Providence Catholic races past Thornridge to reach regional final

NEW LENOX – Take one look at the seeding for the Class 3A Providence Catholic Regional, and it’s not hard to guess how things turned out between second-seeded Providence Catholic and No. 15 Thornridge.

The Celtics won big against the Falcons, but it was the way in which Providence dominated Thornridge in their semifinal from start to finish in a 70-21 win Monday night that stood out.

The Celtics scored the first 11 points of the game and were up 16-1 before allowing a basket to Thornridge, the only field goal the Falcons made in the first quarter. The Celtics' defense was so smothering, they held Thornridge to just three field goals in the first 16 minutes of play.

Molly Knight scored all 20 of her points before the midway point of the third quarter, despite not playing the second quarter, and rested in the fourth.

Even when the Celtics made mass substitutions, they continued to throttle the Falcons. They allowed only three field goals in the third quarter despite going against the Falcons' starters, one of which came at the buzzer. The clock ran in the fourth as Providence ended Thornridge’s season.

While a big win was expected, that level of domination had to be pleasant for coach Eileen Copenhaver.

“We knew [Thornridge] was going to come in with a lot of spirit, and they did,” Copenhaver said. “We just tried to focus on our defense and share the basketball. We did that and good things happened.”

Knight led the way in scoring, but it was far from a solo effort. Taylor Healy scored 14 points, while Kennady Kotowski (seven), Claire Wajda (seven), Grace Lustig (seven) and Eilish Raines (six) all played big roles in the win.

“We have a really good team this year,” Knight said. “We’re all jelling really well together and getting better each day. We’re excited to keep on moving forward.”

Providence entered the night with a record of 20-11 but went 2-5 in the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division. Thornridge was 5-15 and went 0-12 in the Southland Athletic Conference.

But after a 5-5 start and a 4-5 midseason stretch, to see the Celtics clear their eighth win in nine games and third in a row in such convincing fashion was impressive. It’s also impressive that they managed to do this with the deep end of the bench playing about half the game.

“It was perfect,” Copenhaver said. “They’ve all been working hard the last couple of weeks especially. We were able to get everyone in tonight, and it’s an honor to represent your team at the end of the year. The girls didn’t take it lightly, and they did a fantastic job out there tonight.”

Teleyah Covington led the Falcons with nine points, while Syllesia Moore scored seven. Coach Courtney White said he’s looking forward to building the team moving forward.

“I’m excited for my next season,” White said. “This was my first season as the head coach for the Thornridge Falcons. I’m so excited to come back next year. I can’t wait.”

Next up for the Celtics will be Thursday night’s regional final against No. 7 Oak Forest. Should the Celtics win that one, they’ll head to the Marian Sectional semifinals against the winner of the Thornton Fractional North Regional. First up, however, the Oak Forrest game. Healy knows what the Celtics have to do to keep their season rolling along.

“Attitude, confidence and staying positive with one another is the most important thing,” she said. “The ball goes in, the ball goes out, it’s OK. We just have to be positive with each other.”