Girls basketball: Marian Central tops Crystal Lake Central to win Northern Illinois Girls Classic

McHENRY – It takes a special effort to overcome a special performance. That’s what Marian Central girls basketball coach Lee Brown saw Thursday.

On a night Crystal Lake Central’s Katie Hamill stole the show, his Hurricanes stole the trophy by coming up with enough big plays late to win the Northern Illinois Girls Classic, 56-54 in overtime.

Hamill wound up with a magnificent 42-point, eight-rebound performance that eventually netted the game ball. But big plays by Marian Central across the board helped overcome that and lift the Hurricanes to 13-2.

“They had the will if you ask me from the start to the finish,” Brown said. “This game was going to take that. It was going to take all four quarters, and I think our girls effort wise really tried to match their intensity because that’s a great team.”

Marian had to battle through Hamill’s own will, which produced all 25 of Crystal Lake Central’s first half points and the first 27 overall. Still, the Hurricanes used runs of 11-2 and 10-2 to pull ahead 43-33 with just 4:36 left to play.

But immediately following, Hamill had her signature moment. She drained a 3-pointer, made a steal and hit an off-balance shot while getting fouled to cut the lead to 43-39 in a flash.

“Playing my hardest is probably one of the biggest things for me,” Hamill said. “If I play my hardest, then I’ll succeed.”

Marian kept the lead until a 6-0 run by Hamill, the last of which was a layup following a Hope Ferrero steal, gave the Tigers (7-8) a 49-47 lead with 19.7 seconds left. However, Keara Kelly produced inside on the other end before a key defensive stop sent the game into overtime.

In the extra session, the Hurricanes took control immediately and never let go. Two buckets from Juliette Huff – who was huge off the bench with 10 points – and another from Madison Kenyon made it 55-50 with 1:06 to play.

Crystal Lake Central pulled within 56-54 and had a shot to win at the buzzer, but Avery Bechler’s 3-pointer was off line.

Ella Notaro led a balanced attack with 17 points and seven rebounds while Kenyon had 13 points. Abbey Miner had 10 points.

“We played as a team,” Notaro said. “We swung the ball around, and I think that’s the best thing we can do. We just have to play together as a team, and that’s what we did today.”

While a victory would have made it a bit sweeter, Hamill’s career night was made a bit more special considering she’s been playing for years alongside several members of the Hurricanes team.

“I love all of them,” Hamill said. “I have played with them since I was little because I went to a private school when I was little. Obviously, we were playing on different teams and wanted to win, but off the court we are best friends.”