Carrollton’s hot semifinal start ends Cissna Park’s state title dreams

NORMAL – All season long, Cissna Park girls basketball coach Anthony Videka has seen his Timberwolves use overwhelming starts to fuel victories that brought the Timberwolves all the way to the IHSA Class 1A State semifinals.

But in Thursday’s semifinal matchup with Carrollton, the Timberwolves saw the script get flipped on them, as the Hawks took early control and never let go, leading wire-to-wire on their way to a 55-39 win.

While Carrollton (30-7) advanced to Saturday’s state championship game against the winner of Thursday’s other semifinal between Pecatonica and St. Edward, the Timberwolves will return to Normal’s SEFCU Arena Friday morning in the third-place game.

"They really took us out of our game," Videka said. “I think that’s something all year we’ve tried to do to other teams, come out and punch them in the mouth [quickly], and they kind of did that to us, especially in the second quarter.”

Over the course of that second quarter, the Hawks broke things open with a 20-2 run to end the first half, powered by four 3-pointers and seven points off of six Cissna Park turnovers, to head to the locker room with a 37-15 lead.

That first-half firepower from the Hawks, who are now one of the last two teams standing in Class 1A after earning a No. 3 seed in their own subsectional, was perhaps their best first half of the season in the eyes of head coach Brian Madson.

“I thought we came out first half probably the hottest as far as shooting we’ve had all season,” Madson said. “The girls were super excited, super pumped up. First half, I don’t think I could have asked for a better performance.”

Lauren Flowers, who broke the school’s career scoring record earlier this season – overtaking her mother, Stosha – tallied 21 of her game-high 28 points in the first half Thursday. Capping off a dream season on the biggest stage possible, Flowers and her Hawks teammates couldn’t have enjoyed the spotlight anymore than they did in their semifinal win.

“It was just so much fun,” Flowers said. “We knew we had to play for the crowd behind us, just get hype on the floor and just lean on each other. Like we talk about every day, we’re sisters, and leaning on each other can help a game just go so much better.”

The Timberwolves were able to stick around a bit, ending the third quarter on a 9-1 run that kept them within striking distance at 43-28 as the fourth quarter began. After Flowers opened the final frame with a pair of free throws, Timberwolves forward Lauryn Hamrick buried a 3-pointer that made it 45-31 with six minutes remaining, but that’s as close as Cissna Park would get the rest of the way.

As they look to turn the page and finish on a high note with a third-place trophy Friday, the Timberwolves will look to draw on their experiences from the volleyball season, where they earned the Class 1A third-place trophy, to match that performance on the hardwood.

“Now we have the opportunity to end our season on a win,” junior point guard Addison Lucht said. “So, I think just knowing that, taking that mindset in, this same group of girls doing what we did for volleyball, I think take that same mindset into tomorrow and come ready to play at 9:30 [a.m.].”

Lucht and Hamrick tied for a team-high 12 points for the Timberwolves. Hamrick added eight rebounds and an assist while Lucht had six boards and a steal. Josie Neukomm added nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of assists.

However the season ends up going for Cissna Park Friday, Julia Edelman, the team’s lone starting senior, said that she and her Timberwolves teammates are going to soak in their final moments together.

“Taking a loss first off isn’t the greatest, but we’re still here at state,” Edelman said. “That’s the best I could ask for my senior year, and there’s no one else I’d rather be with. The last 24 hours here [are] gonna be the best 24 hours. I’m gonna take it and run with it.”