L-W Central tops Sandburg in regional title game
By Randy Whalen
Correspondent
Sandburg won 20 games for the first time in in six years, and entered the postseason seeking to add to its list of accomplishments by winning a regional championship on its home court.
But Lincoln-Way Central made more plays in key situations and fought to a 55-47 double-overtime victory in the title game of the Class 4A Sandburg Regional.
The Knights’ Azyah Newsome-Cole scored a career-high 27 points and came up huge down the stretch. The junior guard scored 15 of her points in the fourth quarter and overtimes, and propelled Central to (22-8) its first regional championship since 2008 (21-8).
The Eagles (20-11) worked hard all season and registered their first 20-win campaign since 2014-15, when they went 24-8. That was also the last time they won a regional.
“This group is super competitive and I’m so proud of them,” Sandburg coach Nick Fotopoulos said. “They changed the culture around here.”
The past three seasons have produced records of 19-12, 11-6 and 20-11.
In the regional final, missed opportunities doomed the Eagles. A 10-for-26 showing from the free-throw line, including two misses that could have all but iced the game, was essentially the difference between a win and a loss.
“We had two chances to win it from there but weren’t able to do it,” Fotopoulos sad. “Still, the girls pushed so hard and left everything on the court.
“We had seven seniors and we came together, and this was the best group in my six years. They really worked hard, were big leaders and are going to do awesome things going forward.”
Sandburg led 31-26 after three quarters, but Newsome-Cole scored seven points in the fourth to help rally the Knights to a 41-38 lead. The Eagles’ forced overtime by scoring the final three points of regulation, including senior guard Danielle Antoine hitting the second of two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to tie the game.
Sandburg could have taken the lead with 5.1 seconds to play in overtime, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.
In the second overtime, Newsome-Cole scored the first three points as the Knights opened with a 5-0 run and took control.
Erin O’Connor had 13 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists and fellow senior Charlotte Trunk had 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead Sandburg. Both O’Connor and Trunk fouled out in the second overtime.
Senior forward Lauren Couglan and junior guard Josie Canellis each added seven points for the Eagles.
“Erin and I gave it our all but it wasn’t enough in the end,” said Trunk, who will play softball for the Eagles in the spring but has not decided if she will play in college. “I think when we fouled out, we looked at each other on the bench and we just knew it was over. It was hard and it goes by so fast.
“We had multiple opportunities but it doesn’t fall on one person. I think it was our main goal to get Sandburg basketball back. There are seven of us leaving but I hope the girls coming in build off of this and win a regional.”
“We really wanted a regional title,” said O’Connor, who will play soccer in the spring for the Eagles but isn’t playing sports in college. “But honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better game. We played our hearts out but our free throws weren’t falling, and we were playing hard on defense but our shots weren’t falling.
“Playing my last game as a senior, playing with many of these girls who I played together with since I was 5 years old. It’s hard to believe it’s over. Still, it was a great season and I couldn’t be any more proud of this team.”
The game figured to be close throughout after the teams split a pair of regular-season meetings. Central won the Sandburg Holiday Classic with a 54-49 victory on Dec. 29. The Eagles won the first matchup, 42-37, on Dec. 16 in New Lenox.
The Eagles advanced to the regional championship game with a 57-37 win over District 230 rival Andrew. Trunk led all scorers with 21 points. Antoine and O’Connor each added 10 points for the Eagles.
Antoine, Lauren Coghlan, Maddie Coghlan, O’Connor, Payton Prodohel, Trunk, and Sydney Vrdolyak were the team’s seven seniors.
