Class 4A Championship Game
Marian Catholic vs. Rolling Meadows
Saturday, March 2
8:15 p.m. (approximately)
Marian Catholic (32-1)
Starters
Teniya Page, guard, sophomore
Megan Walsh, forward, senior
Ashton Millender, guard, junior
Melanie Ranson, guard/forward, senior
Aliyah Isaac, guard, senior
Top Scorers
Ashton Millender, 15.2 PPG
Teniya Page, 12.2 PPG
Megan Walsh, 8.4 PPG
Top Rebounders
Kauai Bradley, 6.8 RPG
Megan Walsh, 6.4 RPG
Melanie Ranson, 4.5 RPG
How They Got Here
In the Class 4A Tinley Park Regional, Marian Catholic barely broke a sweat. The Spartans beat Calumet City by more than 60 points and throttled Tinley Park by doubling its score (35). Marian Catholic beat Bloom Township 57-35 behind a 16-point performance from Page, and it sneaked past Marist behind a 20-point game from Page and a 25-foot game-winning, buzzer-beating jumper. A smooth offensive effort was next for Marian Catholic, as it beat Richwoods 56-37 in the Bloomington Super-Sectional to advance to Bloomington.
Marian Catholic played strong basketball against a tough Whitney Young team behind a shutdown defense and the red-hot Ashton Millender, who dropped 29 points on the Dolphins. The Spartans frustrated Whitney Young and quickly routed the frustrated team.
Key Threat
Ashton Milliner
She held an All American to seven points and scored 29on her. Play the same type of game where everything goes in, andMarian Catholic will have its first championship ever.
X-Factor
Defense defense defense. Rolling Meadows packs even more heat than Whitney Young does, and a top defensive performance from the Spartans would be crucial for a victory.
Rolling Meadows (29-3)
Starters
Jackie Kemph, guard, junior
Jenny Vilet, guard/forward, junior
Alexis Glasgow, guard, junior
Ashley Montanez, forward/center, junior
Morgan Keller, center, senior
Top Scorers
Jackie Kemph, 19.6 PPG
Alexis Galsgow, 17.0 PPG
Jenny Vilet, 10.0 PPG
Top Rebounders
Jenny Vilet, 8.3 RPG
Ashley Montanez, 5.1 RPG
Morgan Keller, 4.1 RPG
How They Got Here
Glasgow, Kemph, and Vilet have traded jaw-dropping performances this postseason, with Glasgow leading scoring in two games, Kemph leading in three, and Vilet leading in one. The Mustangs blew out Lake Forest in the Mudelein Regional Semifinal by a score of 81-25. Hersey gave Rolling Meadows a closer competition in the regional final, but the Mustangs still won 53-37.
Kemph had another big game for the Mustangs against Stevenson in the sectional semifinal, with Rolling Meadows leading by 19 points at one time in the fourth period. Fremd didn’t have enough to knock off Kirkorsky in his first year with the Mustangs, who cruised past Evanston in the Class 4A Niles West Super-Sectional Championship to head to state.
Key Threat
Jackie Kemph
Although she had a big game against Huntley, Kemph took bad shots when she drove the lane and didn’t play the caliber game she could have played. She’s up against another tough defense in Marian Catholic and needs to get going in order to win.
X-Factor
Rolling Meadows prides itself on defense this postseason and it’s going to need it to stop a high-octane Spartans offense. If that happens and the big three keep scoring, the Mustangs can knock off theSpartans for a championship in young head coach Ryan Kirkorsky’s first year at Meadows.