IC Catholic stymies Timothy Christian in Class 2A regional final

ELMHURST – IC Catholic Prep coach Todd Fisher opted to start two seniors, one junior and two freshmen for the Class 2A IC Catholic Prep Regional championship game. The question before Friday’s contest in Elmhurst was whether that lineup would be enough to beat crosstown rival Timothy Christian.

The Knights had enough and then some in a 45-21 victory, giving them their third regional title in four years and their fourth in eight years. They advance to the Lisle Sectional, which will begin with a semifinal against top-seeded Westmont at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Lisle and Philips will tip off in the other semifinal immediately after.

“It was a very short bench today, very few subs,” said Fisher. “And it’s just, I’m very proud of all of their effort, I’m proud of their dedication, and I’m proud that we won a championship.”

Fisher’s decision to start the freshmen immediately paid off as Demi Dimitrakos scored the first points of the game on a 3-pointer. Dimitrakos didn’t score again, but she had done enough as the Knights (17-14) never trailed the Trojans (17-13).

Libby Phillips, the Knights’ other freshman starter, was the only player on the team to score in every quarter. She used her size in the post and scored eight of her 10 points from the field.

Addison Trail junior transfer Sofia Bucaro was IC Catholic Prep’s leading scorer. She came off the bench and made a game-high three 3-pointers. Her two free throws late in the fourth quarter gave her 11 points.

“You have to be the spark for your team,” Bucaro said. “And even if that means coming off the bench or being a starter, it doesn’t matter. I think it’s all about confidence and hyping up your team.”

The Knights held a 17-6 lead at the end of a first half in which the scoring was evenly spread. Nobody had more than three points at that time, but three of those players had one 3-pointer each. Those 3s matched the number of Trojans’ two-point field goals through 16 minutes.

Timothy Christian struggled on offense, making four of its eight field goals throughout the first three quarters, which saw them score only 10 points.

“I’m not so sure that we didn’t do that to ourselves,” said Trojans coach Jill Groenewold. “IC’s pressure, they did a great job on it. But I think the nervousness got to us, and we kind of took ourselves out of a lot of things as well.”

Timothy Christian’s lone second-quarter basket came from Elisabeth Van den Berg, who led the team with 11 points and also made its next field goal during the final minute of the third quarter.