Girls basketball: Marian Central ends record-breaking season with sectional semifinal loss to Stillman Valley

WINNEBAGO – Marian Central players and coaches received big ovations from family, friends and fans Tuesday as they filed out of the locker room after a season-ending 59-47 loss to Stillman Valley in a Class 2A Winnebago Sectional semifinal.

The No. 1-seeded Hurricanes (25-8), who blew past last year’s win total and set the program record for wins in a season, reflected on how far they’ve come.

“I’m just really proud of my team,” junior guard Ella Notaro said. “I can’t believe we made it this far, honestly. It’s an amazing accomplishment with our record, making it to sectionals. Everybody chipped in something to get us here.”

Second-seeded Stillman Valley (28-6) advances to meet No. 1 Byron, a 58-33 winner against No. 2 Aurora Central Catholic in the first semifinal, for the sectional championship at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Hurricanes won a program-record 25 games after winning only five games last year, surpassing the 1993-94 team that finished 22-2. Marian beat Sandwich last week to win its second regional title since 2020 and 14th overall.

Lee Brown, who took over as head coach for the Hurricanes in the middle of last season, was proud of his players’ effort despite Tuesday’s loss. He felt his team handled the pressure of a successful season very well.

“I believed in them from the start,” Brown said. “It’s a great group. They’re a talented group. They worked hard, and that tends to pay off. I’m most proud of how they handled that success. As the wins start stacking ... that brings a little bit of pressure.

“We ran into some pretty good teams trying to take us out. At times that can splinter a team, but this group did a good job of not allowing that to happen.”

Stillman Valley led 22-21 with 2:30 remaining in the second quarter and ended the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 33-23 lead at the break. The Cardinals’ lead grew to 15 points with under a minute left in the third quarter, but Marian did not back down.

A pair of 3-pointers from Notaro and Adriana Wrzos and a free throw by Abbey Miner cut the lead to 53-45 with 1:45 remaining in the fourth, but Stillman Valley nailed all six of its free throws down the stretch to end any hopes of a Marian comeback.

Hurricanes junior Madison Kenyon, the team’s top scorer and rebounder all season, recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Notaro added 12 points and six rebounds, and Wrzos had seven points. Miner had five points and four steals, creating many fast-break opportunities.

The Cardinals were led by junior forward Mya Janssen with 17 points and 19 rebounds and 15 points by Taylor Davidson.

Stillman Valley coach Bobby Mellon felt Kenyon was a tough assignment.

“What she does incredibly well is all those effort plays,” Mellon said. “She cuts so hard to the basket, she’s always crashing for rebounds, and she never gives up on a possession. She doesn’t lose any bit of that intensity.”

Marian will return its entire starting lineup next year with only three seniors on the roster: Jordyn Kratochvil, Kerri Johnson and Vicki Ferrarini.

Kenyon thanked the coaches and seniors for helping get the Hurricanes to where they are.

“Personally, I think a lot of our success has to do with our coaches,” Kenyon said. “Our coaches really pushed us. It was hard for coming off of five wins, and it’s hard to believe that we could make it to 25. If you asked me at the beginning of the season, I didn’t think we’d be here.

“Our coaches boosted our confidence. We always pick each other up whenever anyone’s down. We always stayed positive and helped each other up if we got down. Our seniors were a huge support for all of us. They were always helping us, and they were really big role models. They set a really big path for us.”

After playing an independent schedule this year, Marian will compete in the newly formed Chicagoland Christian Conference next year.

The Hurricanes are confident they have more room to grow.

“They came here and competed,” Brown said. “We had such a wonderful season. It’s hard to lose games like these, but they’ll be back and working hard again.”