In a game that wasn’t expected to be competitive, Young left little to the imagination in a Public League semifinal at Chicago State’s Jacoby Dickens Arena against Phillips Wednesday night.
The four-time defending Public League champion rattled off an 11-0 run to start the game and coasted to a 70-42 win. They’ll go for their eighth city title in nine years on Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Bogan vs. Morgan Park.
Young coach Corry Irvin’s biggest challenge in the semi was maintaining a high level of play during a lopsided game.
“That’s a challenge sometimes,” Irvin said. “I thought it was a good game, but we lost focus on defense in the second half. I’m confident we’ll get to where we want to be. There are things we are still trying to work out.”
The Wildcats (13-11) end a cinderella playoff run that included wins over Kenwood, Brooks, and Simeon before running into the Dolphins (21-4).
Khaalia Hillsman, a 6-5 junior, scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Dolphins, including eight in the first half when her team built a 36-9 lead.
Taylor Brame added 18 points for the Dolphins while Kentucky-bound Linnae Harper chipped-in eight.
“Sometimes when you’re up a lot you lose focus,” Hillsman said. “We need to play hard (on Saturday) and not take anybody for granted. We will be playing a good team so we have to be ready.”
Wildcats senior Ashley Seaton, all 5-foot-4 of her, finished with 19 points, including six three-pointers — several from NBA range. She was the only player in double figures for her team.
Seaton helped the Wildcats to a much more competitive and respectable second half, in which they were outscored by only 34-33.
