up any points the whole game but that’s an interesting stat,” Baum said. “We try to emphasize ‘Let’s win the beginning of each quarter.’ Proviso East historically goes on runs and the other team panics. We turned it over and they scored but we did enough good things to offset that.”

South’s game against Addison Trail on Wednesday is the only game the Mustangs play before the state playoffs begin next week. The Mustangs are seeded second in the Aurora East Sectional and appear to be on a collision course with 26-0 Benet, ranked No. 1 by the Chicago Sun-Times.

“We want that one really bad,” Millison said.

South has now won 15 straight games. They’ll need seven straight wins in the playoffs to secure a state title.

“Hopefully this sets the tone for a nice long playoff run,” Baum said. “This gives us more confidence. I’m very proud of them.”

rvalentin@buglenewspapers.com

The Voyager Media Game of the Week is Benet at Notre Dame in boys basketball

By Rob Valentin

Sports editor

Benet passed another test on its quest for an unbeaten season.

The Redwings held off a spirited Notre Dame team 45-37 in an East Suburban Catholic Conference match last Friday night in Niles.

“It was a great win for us,” said Benet center Frank Kaminsky who led all scorers with 16 points. “Great environment, rowdy fans, it was really loud in here. (Notre Dame) pressured us the whole game and we did a great job handling it.”

Notre Dame certainly had its chance to score the upset, but they just couldn’t get the job done in crunch time.

“I have to give (Benet) credit,” Notre Dame coach Tom Les said. “We usually shoot better than that but they did a good job defensively.”

Notre Dame's Quinton Chievous (center) splits Benet defenders Pat McInerney (left) and Frank Kaminsky

“It’s a real big disappointment,” added Notre Dame forward Rodney Pryor. “We really wanted this win. We just hate losing. We knew coming into this game that we had to play hard. Defense was the key in this game.”

The Dons (19-5, 7-4) shot themselves in the foot early on as the Redwings (25-0, 11-0) raced out to a commanding 13-2 lead as Northwestern-bound David Sobolewski (12 points) took the game over scoring nine of his team’s 13 points.

Notre Dame settled down after that thanks to buckets from Quinton Chievous (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Joe Ferrici as the Dons trailed 14-7 after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw Notre Dame continue to rally as Chievous and Rodney Pryor (11 points, 8 rebounds) scored all the team’s points and pulled the Dons within 21-19 at halftime.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter but Benet finished the period with a little four-point run to take a 35-29 lead into the fourth.

Notre Dame’s defense stepped it up holding Benet to just two points over the next 5:25 while the offense had buckets from Greg Leifel, Chievous and Ferrici to cut the Redwings’ lead to 37-35.

But it would be all Benet down the stretch as the Dons went cold from the floor, committed some costly turnovers and had the Redwings hit a majority of their free throws to secure the victory.

“We did a great job preparing for this game,” Kaminsky said. “We knew most of their plays, so there was no big surprise.”

The 6-foot 11-inch Kaminsky did a good job battling against Notre Dame’s Quinton Chievous and Rodney Pryor, two big athletic players that made his job in the paint more difficult. Kaminsky pulled down 12 rebounds.

“I was trying for every rebound,” Kaminsky said. “I’m taller than all of them and have the size advantage. I went after every rebound.”

Notre Dame was certainly disappointed after letting a potential headline win slip away.

It was 21-19 at half and I thought our defense was excellent,” Chievous said. “Overall I think we outplayed them but our offense wasn’t on point. We missed a lot of free throws, including myself.”

Chievous missed four free throws in the first quarter and finished the game 5-for-12 from the charity stripe. Chievous was bothered by a sore wrist. The injury was aggravated late in the third quarter when he was fouled and went to the floor.

“I just banged it when I fell,” he said. “You just have to play through that kind of stuff if you really want to win.”

Les didn’t think nerves played a factor in Friday’s loss. USA Today had Benet ranked as the 24th-best team in the country entering the game.

“We’re on our home court, there shouldn’t be (any nerves),” he said. “We’ve played in games that are this magnitude. (Benet’s) a good team and they deserved to win. We have to play harder.”

Notre Dame did receive a bit of good news last week as they found out they were the No. 1 seed in the New Trier Sectional. The Dons open play Tuesday, March 1 in the Conant Regional facing either 16th-seeded Schurz or 17th-seeded Taft. Then they would take on either eighth-seeded St. Patrick or ninth-seeded Conant in the regional finals on Friday, March 4. The Sectional looks to be one of the weaker in Class 4A with no ranked teams in it.

