HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL Big reason Notre Dame playing like title contender
CANTON — Peoria Notre Dame put on yet another defensive clinic.
The top-ranked Irish rolled to a 59-37 win over Deer Creek-Mackinaw in the Class 2A Canton Sectional title game on Thursday night. PND (31-4) now heads to the Bureau Valley Supersectional and will face No. 5 Rock Island Alleman (30-4) at 7 p.m. Monday.
This victory puts the Irish back in the Elite Eight for the first time since a 1999 Class AA appearance.
“To see the smiles on this kids’ faces,” Peoria Notre Dame coach Layne Langholf said, “knowing that they put the time in. … We’re going to celebrate it, and then we’ll get back to work.”
PND, which is holding its postseason opponents to 31.8 points a game, relied on its defense like it had so many times during this season’s campaign. Dee-Mack was held scoreless for the first 2:05 of the game and trailed 9-0, then scored just 12 first-half points. But that wasn’t without a 4:12 scoring drought that spanned the initial two quarters.
The Chiefs’ 37 points tied their second-lowest scoring output of the season.
“That’s our identity,” PND senior Mya Wardle said of the Irish defense, which forced 27 turnovers. “When we lock in defense, it sparks our offense. It really does.”
And with the defense playing more and more like a state-title caliber squad, Wardle was nearly lights out on offense at the historic Alice Ingersoll Gymnasium. The 5-foot-7 point guard scored a game-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting. Wardle had 18 points in the opening 16 minutes on a variety of drives to the hoops, baseline jumpers along with a pair of 3-pointers.
“I knew I was going to have to step up,” the Eastern Kentucky recruit said, “and I mean, I owed it to this program. I haven’t played my best basketball in the postseason in the past, so I knew a game like this was coming.
“… This game, I knew that it was my turn to step up for the team and I have amazing teammates who trust in me to be able to do that.”
Her night was capped with a pair of steals and layups to give the Irish their ninth win in a row.
“She’s just tenacious defensively,” Langholf said. “She takes a lot of pride in her defense. … It was her time tonight.”
Dee-Mack (32-3) did its best to try and lock up PND’s sharpshooters Lexi Baer (six points, eight rebounds) and Julia Mingus (three points) but were unable to stop penetration. PND’s 59-point output was the most the Chiefs had given up all season.
The Irish had 36 points in the paint including 12 of their 15 fourth-quarter points from point-blank range.
“That’s not us,” Dee-Mack coach Joni Nightingale said of giving up those close-range baskets. “Credit to them for capitalizing on it. (Their defense) was tough. They’re a great team. I hate that for our girls, not going out with their best foot forward.”
Lexi Cottingham scored a team-high 12 points, while Dalia DeJesus chipped in 11 for Dee-Mack. The Chiefs shot 30 percent (9-for-30) from the field, but 14 of 16 from the free-throw line. Elise Hahn grabbed nine of the Chiefs’ 22 rebounds.
Kaitlin Cassidy also played a big factor in the post for PND. The junior, who had fouled out in the third quarter of the semifinal two days ago, got her redemption in the Sweet Sixteen contest. She scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, while going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the third quarter.
“Tuesday definitely wasn’t one of my brightest games,” Cassidy said, “but you got to have next play mentality and just move on from it. It’s in the past, so I couldn’t do anything about it.
“My goal tonight was just to lock in and bounce back and do what I needed to do for us to win.”
One more victory would send PND to the state finals, guaranteeing the program its first-ever state trophy.
“We’re making history,” Wardle said, “and the best part is we’re not done yet.”
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.