South Elgin senior Raina Yang prides herself on being a pass-first guard.
But during a season that saw the Storm ravaged by injuries, Yang started to look for her shot more often. That new skill came in handy Thursday night against Larkin.
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“There needed to be a change because things weren’t working,” Yang said. “I tried to create for my own and get to the hoop. I think I could have penetrated earlier in the game.
“I kind of waited for the fourth quarter.”
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It turned out Yang was right on time.
Yang earned the lead twice in the fourth quarter on creative drives to the basket as the host Storm held on for a 47-43 victory in the Class 4A South Elgin Regional championship game.
Yang led all scorers with 19 points and Caitlyn Tolentino added 13 for South Elgin (16-16), which won back-to-back regional titles for the first time in program history.
Baylei Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Sanaii McPherson notched nine points and 10 rebounds for Larkin (17-14).
“Shots weren’t falling and she said, ‘Coach, I can get to the rim,’” South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack said of Yang. “I said, ‘Any time, kid.’
“She made one at the beginning of the fourth and I said, ‘Just keep doing your thing.’”
Yang scored only four points in the first half. The Storm also shot 5-for-26 from 3-point range, so Yang knew an adjustment needed to be made.
She scored 15 of South Elgin’s final 20 points to help the Storm survive.
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“I saw that we were down and it was a close game so I tried to make a difference and get to the basket more,” Yang said.
Considering the fact she’s no stranger to games like this, especially since the Storm made a run last season to the sectional championship game, Mandernack knew Yang had things in control.
“She’s so smart,” Mandernack said. “She’s our quarterback. She’s our leader. She’s our everything.
“She’s pass-first. That makes it even more amazing that she got to 1,000 (career) points. She’s very unselfish.”
Larkin relied on Johnson, a senior center and the tallest girl on the court, to stay in the game.
Johnson battled foul trouble in the first half but was a force in the second half. She gave the Royals a 37-36 lead early in the fourth and forced a 39-39 tie with another basket.
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Fittingly, the player who had over 1,000 career points and rebounds ended her career with another double-double.
“I can’t say anything more about Baylei,” Larkin coach Stephen Knapp said. “It really hurt us she was out for five or six minutes in the first half. She played smarter in the second half. We needed her in at all times.”
Knapp looked across the court at South Elgin’s three senior guards, envisioning what it may look like when his young guards learn from Thursday’s experience.
“Champions have to fail first to learn how to be a champion,” Knapp said. “To be honest, I don’t think it could have gone any better outside of winning.
“We were in that game. I thought we had it.”
The season for South Elgin, meanwhile, began with heightened expectations after the Storm went further in the postseason than any team in program history.
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A string of injuries and tough losses added to the pressure.
It all paid off Thursday.
“It was definitely a struggle,” Yang said. “We had a lot of injuries. Thankfully, we recovered, and they were able to come back and we were able to put the team back together.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
