High school girls basketball: Johnsburg fends off Woodstock North to keep pace in KRC race

JOHNSBURG – For 31/2 quarters, Johnsburg looked like a veteran champion boxer that was cornered, desperately trying to change the late-round momentum any way possible.

With her team’s Kishwaukee River Conference title hopes hanging in the balance against Woodstock North on Monday, Skyhawks coach Ashley Arff called a timeout with 2:58 to play and her team clinging to a three-point lead.

It was the biggest advantage either team had up to that point in the second half. Before the timeout, there had been 17 lead changes.

“I just told them in the huddle (during the timeout) to be in control of the game,” Arff said. “I told them this is our game. It’s our time. We control the speed. We control what happens, and to be patient. Sometimes, we run our offense too quickly instead of making sure we’re running it properly.”

After the Skyhawks (15-10, 8-1 KRC) emerged from the huddle, they took Arff’s words to heart, then landed the knockout punch, which came in the form of a 10-1 run to close the game. The result was a 55-43 Skyhawks victory, one they desperately needed to stay tied with first-place Burlington Central in the loss column.

Junior Megan Madsen, who had a game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, noted the win was bittersweet. That’s because her twin sister, Morgan, is slated to have an MRI on her knee Tuesday after an injury she suffered during a game Friday. The fear is Morgan, who was still walking with a noticeable limp before Monday’s game, could miss the rest of the season alongside senior teammate Kayla Stefka, who suffered a torn ACL in December.

“This was so tough for me emotionally tonight, because it’s the first time I can remember playing in a game without my sister on the court in what seems like forever,” Megan Madsen said. “I’m literally scared when I think that I may have played my last game alongside her (this season). But fingers crossed the doctors give her good news.”

Several players came up huge down the stretch. Senior Heather Arden had 16 points, while junior Katelyn Davis (nine rebounds) impacted the game with her relentless, physical play in the lane despite not scoring.

“Sometimes, you just have to want it more than the other team,” Davis said. “In those final few minutes, Woodstock North gave us everything they had, but we made big plays when we needed to.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Owen swished a floating layup to break a tie midway through the fourth quarter, then sank a pair of free throws with less than a minute to play. And sophomore Mackenzie Straulin (nine points, nine rebounds) almost had a double-double.

The win sets up a showdown Thursday between the Skyhawks and Burlington Central, with sole possession of first in the KRC on the line.

The Thunder (5-18, 2-7), meanwhile, didn’t play like a team in the bottom half of the conference standings. They were led by senior Hanna Seils (11 points, 11 rebounds), and a nine-point, five-assist, five-steal game by Taylor Prerost. Amaya Saldana and Sami Long had eight points apiece.

“For 28 or 29 minutes, we played some really good basketball,” Thunder coach Mike Lewis said. “From the opening tip, when we started the game on a huge (11-3) run, until the very end, we left everything we had on the floor. We haven’t been in too many positions like this all season, where we had an opportunity to close a big game out late.

“We just missed some close layups down the stretch that would’ve made the difference.”

We were getting looks and opportunities. Moving forward, this is the type of effort I want to see every night. We will learn from this and continue to grow. We’re such a young team still. We have two seniors, and only returned one starter from last season. Even though we lost, and Johnsburg has key injuries, we should be confident and proud of this effort.”