Meanwhile, Benet’s immediate focus is on Simeon, who is also unbeaten and ranked No.3 in the country by USA Today.

“We’ve been trying not to think about Simeon, just taking it one game at a time,” Benet guard David Sobolewski said. “But it’s finally here now. We haven’t seen them play yet, but I’m sure we’ll watch plenty of film this week.”

The Redwings also earned the No.1 seed in their sectional at East Aurora. Benet opens the state playoff on Wednesday, March 2 against either 16th-seeded Plainfield East or 17th-seeded Geneva. Up next would be either eighth-seeded Oswego or ninth-seeded Naperville North on Friday, March. 4.

rvalentin@buglenewspapers.com

By Scott Taylor

Sports reporter

Coming off of two straight emotional games and a three day break due to the blizzard, it was easy for
Plainfield South to come out sluggish at Plainfield North Friday night.

It should have been made a little easier since North was playing without its leading scorer, Jack Krieger,
and tallest player, Jake Ready.

The Cougars suffered through a rough half, but came back strong in the second half for a 70-63
Southwest Prairie Conference win.

“We started off slow,” South junior Ed Presniakovas said. “I think we came out and thought it was going
to be a blow over game because Krieger wasn’t playing. We came out slow and they hit some shots. We
had to come out strong in the second half and get it done.”

“There’s no question that in the first half North brought more energy and urgency,” South coach Ken
Bublitz said. “They played better in every aspect of the game. They put us on our heels. To come away
with a victory is a credit to our kids for how they came out in the second half.”

South (14-6, 7-2) went to a full court press for much of the second half and it paid off as it led to easy
baskets and a hop in its step.

“It gave us more energy,” Presniakovas stated. “Especially in the fourth quarter when we got a couple
steals. We got a bigger lead and from there we finished the game off strong.”

“We had to do something,” Bublitz said. “We were kind of lethargic, so we wanted to get a sweat going
right away. We wanted to get the ball up-and-down the floor a little bit and get some momentum. The
kids responded real well to that and played better overall in the second half.”

The Tigers led 28-24 at the half, but the Cougars came away with two quick turnovers which helped
spark a 16-5 run as they took a 40-33 lead.

“Coach told us to hustle more because we were playing lazy,” Presniakovas said. “We weren’t pushing
the ball ahead and were taking stupid shots. He told us to get the ball inside and push the ball in
transition.”

That lead would be short lived though as North came back with the next seven points to tie the game.
South led 44-42 after three quarters.

South got a pair of quick turnovers again to open the fourth quarter and built a 54-44 lead with 5:30 left
in the game.

But North (13-9, 3-6) wasn’t done just yet. Nick Corban hit back-to-back three pointers to make it 54-50
and then Presniakovas and Jacob Burt went back-and-forth.

A pair of free throws by Kurt Palandech cut the lead to two at 58-56 with three minutes left.

“This was the best game I thought we played in a long time,” North coach Nick DiForti said. “Our kids
executed the game plan. I can’t fault them for anything they did. They battled and I’m very proud of
them.”

With the score 64-60 South, the Cougars pulled down five offensive rebounds in one possession, which
turned into a pair of free throws to help seal the win.

“I think the rebounds really helped us out,” Presniakovas said. “Especially the offensive rebounds and
the put-backs we had. They were big momentum plays for us.”

“Last time we played them they were a lot more aggressive on the boards,” South senior Zach Snowden
said. “One of our main keys was to get on the glass today and we definitely did. We came out with more
of a will to win in the second half.”

Presniakovas scored 22 points to lead the Cougars. Snowden added 12 points and Kevin Coker scored 10
points.

Burt tallied 18 points to lead North. Marcus Fair added 16 points, while Corban and Palandech each
scored 12 points.

North got solid contributions from sophomores Fair and Palandech.

“They’ve seen a lot of minutes and I’m starting to not be as lenient with those sophomore mistakes,”
DiForti said. “I think both have taken their game to the next level and I’m happy to see that.”

While it is never fun to be without your best player, the return of Krieger should make the Tigers a much
stronger club than they were before the injury.

“We found a different identity tonight,” DiForti stated. “When he comes back we don’t have to rely on
him. I think it’s really going to help us. We’re going to need our kids to play the way they did tonight for
us to get to the regional championship. I think it will really pay off when Jack comes back.”

South hosts Oswego East, while North faces Oswego Friday.

“We have to fix our defense,” Presniakovas said. “We played terrible defense today. We can’t take any
game for granted.”

staylor@enterprisepublications.com