Chargers’ upset bid of Cyclones in Region 4 semis falls just short
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Carl Sandburg College | 17 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 60 |
|
Moraine Valley Community College (28-4, 13-1) | 23 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 62 |
ROCKFORD — The Sandburg women's basketball team put nationally ranked Moraine Valley on upset alert, but the Chargers came up just short in a 62-60 loss Saturday in the semifinals of the Region 4 Division II District A tournament.
The Chargers finished their season 22-10 after winning their third straight Arrowhead Conference championship and reaching 20 victories for the third consecutive year.
The Cyclones (28-4), seeded No. 1 in the region and 23rd in NJCAA Division II, will face Kankakee in the championship this Saturday.
Sandburg faced a 10-point deficit in the first quarter against Moraine Valley, but the Chargers didn't back down and trailed just 34-33 at halftime. The Chargers led 48-47 entering the fourth and scored the first six points of the final period. Tiera Hall opened the quarter with a spinning layup before a Camryn Atterberg layup and two Atterberg foul shots put Sandburg ahead 54-47 with 8:35 to go.
The Cyclones, however, scored seven straight to even the score. Sophomore Antonia Kisler put Sandburg up 59-56 on her 3-pointer with 3:35 to play, but that would be the Chargers' last field goal of the contest.
Atterberg split a pair of free throws at 1:29 to tie the game at 60, but Kisler fouled out with :56.9 to play as the Cyclones hit a foul shot to take a one-point lead.
Down 62-60 with :08.3 to go, Sandburg had the ball with a chance to force overtime or pull off the upset, but Moraine Valley poked the ball away, leading to a turnover.
Kisler, who reached the 1,000-point mark in the Chargers' quarterfinal win Wednseday at Waubonsee, led Sandburg with 13 points while adding 13 rebounds in her final game. The sophomore from Galesburg ended her Chargers career with 1,029 points in 64 games.
Hall and Atterberg each ended a point shy of double-doubles in the loss. Hall had nine points to go with team highs of 16 rebounds, six steals and four assists in her final game with Sandburg. Atterberg had nine points and 14 rebounds. The freshman from Keokuk, Iowa, also had four steals, three assists and three blocks.
Moraine Valley's Jadea Johnson led all players with 26 points.