Morris can't come back

Updated: March 23, 2011 2:18PM

Morris fell behind early and never fully recovered in a 54-32 loss to Ottawa in the a Class 3A regional championship game Thursday at Morris.

It was the second time in three years No. 4 Morris (19-11) fell to No. 2 Ottawa (22-6) in a Class 3A regional championship match up of Northern Big XII foes.

The Pirates won the school's 12th regional title, third in the last four years.

"When you get down early against a good team like that, in the middle of the third quarter, we ran out of gas," Morris coach Luke Windy said. "Ottawa plays great defense. This is the third time we've seen them so we knew what to expect."

Leslie Claire led the Redskins with nine points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. No other player scored more than four points for the Redskins.

"Nineteen wins ties us for the most wins since I've been here," said Windy, who finished his 10th season as coach. "If you would have told me we'd win 19 games at the start of the season, I would have said, ‘No way.' "

A free throw by Haley Phelps gave Ottawa an 18-4 lead after eight minutes.

The Redskins scored just two field goals through the first 10 minutes of the game.

Morris shutout Ottawa for the first five minutes of the second quarter and went on a 6-0 run, capped Rachel Resler's basket, which cut the lead to 18-10 with 5:50 to go in the second quarter.

Neither team scored over the next three minutes. Ottawa sank just three shots in the second quarter, but took a 24-12 lead into the intermission.

Alyssa Sajnaj took a charge and on the ensuing possession, Claire completed a three-point play, cutting the Pirates' lead to 29-23 with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

Ottawa outscored Morris 12-1 over the next six minutes to put the game away.

The Pirates led 33-24 after three quarters and scored the first eight points of the fourth to end all doubt.

It was the final high school game for Morris seniors Layney Miller, Resler, Alex Granger and Claire.

"From day one to tonight, we improved," Windy said. "We went 11-4 in the second half of the season after starting 8-7. Toward the end of the third quarter, we could have easily quit, but we didn't. That's the mentality of this team."

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