Wolves escape

Prairie Ridge's Sara Davino (left) hugs teammate Taylor Smerecky following the Wolves' 27-26 victory against Woodstock during Wednesday's IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal game at Prairie Ridge. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com) (Travis Haughton ())

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CRYSTAL LAKE – It definitely wasn’t pretty, but Prairie Ridge’s girls basketball team found a way to stay alive Wednesday.

The Wolves staved off a pesky Woodstock team for a 27-26 win in an IHSA Class 3A Prairie Ridge Regional semifinal. They advanced to play rival Crystal Lake Central in Friday’s regional title game after the Tigers rallied to beat Woodstock North.

Prairie Ridge (15-13) shot 29.7 percent from the field and made 1 of 11 free throws, but the team came through when it counted. Sophomore Haleigh Danek sank a three-pointer from the baseline with 4:55 remaining to put the Wolves up by one, and they clung to the lead for the rest of the game.

Danek, who joined the varsity team four games ago, looked like a veteran with eight points in the second half to spark the Wolves. Senior Anna Patras led Prairie Ridge with nine points.

“[Danek] was the difference-maker tonight,” Prairie Ridge coach Jessica Kuffel said. “She hit a couple of big shots when we needed it. She’s a sophomore, but she wasn’t scared to pop those outside shots.”

The youngest player on the court admitted to battling nerves during the fourth quarter.

“It was nerve-wracking, especially in the end,” Danek said. “It’s a lot different [at the varsity level]. It’s a lot more fast paced, but I like it.”

Every point was crucial in a physical game that featured seven lead changes. The Wolves led, 15-14, at halftime against the hard-working Blue Streaks.

Woodstock’s Jonelle Draffkorn played stingy defense to limit Wolves forward Taylor Smerecky to two points. On offense, Chrissy Velasquez led the Blue Streaks with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds.

“We definitely had heart,” Velasquez said. “We’ve been practicing against certain offenses for this game. We put in the effort tonight, and I think we did really well defensively.”

Woodstock coach Marty Hammond thanked his nine seniors after the game.

“They stuck it out for four years, and it just says a lot about their character,” Hammond said. “I told them to be proud. They should not hang their heads, because this game was theirs. Just one possession was the difference.”

Kuffel was happy to escape with a win.

“It was a frustrating game overall to watch it,” Kuffel said. “But a win is a win at this point in the season.”