Ramblers Lose Regional Final to Glenbrook South

Through the first 12 minutes of Thursday night’s regional final, Loyola Academy looked like it was going to run Glenbrook South out of the building. The Ramblers were getting out in transition, knocking down threes and getting to more loose balls. Loyola was playing with more energy and nullifying the Titans’ size advantage.

But Loyola’s (22-8) three-point shooting went cold in the second half and Glenbrook South (20-8) rallied for a 45-39 victory to win the IHSA Class 4A Wilmette Regional championship.

“At times we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well,” Loyola coach Jeremy Schoenecker said. “That’s something we’ve sort of lived and died with all year and unfortunately tonight we didn’t shoot it well enough to win.”

Playing in their home gym, the Ramblers came out focused. They held Glenbrook South scoreless for the first four minutes of the game and forced four early turnovers. In that span Loyola knocked down three three-pointers – two from guard Michelle Ricolcol -- against Glenbrook South’s 1-3-1 zone and jumped out to a 9-0 lead.

Forward Lauren Kriz was a lightning bolt of energy for the Ramblers early on. She crashed the offensive boards and was a stalwart on the defensive end. Her three-point play with under a minute to go in the first quarter gave Loyola a 14-4 lead.

“She’s just phenomenal,” Schoenecker said of the 5-foot-7 junior. “Taking two or three charges during the night, keeping balls alive in the first quarter for us.”

But once the Titans moved out of their zone defense, Loyola’s offense struggled to score consistently.

“We started to contest really well and their 3’s weren’t falling when we got a hand in their face,” Glenbrook South forward Kelly Minx said.

After not recording a shot attempt in the first half Minx found her rhythm and became more aggressive starting in the second quarter. She opened the quarter with a three-pointer and hit a running bank shot to pull the Titans within six. Point guard Colleen McDonagh knocked down a three-pointer with less than a minute to go in the half and Minx converted one of two free throws to close the deficit to three at halftime, 24-21.

“We stressed all week long making sure you take [Minx’s] left hand away and we didn’t,” Schoenecker said. “When you don’t take her left hand away and let her go to her strength you’re going to get hurt.”

Glenbrook South’s defense continued to rattle Loyola in the second half. The Ramblers didn’t make a shot from the field in the third quarter, scoring all four of their points from the charity stripe.

Things didn’t get any better for the Ramblers when Katie Faught was bumped while pushing the ball in transition. She came up with a bloody nose and missed two minutes during the third quarter.

Fighting through some turnover issues, the Titans took advantage. Senior guard Ali Shaw swished a three-pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 26-26. Minx again made one-of-two free throws to give Glenbrook South its first lead of the game with two minutes to go in the third quarter.

The Ramblers battled back in the fourth, but never retook the lead. They briefly tied the game at 36-36 when Faught knocked down a deep three-pointer, but Shaw came back on the next possession with a turnaround jumper to put Glenbrook South up for good.

The Titans converted 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

“We thought we could easily win a regional and see who we were going to play in the sectional,” Schoenecker said. “Unfortunately we’re not going to have that chance, but our expectations were high all year. We thought we could win our sectional and have a chance to play in a [super sectional].”

Glenbrook South held Faught to only 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting. Minx finished with 22 points, leading all scorers.

The Titans advance to face Niles West in the Park Ridge Sectional semi-finals.

“This group of seniors was just so dedicated to this season. One thing we talked about in the locker room was we’ll have each other after all this is over and I think that’s what’s really important here,” said Faught, who will continue her basketball career at Loyola University-Chicago next season. “Next year I think they have really great potential. There are some extremely dedicated people who are coming up next year.”