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newlenoxpatriotdaily.com sports
the new lenox patriot | February 13, 2020 | 39
fastbreak
steve millar/22nd century
media
1st and 3
THREE notes on a
difficult playoff
path for lw west
girls basketball
1. On the road
West is in the
Normal Regional
and Pekin
Sectional. If the
Warriors make
state, Taylor
Gugliuzza (above)
and company will
play five games
in Bloomington/
Normal and two in
Pekin.
2. Tough competition
West, ranked No.
4 by the AP, and
No. 2 Edwardsville
could meet in a
sectional final.
3. Trial run
West commuted
back and forth
for games at
the State Farm
Holiday Classic
in Bloomington/
Normal after
Christmas.
Girls Basketball roundup
LoConte hits 1,000 career points as Knights win twice
LW West drops
heartbreaker to
Montini
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
Regan LoConte’s
1,000th career point at Lincoln-Way
Central came on
the first of two free throws.
So, it’s no surprise that she
was quickly at 1,001.
LoConte, a senior guard,
hit the milestone during a
65-38 win over Hillcrest
on Feb. 4. She scored 20
points in the victory.
“It was a good feeling,”
LoConte said. “It shows
how all my hard work has
paid off.”
LoConte was happy to
share the moment with her
teammates and family.
“I looked over to family
and they were all super
excited,” she said. “My
teammates were all holding
up signs for me. I saw
all the support I had, and
that made me feel good.
“In that moment, you’re
just like, ‘Wow, this could
actually happen.’ It’s a
great feeling.”
Junior guard Colleen
Erdman added 14 points in
the win.
The Knights followed
that up with a 47-27 South-
West Suburban Red win
over Andrew on Thursday,
Feb. 6, in New Lenox.
Central celebrated Senior
Night for LoConte, Theresa
Snaidauf and Abbey Ward.
Ward has been out all season
with an injury, but was
put in the starting lineup so
she could take the court one
last time. She was replaced
by Megan Hutchinson immediately
following the
tipoff.
“Abbey Ward showed
a lot of character to still
want to be a part of it and
help us out,” Central coach
Dave Campanile said. “We
really wanted to do that for
her. It was a nice moment.”
LoConte poured in 17
points in her final home
game, knocking down five
3-pointers.
“It was emotional,” she
said. “I know I’m going
to miss my teammates and
playing here as a Knight.
I’m glad I got to finish
the season with my best
friend, Theresa. My teammates
have been supportive
through everything.”
Snaidauf also got in on
the scoring with a fourthquarter
basket.
“It was a great last hurrah,”
she said. “I couldn’t
imagine not doing this my
past four years at Central.
It’s been a very meaningful
experience.
“I made one of my best
friends, Regan LoConte,
and I found out what it really
takes to be an athlete
at Central.”
Sophomore guard Sydney
Gehrke added seven
points for the Knights (17-
12, 5-2). Hutchinson and
Haley Stoklosa chipped in
Lincoln-Way Central senior guard Regan LoConte drives to the basket during the
Knights’ 47-27 win over Andrew on Thursday, Feb. 6, in New Lenox. LoConte recently
surpassed 1,000 career points. STEVE MILLAR/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
six points each.
The Knights were set to
close the regular season
with a game at Stagg on
Tuesday, Feb. 11. They are
the No. 7 seed in the Class
4A Stagg Sectional.
West drops classic battle
with Montini
Four days after rolling
past one of the state’s
top teams in Evanston,
Lincoln-Way West nearly
knocked off another.
The Warriors fell in
a 50-48 heartbreaker at
Montini on Feb. 5.
Montini’s Taylor
Charles hit a 3-pointer at
the buzzer to lift the Broncos
(26-4) to the win and
snap a 10-game winning
streak for West (24-3).
Montini entered ranked
No. 2 in the state in the
Class 3A Associated Press
poll, while the Warriors
were No. 4 in the 4A poll.
Taylor Gugliuzza led the
Warriors with 18 points.
Bri Wooldridge added 11
and Ava Gugliuzza had
nine.
West led 45-39 with just
over five minutes left before
Montini went on a 7-0
run to take the lead. Sydney
Swanberg answered
with a big 3-pointer to put
the Warriors back in front
48-46 with four minutes to
go, but West did not score
again.
“We were in the game
the whole time and we
were above them,” Taylor
Gugliuzza said. “We just
needed to close it out.
“Montini has always
6
been a great team. Knowing
we were up almost the
whole game shows that
we can be better than any
other team.”
The Warriors are the top
seed in their subsectional
of the Pekin Sectional and
will take on East Moline
United in a Normal Regional
semifinal Tuesday,
Feb. 18.
If West makes it to state,
it will play five games in
Bloomington/Normal and
two in Pekin.
Providence hits 22 wins
Providence improved to
22-7 with a 36-29 win over
Joliet Catholic on Feb. 3.
Ashley Raymer scored 15
points, and Lauren Knight
chipped in eight.
LISTEN UP
“I’m really excited to get to experience this again. Just the last two days at
state were great.”
Erica Johnson – LW West cheerleader, on the team’s seventh-place
finish in the large school division at the state meet
what2watch
Girls Basketball, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18
IHSA Class 4A Bloom Regional semifinal
• Seventh-seeded LW Central takes on the host
and No. 10 seed Blazing Trojans in the Knights’
playoff opener.
Index
38 – This Week In
34 – Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Sports Editor
Steve Millar at s.millar@22ndcm.com.