GAMER: NT 72, GBN 28
Taite Ryan, seen here in earlier action this season, tallied six points and three rebounds in New Trier’s regional semifinal win over Glenbrook North. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
For host New Trier, this game was a 10 and then some.
Following her team’s runaway 72-28 victory over visiting Glenbrook North in a regional semifinal game on Feb. 13, Trevians head girls basketball coach Teri Rodgers quoted a quote during a postgame interview.
“We turned it up to 11,” said Rodgers, slightly paraphrasing one of the classic lines in the 1984 classic rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap.
Rodgers and her staff couldn’t have drawn it up any better.
NT went on a 13-0 run to close out the first quarter and never looked back.
Where do they go from here?
The 23-5 Trevians, seeded No. 5 in the Class 4A Maine East Sectional, will try to lock up a regional title, when they take on No. 4 Trinity on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
Trinity advanced to the final after downing Lincoln Park 73-31 in their semifinal game.
Glenbrook North, which finished the season 10-13, started the game well. The Spartans scored points on four of their first six possessions.
“I thought GBN came out well-prepared,” said Rodgers.
But after senior Samm Carsello (14 points, 4 rebounds) converted an offensive rebound to make 8-8, the Spartans went nearly six minutes without scoring.
“Their trap killed us,” said GBN head coach Danielle Fluegge.
“It’s tough to play a team as multi-faceted as New Trier,” she added.
The Trevians turned it up a notch thanks to the play of the Murdock twins, Maggie and Cate, and their lookalike sidekick, Rebecca Goldman.
Maggie Murdock tallied eight points in the first eight minutes and wound up with 13 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
Cate Murdock popped in eight points in the third quarter to end up with a game-high 15 points.
And Goldman, a junior guard, went on a personal 6-0 run early in the second quarter to push NT’s lead to 32-11. She finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds.
The Trevians also received solid work from their two post players, junior Taite Ryan (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) and senior Jacqueline Vinson (6 points, 2 rebounds).
Junior forward Jessica Kalis came off the bench and also scored six points.
Meanwhile, GBN’s other stat leaders were Morgan Paull (5 points, 9 rebounds) and Nicole Amen (4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).
“We knew this would be a tough game for us,” said Fluegge. “We were the underdogs.
“But I thought our kids were fearless,” she added. “They never gave up. Not for one second.”
In other regional action, Loyola Academy advanced to the title game of the Lane Tech Regional by downing the hosts 63-39 on Feb. 13. The Ramblers will take on Evanston in the final on Feb. 15.
At the Highland Park Regional on Feb. 13, the host Giants played well in the first half before falling to Palatine 49-26. HP, which trailed by six points, 21-15, at intermission, were led by Kirby Bartelstein (7 points, 3 steals), Addie Budnik (7 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Sydney Ignoffo (5 points,).
HP finished the 2017-18 campaign with a 13-14 record. Palatine (22-8) will move on and play Stevenson in the championship game.
And, at the Glenbrook South Regional, the host Titans kept their season alive by topping Taft 44-31 in the semifinal round on Feb. 13. They will meet top-seeded Maine West in the regional title game on Feb. 15.