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.