||| GIRLS BASKETBALL: MARSHALL 57, GLENBARD SOUTH 46 Gaters nets No. 999, not 1,000
“Wow, I’ll be so glad when this is over. It’s like a death march.”
Dorothy Gaters, on nearing her 1,000 win
Freshman guard Arkiarra Clark scored 14 of her career-high 19 points in the second half as Marshall rallied to beat Glenbard South 57-46 on Tuesday in a Class 3A Glenbard South sectional semifinal in Glen Ellyn.
The win sends the Commandos (23-7) into Thursday’s title game against top-seeded Montini, where Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters will attempt to win the 1,000th game of her career.
“She’s a phenomenal shooter,” Gaters said of Clark. “[The Commandos] know that’s why she’s in there. She’s definitely not in there for her defense. At this point in the game, they know to find her.”
The Raiders (21-8) led 16-6 in the first quarter following a 13-0 run, but Marshall retook the lead in the second quarter.
But Glenbard South led 29-24 early in the third quarter before the Commandos went ahead 3029 on a steal and layup by Juliunn Redmond.
Clark then drilled a three-pointer from the right wing and later added another to give the Commandos a 38-35 advantage entering the fourth quarter. She hit another three-pointer to start the final period and the Raiders never recovered.
Clark made all five of her threepoint attempts and was 6-for-7 from the field.
“We just needed to play hard because it was win or [go] home,” Clark said “I wanted to play hard so we could win.”
The Raiders closed to 43-41 on a layup by Jenna Brambora with 4:47 remaining, but Redmond found Clark in the left corner for another three, triggering a gameending 14-5 run by Marshall.
“She was unconscious,” Glenbard South coach Julie Fonda said. “You key on the kids you need to key on and then she goes 5-for-5, so that’s tough to swallow when a kid steps up like that, but give the kid credit.
“She wasn’t afraid to shoot the ball, she was feeling it and they kept on giving it to her. Sometimes that happens and you have to learn to adjust to it and we didn’t.”
Redmond finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for Marshall, which got 10 points and 11 boards from Tekia Mark and eight points and four steals from Chanel Khammarath.
Sydney Bauman, a 6-4 center, paced Glenbard South with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and Tomei Bell added 11 points and four assists before fouling out.
It was announced that Gaters, who is now 999-177, would be playing for her 1,000th win, but the IHSA informed her Monday that she still needed two more wins.
“Let’s not even talk about it,” Gaters said. “Wow, I’ll be so glad when this is over. It’s like a death march. We [are] trying to win the next game.”