Power outage: Inability to score keeps Chargers from putting together another dramatic rally

WAVERLY, Ill. — The team with a penchant for fourth-quarter magic needed to drum up another miracle moment.

Shots have to fall for that to happen.

Tuesday night, in the semifinals of the Class 2A Waverly Sectional, the Illini West girls basketball team couldn’t make a field goal to start a rally until the deficit was too great. Held scoreless the first 6 minutes, 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Chargers saw their 30-win season end with a 35-28 loss to Alton Marquette.

“Get another stop, get another basket and we’re OK,” Illini West coach Grant Surprenant said. “We just couldn’t score.”

It was the case throughout the second half.

Leading 19-16 at halftime, the Chargers didn’t score until Reagan Reed’s steal and layup with 2:25 to go in the third quarter. The only other basket in the frame came on Caydee Kirkham’s steal and layup with 22 seconds, cutting the Explorers’ lead to 25-23.

Marquette didn’t make any noticeable adjustments defensively in the second half according to Surprenant. The Explorers played harder.

“They picked up their intensity a little bit more,” Surprenant said. “They were playing physical with us.”

Frustration set in, too. The Chargers missed their first seven shots of the fourth quarter while committing three turnovers in the same span as the two-point deficit grew to seven.

“The first half, we did a good job of getting to the basket and getting to the free-throw line,” Surprenant said. “In the second half, we were kind of standing around and not looking to score as much or attacking the basket.”

Yet, when Rylee Reed scored from the post with 1:30 remaining regulation to end the Chargers’ drought, it was still a two-possession game.

The Explorers hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:28 to maintain the advantage.

Illini West went 4 of 20 from the field (20 percent) in the second half and 10 of 37 overall (27 percent). The most damaging stretch in which Illini West struggled likely wasn’t the fourth-quarter drought. It was the second struggles.

After making four consecutive shots to end the first quarter to take a 9-7 lead, the Chargers imposed their will defensively by forcing Marquette to turn the ball over on six of its first seven possessions of the second quarter. However, the lead only doubled in that stretch.

Illini West scored just three points off those turnovers and led only 14-10 before Marquette scored on three of its next four possessions to pull within 17-16.

“Early on, we got a lot of good looks and they weren’t just falling,” Surprenant said. “Defensively, I thought we did a good job. We were right there with them. When you get stops defensively but you can’t put the ball in the hoop, that puts more stress on your defense.”

When the shots didn’t fall, there was little the Chargers could do to overcome it.

“No, you really can’t do much,” Surprenant said. “The ball just wouldn’t fall.”

Illini West set a single-season program record for victories in finishing 30-3, but seeing Marquette (27-6) advance to face Quincy Notre Dame (27-3) in Thursday’s sectional championship hurt.

“Everyone is disappointed right now because we felt we had a good opportunity to advance if we had played a little bit better or maybe the ball had bounced our way,” Surprenant said. “When you fall short of making the sectional championship, it’s disappointing. It will definitely sting a little bit.

“But life goes on, You have to learn this and move forward. We have a great group of girls. They’re a special group.”