Downers South edges Hinsdale South

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:50AM

With sole possession of second place at stake in the West Suburban Gold, it seemed appropriate Monday night's game would be decided in the final seconds.

Christyl Thurman's layup with 13 seconds remaining gave Downers South a four-point cushion as the host Mustangs topped Hinsdale South 42-40 to keep pace with defending champion Proviso East in the conference race.

Downers South (13-4, 6-1) hosts the Pirates (16-2, 7-0) Jan. 19 after losing the first meeting of the season, 55-37, Dec. 4 in Maywood.

"At the beginning of the year, we all wrote down goals we wanted to complete," Thurman said. "They were team goals and individual goals. We all wrote down that we wanted to win conference."

Thurman has delivered before in the clutch. She made the game-winning free throws in overtime in a 40-39 win over Lyons Nov. 20 in the second game of the season.

Thurman, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, scored 11 points and had six rebounds, but her biggest basket came off Sara Ludwig's steal in the front court. Hinsdale South defenders did not notice Thurman breaking for the basket when Ludwig passed to the wide open Thurman.

The Mustangs had another big play moments earlier when Tori Franklin stole the ball from point guard Toni Romiti and then Franklin passed the ball while on her back to Allison Dec (13 points) for a layup to give Downers South a 40-38 lead with 1:11 remaining.

Uso Okoro, Hinsdale South's leading scorer, scored the game's final basket on a jumper with three seconds left. She finished with four points an eight rebounds. The Hornets (8-9, 4-2) lost for the fourth time in their last six games.

"It's not frustrating. We have not had many games were were tested and make any last second shots," Hornets coach Jen Belmonte said. "We either win by a lot or lose by a few."

Both teams combined to score only 13 points in the second quarter. Hinsdale South's Andrea McNally scored a game-high 15 points, including three three-pointers, while Romiti had 13 points and three three-pointers.

Hinsdale South went scoreless for 8:20 in the second half and went another 41 seconds without a basket while the Mustangs took a 31-26 lead. After a pair of free throws by Romiti, Carly Saraceno answered for Downers South with her only three-pointer after missing her previous eight attempts.

The Hornets pulled to within 34-30 on Okoro's first basket, a layup with 4:34 to go, and then Romiti added a driving layup to bring Hinsdale South within two.

For at least the third consecutive year, Hinsdale South will play in the only girls game Saturday at Downers Grove North's Winter Classic. The Hornets play Downers North (9-6) at 12:30 p.m. before the Hornets boys play Wheaton Warrenville South at 3:30 p.m.

"They make us feel like celebrities," Belmonte said of DGN's hospitality. "It's like we are doing something special."

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.