Clik here to view.
For Marist, which started three sophomores on March 3, to get within a point of Kenwood in the third quarter of the Class 4A supersectional at Hinsdale Central says something about the future of the Redhawks.
That Kenwood emerged 62-48 victors wasn’t a great surprise. The Broncos were bigger, faster and more experienced. Their 15-0 run across the third and fourth quarters made the difference in the showdown with a state final weekend berth on the line.
But for Marist, the future is bright. Just ask Caroline Flynn and Lily Porter, two of the three starting sophomores. Flynn led the Redhawks (26-9) with 15 points, while Porter was the other Marist player in double figures, with 10.
“Just how we’ve grown this season, and from last season to this season, is crazy,” said Flynn, the youngest of a quartet of sisters. “If you asked me how far we’d get at the beginning of the season, I’d never have said we’d get here. But our team comes to work every single day.
“Next year, I hope it’s the same.”
“It just shows we can do so much more next year,” Porter added. “I think we’re going to be in the same exact spot and I know we’re going to win next year. It just takes getting there again.”
It was Flynn’s 3-pointer with 5:16 left in the third that drew the Redhawks within a point at 38-37.
“We were really on a roll then and I thought we were going to stick with it, but they went on a roll,” Flynn said. “It’s a game of runs. We tried our best, but you’ve got to be happy with what we did.”
“That gave me the thought we could win,” Porter said. “There was a lot running through my mind.”
Kenwood’s timeout after Flynn’s 3-pointer was timely. Whatever coach Andre Lewis said triggered a 20-2 outburst, including 15 straight points to cap it, and Kenwood was never headed after that.
“They were in the top three (in the state) all year long,” Marist coach Renee Chimino said of the Broncos. “All we can do is prepare and go out there and fight. That’s what my girls did. They were resilient. They work so incredibly hard each day, and they showed tonight they belong with this elite group.
“Maybe take another step forward next year and be back.”
Marist, pressed hard at the outset, missed its first eight shots and trailed 14-2 before Flynn hit from short range. That loosened the Redhawks up, starting an 8-0 run thanks to 3-pointers by Porter and Lucy Cosme. But Marist still trailed 20-15 after a quarter.
Kenwood went on a 12-5 run to start the second, leading 38-28 at the half behind Ariella Henigan’s 12 points, three rebounds and two steals. The Broncos were invariably in the right place to stop a drive to the basket or break up a pass.
But the second half was all Marist’s at first.
“This is the biggest game they’ve played in, ever,” Chimino said. “That (Flynn) could come in and handle that, be a rock for her team, shows what kind of a leader she is.”
The post Youth-oriented Marist girls upbeat about future appeared first on Southwest Regional Publishing.
