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Sports
A dream come true : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisA dream come true
| Lady Panthers claim first super-sectional title, bound for state
| by Kristin Sharp
| 3/4/2010
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Oswego senior Brittany Collier had her sights set on a trip to the Class 3A state finals, and Johnsburg wasn't going to end her dream.
The Panther guard came up with a critical basket against the Skyhawks to break a 46-point tie with 56 seconds to play, and Oswego regained possession on a jump ball. Collier was fouled on the ensuing play and converted one at the line for a 49-46 score with just 28 seconds left on the clock.
"I just feel like since I'm a senior, it's time to step up foul trouble or not," Collier said.
That three-point swing would help secure Oswego's biggest win of the season to date, a 51-48 victory over Johnsburg to win the Elgin Super-Sectional championship and send the program to its first-ever state appearance Friday at Redbird Arena in Normal.
"We've been talking about it for so long and for it to come true is just a feeling you can't explain unless you've been in that situation," Collier said.
Despite leading through the second and third quarters, Oswego lost its lead at the start of the fourth quarter when Johnsburg junior guard Melissa Dixon (25 points) hit her first of three treys in the period, putting the Skyhawks up 37-36.
Oswego senior guard Samiya Wright (16 points) tied the game at 40 with her layup at the 5:20 mark, and the teams exchanged leads until junior guard Alexis McClain came up with her first field goal of the second half, tying the game at 46.
Oswego rebounded a missed Johnsburg free throw, setting up Collier's three-point spurt, and Johnsburg head coach Mike Toussaint called a timeout with the Skyhawks trailing 49-46 with 19.7 to play.
"Down the stretch we didn't execute. I thought we tightened up a bit at the end. That's not something I expected from us," Toussaint said. "It came down to execution at the end and we turned it over in key spots."
Johnsburg fouled Oswego sophomore guard Paige Harmon (14 points), and one bonus shot gave the Lady Panthers a four-point lead in the waning seconds. Oswego rebounded Harmon's errant second shot, and Wright was fouled with 8.8 seconds remaining. She converted one of two at the free-throw line, icing Oswego's victory with a 51-46 lead.
Johnsburg made one more field goal before the final buzzer, but time ran out on the Skyhawks' third consecutive attempt at a super-sectional championship.
"It was a good game. It was back and forth. They'd make a run, we'd make a run. It was a good championship game. They just happened to be ahead when the buzzer went off," Toussaint said.
The victory was another milestone in a historic season for Oswego - a team that continues to set the high water mark for single-season victories with every postseason win.
Oswego has never reached a super-sectional game, falling by one point to Kaneland in the 2005 Class AA sectional final, and dropping last year's sectional title to Freeport.
"The girls, I thought, showed tremendous character and will," Oswego head coach Chad Pohlmann said. "They just never backed down. Every play they would make, we would answer. I couldn't be more proud of them. When you do the right things and you sacrifice, you should get rewarded and the girls are a testament to that."
Oswego (29-2) now advances to Friday's state semifinal against Hillcrest (27-3), winner of the Streator Super-Sectional Monday, at 12:15 p.m.
"I feel like there's no pressure; just go down there and give it your all and leave everything on the floor," Wright said. "What do we have to lose now?"
Despite trailing 6-2 after the opening tip, Oswego quickly found its rhythm in the first quarter. A three-point play by Collier created a 6-5 game four minutes into the game, and Harmon's jumper gave Oswego its first lead of the game, 9-8, with 1:41 to play.
Harmon had a blocked shot and a layup at the buzzer to help Oswego to an 11-10 lead after one quarter, and McClain scored the first field goal of the second period before Wright stretched Oswego's lead to five (15-10) with her basket midway through the quarter.
Senior forward Colleen Purcell scored two key baskets over a one-minute span to key a six-point Oswego run, and she was fouled on her second layup, adding one at the line for a 22-12 Panther lead.
"Colleen had 11 rebounds and was just an absolute warrior on the boards," Pohlmann said.
"All our drills and breakdown stuff we do at practice really paid off (Monday) with what they run and our girls maintained position. We kept making plays on defense and were able to handle them on offense. Defense and rebounding win championships. Paige was awesome on the boards (17 rebounds). It was just an awesome performance," he continued.
Oswego did not score a basket in the final two minutes of the game as the Lady Panthers missed three shot attempts and committed two fouls, including a technical on McClain.
Johnsburg went 3-for-4 at the line before senior guard Megan Lopez drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to turn Oswego's 10-point lead into a 22-20 lead at halftime.
Johnsburg took its first lead in nearly 10 minutes on an Oswego turnover and a trey by Dixon helped the Skyhawks to a 28-24 lead when Oswego called a timeout with 4:19 to play in the third quarter.
"They're a good team. ... When I called the 30-second timeout, we got down by four, 28-24, and I said they've made their run. Now let's continue to play ball. We relaxed and settled down and kept making plays," Pohlmann said.
Wright and Harmon went a combined 4-for-6 at the foul line after the break and Harmon sank a three to give Oswego a 31-30 lead. Harmon's rebounding efforts and a blocked shot by junior forward Rosie Gambino helped the Panthers maintain the lead, 36-34, heading into the final quarter.
Dixon opened the fourth period with three pointers on two of Johnsburg's first three possessions to help her team to a 40-36 lead before Wright's layup tied the game at 40, and the final five minutes are history.
"It was like a goal accomplished. We worked all season to get to where we're at now. It was just a burst of excitement," Wright said.
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