1A Dwight Regional: Serena wins ugly title game over Marquette

DWIGHT – This is the IHSA girls basketball postseason. It’s not a beauty contest, so there are no points for pretty.

Lucky thing for the Serena Huskers and the Marquette Crusaders because their meeting for the Class 1A Dwight Regional championship left more than a little to be desired.

It just turned out that one quarter of less ugly was enough to net the Huskers another title.

That was the third quarter, when Serena rode eight points from Jenna Setchell and six from Makayla McNally to an 11-point advantage in the period, enough to send it on to a 41-37 victory over the Crusaders for its second straight regional crown.

Setchell finished with a game-best 18 points for the Huskers, who take a 25-8 record into the 7:30 p.m. Tuesday semifinal at their own sectional against the winner of Friday’s Hinckley-Big Rock Regional title contest between the host Royals and Harvest Christian.

To get there, the Huskers had to overcome 1-for-11 shooting in the first quarter, 21.7% shooting in the first half and 29.5% for the game and not having a single field goal in the fourth quarter. They did it with defense – forcing 10 Marquette turnovers in that third period while not having a single miscue themselves – and Setchell’s hot hand.

“I think I told [assistant Craig Twait] at the start of the second quarter that this game was setting basketball back 40 years. It was not a pretty game, but we’ll take it,” Serena coach Jim Jobst said. “What turned it around was the third quarter, which is what we focus on in every game. Jenna started hitting shots and the turnovers off the press. … Defense is another thing we take pride in. You’re never going to stop [Lilly] Craig, but we didn’t let her get rolling.

“Give Marquette credit. Every time we made a run, we’d turn around and foul and they make their free throws. They’re a good team … but experience let us withstand our mistakes. We never lost our composure, and that was because of last year’s run [to state].”

The teams combined for 3-for-22 shooting from the field and 12 turnovers in the first quarter, one led by Marquette on Craig’s four points. The Crusaders picked it up offensively in the second quarter, hitting 4 of 6 from the field and all six from the line, but eight turnovers allowed Serena to hang within 21-17 at the break.

But in the decisive third quarter, Setchell and the defense took hold. All eight of her points – two free throws and three baskets – came after steals she made. The last two buckets came after a Jaiden Mahler basket broke a 25-all tie and put the Huskers on top for good midway through the quarter.

“After they put the box-and-1 on me in the first half, I knew I had to figure out something. I knew I had to step up my game,” Setchell said. “Our press helped us a lot. It’s one of our favorite things to do … and the experience we had last year definitely helps in big games, and this was a big game to me and my teammates.”

Marquette (17-17) did scramble back within 38-36 on an Avery Durdan basket with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, but with Craig throttled and the Crusaders’ only senior, Eva McCallum, fouled out, it ended there, thanks in part to a pair of Setchell free throws.

“That third quarter stretch,” Marquette coach Eric Price said. “We had a lead, came out for the second half, had a little adrenaline dump and things just kind of fell apart. We had trouble with their press right off the bat. Their defense and their experience of having been in big games before really helped them. It showed in the second half.

“They outscored us 18-7, but we still won every other quarter. I’m pretty happy with the way we played defensively and rebounded well. I’m really proud of the way we played. They never game up.”