Lowell, Westside to meet in semifinal

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:28AM

Lowell entered the second quarter of its sectional matchup with Highland down by three. But the Red Devils went on a 17-0 run to start the second quarter on their way to a 64-50 victory over the Trojans.

Lowell finished that fateful second quarter by outscoring Highland 23-1. Carley Austgen got the Red Devils' party started with consecutive 3-pointers from almost the exact same spot, while Katie Bobos scored eight points during the run. Abby Bence's free throw accounted for all of the Trojans' scoring in the quarter.

"Our guards did a really good job of relaying what defense (Highland) was in and we executed really well," said Lowell coach Katie Antcliff.

Highland outscored Lowell again in both the third and fourth quarters and cut the lead to 13 at one point early in the fourth. But Lowell got a pair of baskets off offensive rebounds from Mackenzie Kreutz and Sarah Edwards to put the game away.

"We've talked all year about having to play four quarters," said Highland coach Tracie Mezera. "Lowell hustled and played their butt off, but when we put four quarters together like we did at Chesterton last week, we can play pretty well."

Kreutz had 20 points for Lowell (13-7), while Bobos finished with 19 points. Julia Wiesemann led Highland (8-12) with 17 points.

"It was really good to see Mackenzie show up tonight," Antcliff said. "She's struggled for a few games and we've kept telling her to stay with it."

The sectional victory was the first for Lowell since 2007. The Red Devils move on to the semifinal Friday night against West Side. The Cougars, who have won nine of the last 13 Sectional 1 titles, reached the semis with an easy 62-31 win over Morton.

West Side (18-4) opened up a double-digit lead on Antoinette Taylor's 3-pointer to open the second quarter and never looked back. Taylor had nine of her game-high 17 points in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer that bounced seven or eight feet high off the back of the rim before swooshing straight down through the net. Esraa Elabed led Morton (2-17) with nine points.

"I'm not really happy with the effort, other than Taylor and (Ja'Lynn) Cheatham," said West Side coach Rod Fisher. "We'll be one-and-out Friday night if we don't play better than we did tonight."

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