Local News
Year of growth | Evergreen Park enjoying inaugural boys volleyball season
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent After almost 70 years of existence as a high school, Evergreen Park finally has a boys volleyball team. The Mustangs are playing their inaugural season with a junior varsity squad, with some matches being played at the varsity level. Head coach Brian Zofkie is leading this group with assistant…
Swanson scores, assists in Red Stars’ win over Reign
Spread the loveThe Red Stars improved to 3-1-1 by beating the Seattle Reign, 2-1, on the road on April 21. Mallory Swanson had an assist on an Ali Schlegel goal in the fourth minute and added a goal of her own in the 31st minute. Swanson missed last season after sustaining a knee injury on…
Red Stars’ Tatumn Milazzo has top Save of the Week
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Tatumn Milazzo called her achievement “funny.” The Chicago Red Stars defender and Orland Park native was awarded the NWSL’s Save of the Week after chasing down a ball in a loss to Angel City on April 13. The Save of the Week usually goes to a goalie. Milazzo laughed…
Men’s College Volleyball | Saint Xavier captures fifth straight conference tourney title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The SXU men’s volleyball team won its fifth straight Chicagoland Christian Athletic Conference tournament championship after a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Calumet College of St. Joseph on April 20 at the Shannon Center. Jan Lopuch had 10 kills and nine digs for the Cougars. With the win, the…
College Baseball | Saint Xavier upsets Eastern Illinois
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier baseball team picked up a win that its players are going to remember for a long time. The Cougars stunned Eastern Illinois, 4-2, on April 17 in Charleston. It was the Cougars’ first win over the Panthers, a Division I program, since 2005. Lyons grad Troy…
St. Laurence hoops teams top honor roll
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Area basketball teams proved to be strong on the court and in the classroom this season, and St. Laurence was the leader of the pack. The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association compiled a list of the top academic teams, and the area did well. In Division 3 girls, St. Laurence…
Chicago Bears recognize St. Rita senior with All-Star award
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chances are good that few outside of St. Rita football circles know who David Lyle is. With good reason. Lyle missed his senior season for the Mustangs last fall after sustaining a serious knee injury. He even postponed having knee surgery so that he could take care of his…
Volunteers give Palos Heights a spring cleaning
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Palos Heights works hard to keep its city beautiful. Gathering residents together for a day of cleaning and fun was the Palos Heights Green Team with a Clean Up Day on April 13. “This event invited everyone in our community to do their part in combating pollution by having a…
Neighbors
Capitol Briefs: Republicans sue over law banning legislative candidate slating
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com One week after Gov. JB Pritzker signed an elections-related measure that his fellow Democrats quickly muscled through the General Assembly, Republicans sued over the new law, alleging the majority party is blocking ballot access to would-be legislative candidates. The law , passed early this month as the legislature’s…
Illinois Supreme Court considers expectation of privacy in hospitals
By DILPREET RAJU & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner’s expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. The…
Capitol Briefs: Measure targets ‘legacy’ admission at public universities
By DILPREET RAJU, COLE LONGCOR & ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois lawmakers missed a self-imposed Friday deadline for passing a budget, but they had approved more than 250 bills this week as of Friday afternoon. Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting state universities from admitting students based on familial and…
Illinois could be 19th state to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers
By ALEX ABBEDUTO Capitol News Illinois abbeduto@capitolnewsillinois.com After years of negotiations and continued opposition from service providers, Illinois appears poised to prohibit employers from using a federal exemption that allows them to pay individuals with disabilities less than the minimum wage. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established minimum wage law, but created…
Capitol Briefs: Measure blocks interstate probes of abortion services
By PETER HANCOCK & COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Authorities in Illinois would not be allowed to aid another state’s investigation of people coming to Illinois to seek abortions or other reproductive health care under a bill that cleared the General Assembly Thursday. House Bill 5239, which needs only a signature from…
Advocates underscore need for statewide reentry programs
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois legislators this week approved a bill to restructure an oversight board in charge of distributing state money to courts that provide prison alternatives, while other criminal justice measures introduced throughout the session remain stalled. House Bill 4409 would change the makeup of the Adult Redeploy Illinois Oversight…
Ban on wildlife killing contests ‘unlikely’ to clear state Senate this session
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com A measure that would prohibit contests that award cash or prizes for killing certain wildlife is unlikely to clear the Senate after narrowly passing the House last week, according to its Senate sponsor. House Bill 2900 would ban the practice of holding wildlife contests that reward participants with…
A security camera caught an employee beating a patient. It took 11 days for anyone to take action.
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. Cameras in the common areas of Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center were supposed to make the troubled southern Illinois facility safer for the approximately 200 people with developmental disabilities who live there. But…
Potawatomi land transfer advances in Illinois House
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would help the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation expand their newly established reservation in DeKalb County advanced out of a state House committee Tuesday, despite concerns about the tribe’s long-term plans for the property. House Bill 4718 would authorize the state to hand over…
Would-be union of legislative staffers accuse Welch of undermining organizing effort
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Seven months after Democratic Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch advanced a measure that would allow legislative staff to unionize, members of his own staff on Tuesday blasted the speaker for allowing the bill to languish. The legislation has not seen any action since its passage…