Girls Basketball: Timothy Christian, while mourning unexpected death of a senior’s mom, reaches Lisle Cage Classic championship

Seniors Grace Roland and Maddie Drye were freshman starters for the Timothy Christian girls basketball team’s championship lineup at the 2019 Lisle Holiday Cage Classic.

Although the Trojans lost Friday’s title game to DePaul College Prep 54-34, just reaching the 16-team final required overcoming several challenges on and off the court.

“If you would have told us on Monday night we’d be playing in the championship game, I don’t know if we would have believed you,” Roland said. “I would be lying if I told you that all of us were 100% expecting to win those (previous two) games. To show that we were able to beat really, really good teams (IC Catholic Prep and East Aurora), it was really impressive to take those two victories.”

Roland and Drye earned all-tournament honors for Timothy (12-5). Roland had 14 points Friday despite four fouls most of the second half, Drye had 11 and freshman Avery Schwarz seven. In Thursday’s semifinals, the Trojans found an inner strength to beat top-seeded East Aurora 48-39 after trailing 26-18 at halftime.

The Trojans were mourning the unexpected death Wednesday night of the mother of senior Mili Martens, who contributed to the comeback.

“Winning that game meant a lot more than just going to the championship,” Roland said.  “It was very, very, very hard (just playing). I can’t even imagine how it was for other people. (Martens) was great. She’s the rock of our defense. We can’t play without her. It was so awesome that she was able to play. I was so proud of her.”

“The kids played out of their minds the second half,” Timothy coach Jill Groenewold said. “I think we had a cause to play for with Mili’s mom dying and they worked their butts off. It’s been a rough couple of days. I give the kids props.”

The Trojans defeated Plano 59-22 Tuesday and ICCP 56-24 Wednesday to avenge two losses last season.

“I think that throughout this tournament, we definitely grew in what we know we’re capable of,” Drye said. “We were kind of playing for Mili and her mom. We’ve all been praying for each other a lot and the community that was able to form around Mili actually strengthened us as a team. When you’re vulnerable with each other, it just adds a whole other level of your play.”

The Trojans hoped for another rally Friday as they entered the fourth quarter trailing 41-28. DePaul (14-2) didn’t score the first 3:25 of the period, but the Trojans also were scoreless as they missed five shots with two turnovers on their first seven possessions. They closed to 44-32 with 3:38 left on free throws by Drye. Roland had the quarter’s only two baskets.

“It’s been a long week. I think it’s taken its toll on the girls,” Groenewold said. “I think we just ran out of gas and that’s not to take anything from DePaul. They obviously executed, played well and deserved to win. Things just kind of didn’t go our way and we just mentally and physically were very fatigued.” 

Timothy led 24-23 at halftime but had just four third-quarter points from Drye after Roland received her fourth foul early in the period. Martens fouled out late.

“When two (starters) are in foul trouble, that’s very, very hard for our team,” Roland said. “Everyone was playing their hardest. We left it all out there but at the end of the day it’s really tough to do that.”

Class 2A DePaul went undefeated for December. The Rams’ last loss was 50-48 to Trinity Nov. 26. After graduating nine seniors, DePaul has two – tournament MVP Nora Leadstrom (16 points Friday, 14 in second half) and point guard Jadyn Kosanic (11 points). Sophomore London Walker-George (14 points) also was all-tournament. 

“This is a really new team. They’re just learning how to play together,” DePaul coach Sarah Zarymbski said. “They’re really clicking and figuring it out. They know they can do something special.”