Girls Basketball: Alex Stewart, Yorkville turn the tables on Plainfield North in regional semifinal

YORKVILLE – Alex Stewart dribbled the clock out, spiked the basketball at halfcourt, and joined a wild Yorkville celebration.

This time, the third time was the charm.

The Foxes lost two conference games this season to Plainfield North by a combined five points. The Tigers last year beat Yorkville three times, including the regional opener. Stewart, a senior guard and four-year varsity player, had never won a playoff game.

Stewart and the Foxes were not to be denied Tuesday. She rolled in a go-ahead shot in the final seconds of the third quarter, and 10th-seeded Yorkville pulled away from there to a 66-55 win over eighth-seeded Plainfield North in the Class 4A Yorkville Regional semifinal.

“I’m so excited. I’ve been waiting for this moment,” said Stewart, who scored a team-high 20 points and also had five rebounds and three assists. “We practiced for this moment. It’s the end of the season, we worked hard, and we came out with a win.”

Neither team led by more than five points over the first three quarters, but Yorkville seemed to find a second gear late.

Stewart rolled in a baseline jumper to start the fourth quarter, and five different Foxes scored in the final period. The lead grew to double digits on Ava Hendershott’s 3-pointer with 3:53 left that made it 65-53.

Unlike the teams’ first meeting, in which Yorkville led almost the entire way until Plainfield North (22-10) won in the final minute, the Foxes (19-12) never gave the lead away, and advanced to play No. 1 seed Benet in Thursday’s regional final.

“Had a shot to tie at their place, up the whole time here, it was nice to get that gratification for all the hard work that these kids have put in and executed what we asked,” Yorkville coach Kim Wensits said. “It was nice to get this in this setting.”

The Foxes overcame a 29-point effort from Plainfield North senior guard Lexi Salazar. The American University recruit scored 17 of her 29 in the first half, her fourth 3-pointer of the half sending the Tigers into the half down 34-33.

But Yorkville hit eight 3-pointers of its own for the game, and got it from all different sources. Hendershott hit three 3s and scored 11 points, and Brooke Spychalski hit three 3s and scored nine.

“We had a game plan, because they kicked our butts on the inside the first couple games, that we would double down when the ball went inside and force them to take those outside shots,” Salazar said. “Hats off to them, they were hitting them today. We knew Alex would be tough, but everybody coming into their role and hitting shots was tough. They hit almost every shot, it seemed. I couldn’t tell how how many, but it was a lot.”

That’s not by accident.

“We just preach if you’re open, you gotta shoot it. You’re never going to score if you don’t shoot,” Wensits said. “We try to build their confidence in practice.”

Stewart set the tone early, scoring Yorkville’s first seven points on two driving layups sandwiched around a 3 from the top of the key. Later she rolled in a runner on a coast-to-coast drive to send Yorkville into the fourth quarter up 49-47.

“I had a lot of confidence in myself,” Stewart said. “My dad was talking to me earlier today to just focus, play your game and do what you know how to do. We just wanted it more.”

The game was played at a furious pace throughout, with shots flying early in every possession, much to Yorkville’s liking. Salazar and Spychalski both banked in 3s on consecutive possessions in the first quarter, and a third straight banked 3 almost went down. Yorkville had six different girls score in the second quarter.

But despite the back-and-forth, the Foxes turned it over just 14 times against Plainfield North pressure.

“The pace went to our favor, the refs weren’t calling much, which we honestly kind of prefer that. But yes, the pace was 100% in our favor,” Wensits said. “I thought our kids were incredibly poised, which we did not do that the first time we played them.”

Isabella Gruber had 12 points and seven rebounds for Plainfield North, which won the SPC West title and matched last year’s team for the most wins in school history.

“This year was just a lot of fun,” Salazar said. “Last year we didn’t get to compete in a Christmas tournament because we got COVID, and this year we were able to do that and it was a highlight of the season because we got to bond. It was fun. I love to compete, and I’m blessed to be able to do it at the next level .”