Amboy advances to sectional final after win over Morgan Park Academy

HINCKLEY – Amboy leveraged its height advantage over Morgan Park Academy on both ends of the court in Tuesday’s second semifinal of the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional.

Working the ball into the low post for inside baskets and crashing the defensive boards, the Clippers defeated the Warriors 54-26.

Amboy, the Subsectional B second seed, returns to Hinckley on Thursday to face St. Edward, seeded second in Subsectional A for the sectional crown and a berth in next week’s Harvest Christian Academy Supersectional. The Green Wave beat Yorkville Christian 46-20 in the first semifinal.

The Clippers last won a sectional in 2019. St. Edward defeated Amboy 55-27 early in the season.

“They definitely took advantage of their height,” Morgan Park coach Tom Drahozal said. “We did not shoot the ball well at all, but credit to them, they played well.”

“We didn’t shoot it quite as well as we needed to, but we were able to get the ball inside quite a few times,” Amboy coach Mike McCracken said.

The Clippers' coach was pleased with his team’s defense.

“We did a lot of good things. We got better at defensing the drive. We knew it was coming,” McCracken said. “We weren’t stepping up and taking it off the pick.”

Six-foot senior Emily Sachs was in the thick of things both offensively and defensively for Amboy. Sachs scored all of her team-high 18 points from in the paint and pulled down nine of the team’s 31 defensive rebounds.

“Emily stepped out real big because she only averages five or six [points],” McCracken said. “We were able to get it to her easier, and it was great to see her step up and play as well as she did.”

“Communications was definitely key with us,” Sachs said about her teams’ success on both ends of the court. “Making sure we were communicating with each other.”

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Amboy’s Tyrah Vaessen makes a pass against Morgan Park Academy Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Sectional semifinal. Amboy won 54-26 and will face Elgin St. Edward at 6 p.m. Thursday for the title. (Alex T. Paschal)

The Clippers' Jillian Anderson notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Tyrah Vaessen also snared 10 rebounds. Addison Pertell scored nine points.

Amboy limited the Chicago school to one basket for a 14-2 lead after the first quarter. Warriors sophomore Tiara William scored the first of her team-high 18 points at the 4:57 mark of the period.

The Warriors matched the Clippers basket for basket in the early going of the second quarter but could not sustain the momentum. Amboy led 25-10 at the break.

Williams was the key to Morgan Park’s offense.

“We knew we had to continue her because she’s a good passer on top of a good shooter,” the Amboy coach said. “So we did well at times.”

The Clippers continued their domination in the third quarter and started the final frame with a 37-18 lead.

Amboy will need to step up its game in the St. Edward rematch.

“They beat us earlier in the year pretty easily. It was right after [Addison] Pertell broke her thumb and so we were at our worst,” McCracken said. “We will have to play better than we did tonight as far as passing wise, you know, because they’re going to be putting more pressure on than we had tonight.”