Sports
JANE ADDAMS WINS REGIONAL GAME
Addams defense keys 8th grade girls regional final win over Brooks
Jane Addams Middle School withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by Brooks Middle School to post a 31-28 8th grade girls IESA regional championship victory Thursday afternoon.
The Mustangs (19-2) will meet either Rockford Flinn or Rockford Kennedy at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at Jane Addams for the sectional title and the right to advance to the state quarterfinals.
A short jumper by the Mustangs Damia Patton off a great pass from Makayla Conway with 4:40 to go in the game gave Jane Addams what seemed to be an insurmountable 25-12 lead before Brooks picked up the defensive pace utilizing six steals to pull to within three points with 20 seconds left on a Marisa Manning 3-pointer and Jayden Marable’s 3-pointer.
But that’s as close as the Bulldogs (14-5) got.
Jane Addams utilized an almost impenetrable 2-3 zone to neutralize the Brooks offense for three quarters of the game. Seven Brooks turnovers, baskets by Arielle McElroy (10 points, 4 steals, 3 assists) and Alyssa Casarez (9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) and 3 free throws by Damia Patton (7 points, 7 rebounds) gave the Mustangs a 7-4 first quarter lead that they never relinquished.
The Mustangs turned a 12-9 halftime lead into a 20-12 advantage after three periods, holding Brooks without a basket in the quarter. Tati Helaire hit all 4 of her points in the period, while McElroy and Casarez added hoops.
McElroy opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer before Patton’s bucket boosted the lead to 13.
Brooks’ Elisha Dunlap (4 points, 11 rebounds) started the late rally with a layup courtesy of a great pass from Marable (13 points). Auriel Sanders (8 points) finally broke through on a drive and then hit two more buckets and Marable scored on a jumper to fuel the come-back.
McElroy and Casarez both hit three free throws in the final period to maintain the lead.
Other Addams team members include Mercedez Spann, Charlize Abad, Jasmine Doguin, Caitlin Stephens, Makayla Conway (1 point, 5 rebounds), Aureyel Davis, and Jamyah Bennet. Ed Hasselberg is the head coach, assisted by Christina Miller.
