By Bobby Narang
Four high school teams were vying for the ultimate prize in girls basketball in the first weekend of March.
After the coronavirus pandemic led to a non-playoff season in 2020-2021, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) welcomed back the return of the State tournament at Redbird Arena at Illinois State University in Normal.
With a new format in the four-class system that included an all-day, four-class championship day due to the third-place games played Friday in 3A and 4A, it was a different tournament than in years past for many reasons.
In the end, Benet Academy, Bolingbrook, Barrington, and Nazareth Academy, all fell short of raising the first-place trophy Saturday night.
In 3A, Nazareth met Carmel for the State championship. The Roadrunners had an edge of sorts, by beating the Carmel twice in the regular season by double digits.
But, Carmel proved the third time would have a different ending by pulling out a 43-39 victory to win the program’s first State championship. Sophomore Ashley Schlabowske was the unlikely hero when she made three free throws in the final 28.1 seconds to seal the victory. Nazareth (33-3) earned second place for the second time in program history.
“I had a really good feeling about tonight,” Carmel head coach Ben Berg said. “We lost to them twice during the regular season but it’s hard to beat a really good team, which we are, three times in a season. I liked our poise and we hit free throws down the stretch and got contributions from people off the bench, like Kyla Smith. We worked our way through some foul troubles. I’m really proud of these girls.”
Nazareth head coach Ed Stritzel attributed the loss to good defense by Carmel that led to a bad shooting night. Junior guard Gracie Carstensen paced Nazareth in scoring with 11 points.
“I thought their size bothered us, even in the first two games we won,” Stritzel said. “We struggled so much shooting and scoring, especially early in the game. They caused us a lot of problems tonight.”
In 4A, Bolingbrook and Benet both lost in the semifinal round, leading to a match up in the third-place game. Bolingbrook lost to Barrington in the semifinals after allowing Sophie Swanson to bust loose for 35 points.
“We knew Swanson was very active, but I don’t think we did a good job defending her coming off screens,” Bolingbrook head coach Chris Smith said. “We had to do a better job of forcing her to give up the ball.
Meanwhile, Benet and Stevenson hooked up for a sloppy, foul-filled semifinal game that lacked flow. Stevenson, the eventual State champion, defeated the Redwings 36-28.
A few hours later, Bolingbrook mounted a second-half comeback to pull out a 57-54 victory over Benet (30-5) to earn the third-place trophy.
Benet head coach Joe Kilbride gave credit to his players for fighting for every second against the Raiders (25-6).
“I knew they would bounce back and come out here and play with pride and joy, and they did that,” Kilbride said. “Obviously, none of us are built for losing two (games) in a day. Sometimes, we lose two in a year, so it’s not an easy thing. I’m incredibly proud of them to know what it took for them to get down here to Redbird.”
Barrington head coach Babbi Barreiro left Redbird Arena without a State title, but added another milestone to her illustrious coaching career by leading the Fillies (30-6) to their first State appearance. Stevenson, led by head coach Ashley Graham, received 26 points from Simone Sawyer to run away with a 55-43 victory in the State championship game.
“I’m really proud that we got here, just a great group of kids to work with,” Barreiro said. “It’s been a great season. Tonight was tough. I thought Stevenson came out on fire offensively and hit some big buckets. They haven’t been scoring like that, of late. They hit those early shots, and we tightened up, but we never gave up.”