Newark favored to head to state
Newark High School will play in a girls basketball Super-Sectional for the first time tonight against Warren at Rock Valley College in Rockford. A trip to the state semifinals on Friday is the prize, though the Norseman will have to overcome one of the hottest teams in Class 1A in the Warren Lady Warriors.
"I know nothing beyond Hinckley," Newark coach Dale Skelton said Thursday night following his team's victory over the Royals in the Serena Sectional. "There was no reason to. I'm going to wonder what I have to get ready for."
Warren entered the postseason with a losing record and an uphill climb in the Pecatonica Sectional. To get to the super-sectional, the sixth-seeded Lady Warriors knocked off top seeded Pearl City in a hostile environment to win the Pearl City Regional.
Warren then upset the sectional's top seed, Prophetstown, 55-51, to improve to 17-1 on the year and advance to the doorstep of the program's first state final appearance since 1989-1990.
"We really turned it around against Aquin (in the regional semi's)," Warren coach Rich Allvin said. "We were down by 10 at halftime to them and we came out and played some of our best ball all year and we just haven't let up after that game."
Newark (24-7) advanced to the super-sectional by upsetting No. 1 Hinckley-Big Rock 44-43 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Lauren McNanna in the Serena Sectional.
"It means the world to our girls," Skelton said. "We've been a good team all year. We've had our stumbles. We played a great schedule... we split with Hinckley on the year, 2-2, so I don't think we have to take a backseat to any team that we play."
The Norseman are entering tonight's contest in the driver's seat. After playing the entire regular season in the Little Ten Conference in the shadow of HBR, the Norsemen enter tonight as the favorite.
"A lot of people didn't expect us to be this far," Allvin said. "So we're just taking it one game at a time. We don't mind going in as the underdogs. We play a lot more relaxed that way. And I think we go out there with the mindset of 'we have nothing to lose' because everybody expects us to lose anyway. So we just go out there and play the game."
It's a mindset that has proven dangerous for Warren's opponents. The Lady Warriors' defense has improved throughout the postseason and is led by post player Kristy Bourquin, who has 14 blocked shots in her last two games. She's complemented on the outside by Kayla Briggs, who will likely match up on McNanna.
McNanna is the obvious hot hand for the Norseman, but Sam Akre is a threat in the post. Guards Sammi Larson, Krista Skelton and Laura Johnson can make shots when needed.
"If we come to play and we knock some shots down like we can, we're tough to beat because we can play some good, hard defense," Skelton said.
A low-scoring, defensive-minded game should be expected as both coaches admittedly know little about one another.
"I would think so," Allvin said. "From what I can tell about them, they (don't) score a lot points off their transition game. They're a little bit slowed down. So it'll be a whoever can take their time and take whatever the defense gives them type game." Class 1A Girls Basketball: Rockford Super-Sectional
