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Girls Basketball: Top-seeded Aurora Central gets past Joliet Catholic
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: February 8, 2012 9:37PM
Aurora Central coach Mark Fitzgerald knew that Joliet Catholic would be no pushover in the Class 2A Plano Regional semifinal Wednesday.
After his top-seeded Chargers survived a 61-54 win to advance to Thursday’s regional championship game, he gave them one more direction: Take a deep breath.
“We were all really nervous because it was our first (postseason) game and we were looking ahead,” ACC senior Jackie Cardona said. “We have to take it one step at a time like coach says, and I think we’ll be fine. We got our jitters out.”
The Chargers, who added another win to their school record total, improving to 21-6, couldn’t shake the pesky Angels (9-17) all night. Joliet Catholic applied relentless defensive pressure all night, harassing the Chargers into 28 turnovers, coming up with 20 steals as a team.
“They were non-stop, in your face, on defense,” Cardona said. “They were really fast. We’ve played fast teams, but they were faster than most teams we’ve played.”
Four free throws from Lisa Rodriguez to start the third quarter gave ACC its largest lead of the game, 31-21, but as was the case all night, the Angels had an answer. Miranda Morales hit a three-pointer to cap a 10-2 run for JCA that cut the ACC lead to 35-34 late in the third.
The Chargers put together an 8-0 run that started late in the third and extended into the second, building a 45-36 lead in the process. But the Angels went on a 9-2 run to answer. It seemed to be that way all night, but the key for the Chargers that was no matter how often JCA came back in the second half; the Angels never wrestled away the lead or tied the game.
“That would have made a huge difference in our psyche at that point in the game because of the pressure they were throwing at us,” ACC coach Mark Fitzgerald said. “That wouldn’t have been good.”
The Chargers made a living at the free-throw line, hitting 37-of-50 from the stripe to help fend off the Angels. Cardona went 15-of-18 on her own, leading to a game-high 21 points.
“Thank goodness we have senior leaders here like Jackie and others,” Fitzgerald said. “When it came time to make those clutch free throws, like they’ve done all year, and (Cardona has) done all four years, they did it.”
Joliet Catholic coach Ed Schodrof was upbeat despite the loss.
“I’m excited about our future,” Schodrof said. “A bucket or two in the fourth, I think we could have cleared that hump. I give that team credit. They did a nice job. But I cannot question our effort. I thought the energy was admirable.”
Christine Ekhomu paced JCA with 13 points, with Naomi Mayes adding 10. Rodriguez scored 10 for ACC.
Now the Chargers can look forward to the regional title game, knowing the first hurdle has been cleared.
“It wasn’t perfect, but we’re moving on,” Fitzgerald said.
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