Despite Loss, Falcons Give State-ranked Proviso East a Run for Their Money

and her Wheaton North teammates drew a line in the sand prior to taking the court Thursday night against Proviso East at the Glenbard West regional final.

No way were the Pirates going to brush Wheaton North aside like they did last month when they whipped the Falcons, 61-44.

Even though Wheaton North ended up losing to Proviso East for a second time, 54-49, the Falcons made the Pirates earn it.

Proviso East advances to next week's York sectional, where they'll face the winner of tonight's Hoffman Estates regional championship game that pits Fenwick against the host school.

“They were a state ranked team,” Vine said of the Pirates, who are 28-2 and ranked ninth in the recent Class 4A state poll. “But everybody doubted us and said Wheaton North will get beat since we got beat earlier. But we play as a family.”

Proviso East led 36-38 in the third quarter, but Vine cut the Pirates’ advantage to 36-32 with a jumper and two free throws. The Falcons caught a break shortly thereafter when Proviso East star shooting guard Ivory Crawford—an Illinois recruit who torched the Falcons for 29 points in their first meeting—picked up her fourth foul with 1:32 left in the quarter.

“I was actually thinking we could really attack these people because they’re really nothing without (number) 3 and (number) 12 in there,” said Vine, referring to Crawford (12) and point guard Ricquia Jones (3). “We were excited when she (Crawford) went out.”

Vine’s 10-foot jumper in the paint made it 38-36, but that ended up being the closest Wheaton North would get the rest of the game.

Jones gave Proviso East a 41-36 lead with a trey near the end of the quarter. Jones and Stacey Welch then fed Jakeisha Wells for three consecutive layups to begin the fourth quarter, and the Pirates surged ahead, 47-36.

“They’ve only lost two times for a reason,” Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton said. We were ready to go and our kids came out. Our kids played our game, and Proviso’s a fantastic team. A lot of people didn’t give us a chance, and our kids knew that going into the game. Our kids wanted to come out and show that we could play with them.”

Vine finished her standout career at Wheaton North with a 19-point effort that included five rebounds and three steals. She’ll play collegiately at Bradley, but she said she’ll always have a place in her heart for Wheaton North.

“This is my last game since I’m going to Bradley, but I won’t forget my team,” she said. “Every person on the Bradley team reminds me of my family right here at Wheaton North.”

Senior forward Lauren Graham, who had eight points, also played in her final game. In addition, the Falcons say goodbye to Karli Togami and leading rebounder AK Feltes, who missed most of the season with a knee injury.

“Our kids battled all night long,” Eaton said. “I’m extremely proud of them and I thought we handled their pressure well. We knew they were going to pressure us and they like to dictate the game. I thought our kids really stepped up and controlled the tempo the way we wanted to play.”

Juniors Sydney Sharkey and had nine and eight points, respectively, for the Falcons (18-9).

Proviso East 54, Wheaton North 49

Proviso East—Crawford 9 1-3 21, Jak. Wells 8 2-2 18, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Welch 1 1-2 3, Jones 4 0-1 10, Jal. Wells 0 0-0 0, Ka. Parks 0 0-0 0, Ke. Parks 0 0-0 0, Ashr. Broadwater 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 3-8 54.

Wheaton North—Vine 8 2-3 19, Baillie 3 0-0 8, L. Graham 4 0-2 8, Traversa 1 1-2 4, Sharkey 3 2-3 9, Hillman 0 1-2 1, Schanowski 0 0-0 0, C. Graham 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 6-9 49.

Score by quarters

Proviso East           11    17    13     13—54

Wheaton North    11   11     14     13—49

Three point baskets: Proviso East 4 (Crawford 2, Jones 2), Wheaton North 5 (Vine, Baillie 2, Traversa, Sharkey). Total fouls: Proviso East 14, Wheaton North 15. Turnovers: Proviso East 13, Wheaton North 16.