Since receiving the No. 1 seed at Wheaton North’s Neibch Holiday Classic, No. 22 Glenbrook South has focused on getting back to the tournament final.
The Titans completed that task with a convincing 52-28 victory over fifth-seeded Lyons Friday night in the semifinals. With the win, Glenbrook South returned to the championship game for the second consecutive year after losing to Waubonsie Valley in last year’s final.
“It’s really exciting (to get back),” senior forward Molly McDonagh said. “Last year, we lost. It’s exciting to get another shot. We want to come back for a win.”
McDonagh (nine rebounds) scored 14 of her game-high 22 points to lead the Titans (14-3). Katie Jennings added 10 points and five rebounds. McDonagh’s first-half total equalled the entire scoring of Lyons’ team in the first half.
Glenbrook South led 27-14 at the half and outscored Lyons (9-5) 21-6 in the third quarter to take command. The Titans’ 1-3-1 defense with the 6-foot-2 Jennings at the top forced Lyons to start off slowly and Lyons could not recover.
The Titans scored the game’s first 10 points and opened a 15-4 lead. Lyons’ first basket came on a 3-pointer by Gaby Galassini (team-high 11 points, 6-of-6 free throws) with 3:42 to go in the opening quarter.
“We tried to come out with a lot of intensity on defense,” McDonagh said. “We are so long on our 1-3-1 that it gives other teams problems.”
Lyons’ leading scorer, Ashanti Davis, was in foul trouble for most of the game and scored only three points on a second-quarter 3-pointer. She did not play in the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul in the first 30 seconds of the second half.
McDonagh scored 24 points one game earlier in GBS’ 38-30 victory over Elk Grove in the quarterfinals.
The Titans will play host Wheaton North (11-3), a 49-43 winner over Glenbard South (13-4), in the final at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
