Girls basketball: Marian Central defeats Byron in double OT for Class 2A regional championship

ROCKFORD – Marian Central’s Juliette Huff showed throughout the season how dangerous she could be as an outside shooter, gaining confidence with every shot made and putting up big numbers along the way.

On Friday, the Hurricanes junior guard came through with the biggest shot of her career.

With Marian trailing Byron by three points in overtime, Huff grabbed a loose ball, gathered herself, took a step behind the 3-point arc and let it fly with time running out.

“I knew what I had to do, I trusted my gut,” Huff said of her buzzer-beater near the top of the key. “I knew it was going in when I let it go.”

Huff’s clutch 3 sent the Class 2A Rockford Christian Regional final into double overtime, and the No. 3-seeded Hurricanes came out on top 73-68 against the No. 2-seeded Tigers.

Marian (27-4), which has won two straight regional titles after winning only five games in 2022, moves on to face top-seeded Rock Island Alleman in the Oregon Sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Hurricanes already have broken the program record for wins in a season, which was last year with 25. Byron was the 2A state runner-up last season.

Although Huff’s big 3 kept both the game and the Hurricanes’ season alive, it was a team effort with five players reaching double digits

“That’s just kind of how we’ve played all year,” Marian coach Lee Brown said. “Every girl has been chipping in and doing what they can for the team. Things like that add up to help you win, whether it’s a rebound, a steal or a putback. It’s going to take all five [on the court], and the girls were up to the challenge tonight.”

“I’m so excited for the girls, I’m so excited for the school.”

The Hurricanes actually looked to have had the game won in regulation and started to celebrate as the Tigers (21-8) were unable to convert a shot in the final seconds trailing by two. But one referee awarded Byron a timeout with one second remaining.

Out of the timeout, the Tigers lobbed a pass into sophomore Malia Morton, who hit a shot falling away to send the game into overtime.

At that point, the Hurricanes kept a positive mindset.

“You never know what’s going to happen, so you have to be prepared,” said Hurricanes senior Madison Kenyon, who had a team-high 21 points and 16 rebounds, scoring 11 of her points in the fourth quarter. “It was the ref’s call, and they saw it better than we all did. We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to overtime, but that’s OK, because that just means it’s 0-0.’ ”

Marian trailed 61-60 in the first overtime after a 3 by Byron’s Aubrie Fuller (11 points). On the next possession, Huff (19 points, three 3s) was called for an offensive charge. Byron sophomore Macy Groharing, who scored a game-high 29 points, then made two free throws to put the Tigers ahead 63-60 with 12.3 seconds left.

Marian drew up a play to get Huff open in the corner for a 3. When that didn’t happen, Adriana Wrzos attempted a 3, but it was blocked. Kenyon then tipped the ball out to Huff, who nailed the 3.

“When we were in the huddle, I saw it on her face that she was determined,” Brown said of Huff. “She had a turnover on the previous play, so I could tell that she wanted to redeem herself and make up for that play, and she sure did by hitting that 3. What a big clutch shot.”

Marian led for the first three minutes of the second overtime until Groharing made a one-handed shot in the lane to give Byron a 68-67 lead with 55 seconds to go.

After Kenyon made one of two free throws to tie the game at 68, Wrzos had a steal that led to a putback from Marian junior Abbey Miner, who had eight of her 10 points in the two overtimes. Miner finished off the victory with three free throws.

Ella Notaro added 10 points and five assists for Marian, and Kiara Kelly came off the bench with 11 points. Kelly had nine of her 11 points after the third quarter, also pulling in six rebounds. She made every shot attempted, including two in the second overtime.

Miner said her teammates continued to believe they’d find a way to win.

“Every time a timeout was called, we went to the bench, we cheered, and we got excited,” Miner said. “We know that we can lean on each other. Some of us might get upset with bad calls, but the other girl right there next to you is going to pick you up.”