Girls basketball: Joliet West drops a heartbreaker to East Moline United in Class 4A regional final

BRADLEY – It wasn’t the ending Joliet West wanted Friday night in the championship game of the Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional. The Tigers fell to East Moline United 50-49 on a jumper by the Panthers’ Shawntia Lewis with 10.8 seconds left.

But the fact the Tigers were even in a position to win their second straight regional title and third in four years was a testament to the team’s tenacity.

Just before the school year began, two-time Herald-News Player of the Year Lisa Thompson decided to forego her senior season at West and transferred to Example Academy in Frankfort. Despite losing one of the top players in the state and a DePaul commit, Joliet West (20-12) put together a 20-win season and came within seconds of a regional title.

“These girls never put their heads down,” Joliet West coach John Placher said. “It’s a great group of girls, and I am proud of the way they fought. For them to go through what they went through at the start of the school year and still win 20 games says a lot about how tough these girls are.”

The Tigers started fast Friday night, taking a 5-0 lead on a fast-break layup off the tip by Destiny McNair, then McNair drained a 3-pointer after a Maziah Shelton steal.

United’s Kaylie Pena, who led all scorers with 17 points, put on a show of her own, hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers in the first quarter. Lewis also hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter as the Panthers built a 19-10 lead.

The Tigers closed the gap to 29-24 at halftime and finally regained the lead at 37-36 on a putback basket by McNair (14 points) with 32 seconds left in the third before Pena countered with a long 3-pointer. West’s Christina Keoborakot answered with a 3-pointer of her own just before the third quarter ended, and the Tigers led 40-39 entering the fourth.

United’s 6-foot-5 Lorena Awou (11 points, nine rebounds) scored on a putback and completed the three-point play to give the Panthers a 42-40 lead. After a turnover, Joliet West was whistled for a technical foul for stepping out of bounds while defending the inbounds pass. Pena made both free throws, and Awou scored underneath on the resulting possession, putting United ahead 46-40.

Again, the Tigers dug deep and found a way back. Brooke Schwall (six points, 12 rebounds) started the rally with a free throw before Shelton (15 points) scored and Makayla Chism (11 points) added a pair of free throws to pull West to within 46-45. Awou scored before back-to-back baskets by Shelton gave West a 49-48 lead with 44 seconds left.

Awou was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 27.7 seconds left, and McNair hauled in the rebound. McNair was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24.5 seconds left, and Awou grabbed the rebound. The Panthers worked the ball around to Lewis, who drove into the lane and hit a 12-foot jumper with 10.8 seconds left. A shot by Shelton was blocked by Awou, and Lewis was fouled after grabbing the rebound. She missed the free throw, but got her own rebound and the clock ran out.

“Our girls were tough and played hard all game,” Placher said. “You have to hand it to East Moline. They got hot early, hit 5 of 6 3-pointers to start the game. And, they had the big 6-5 girl who was tough to guard in the post. It’s just tough to end a season like this.

“We have a lot of good players coming back. Destiny McNair was our only senior starter. She will be hard to replace, but we do have a lot of good experience coming back next year.”