CLC girls roar toward regionals

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CRYSTAL LAKE – After the final seconds ticked away in the last regular season game for McHenry and Crystal Lake Central, only one team was left feeling good about the prospects of the postseason.

Central celebrated a 43-32 Fox Valley Conference crossover victory on senior night Monday, and the Tigers will head into the regional playoffs having won five of their past six contests.

Central (17-10) will face Woodstock North on Feb. 17 in the IHSA Class 3A Prairie Ridge Regional.

“I think we’re probably peaking at the right time,” Tigers coach Matt LePage said. “Defensively, we’re right where we need to be right now, and offensively, tonight’s performance is a great sign.

“We have girls making shots, and not just our starters, but our role players too. We’re excited to get going and prepare for the playoffs, and hopefully we can compete for the [regional title].”

The Tigers (17-10) outscored the Warriors (14-16) in every quarter, and held McHenry to 19 points through the first three quarters.

Junior guard Nelle Youel led Central with a game-high 19 points on 6 of 16 shooting, forward Erin Frazier added 15, and Shana Sigmund had five.

Senior forward Alyssa O’Donnell grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Tigers.

“We just really wanted to come out and make sure this was a game we would take care of early,” O’Donnell said. “We wanted to make a statement that we’re ready to play for the regional. Woodstock North has a really good post game, and tonight was a good sign that we were able to outrebound McHenry.”

O’Donnell was one of five seniors to start for the Tigers. Maggie Youel, Mary Grace Thomas, Cristy Kinahan and Jessica Dickerson also started for Centrsl, and guard Jessie Koutoulas subbed in.

“Tonight was really emotional because it was our last game on this court, and it’s just one of those things where you don’t want it to end, but you’re excited about the next stage of your life,” O’Donnell said. “Everyone came together on the court and made it a special night for the seniors.”

For the Warriors, Monday’s defeat was their fourth consecutive loss heading into Monday’s IHSA Huntley Regional, where McHenry will face Huntley at 7:30 p.m.

“Central was ready to play, and we weren’t,” Warriors coach Scott Morris said. “This is our third game in a row where I felt we weren’t prepared coming in.

“Take nothing away from CL Central, but we have not been ready to play, and it’s state tournament time, and McHenry is just not ready to play. I don’t know why, but it’s like the girls are hitting a wall, and I just don’t see the fire in their eyes.”

Junior forward Ashley Conway led the Warriors with 10 points and seven rebounds, guard Emma Romme had nine points on 3 of 4 shooting from three-point range, and Alyssa Haayer added six points.