Cold shooting stops PR girls

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DeKALB – If Prairie Ridge was going to go down, it was going to do so fighting.

The Wolves got behind early in the second half against Oswego in an IHSA Class 3A DeKalb Sectional girls basketball semifinal Monday and, despite the Wolves' best efforts to claw back, the Panthers and their pressure defense proved too much.

Oswego won, 55-30, to end the Wolves' season – one in which Prairie Ridge claimed the school's first regional title in 10 years and finished 17-12.

"We gave 110 percent tonight," Prairie Ridge coach Jessica Kuffel said. "There is no shame in [losing]. It doesn't take anything away from what we were able to accomplish."

The game might have stayed closer had the Wolves been able to convert their shots.

The Wolves went long stretches of the game without scoring a basket, while the Panthers (27-2) seemed not to miss a beat.

The Wolves trailed by six points, 10-4, at the end of the first quarter, but hadn't scored their first field goal – a three-pointer from senior guard Katrina Kinowski – until the 4-minute mark.

"Sometimes there's a lid on our basketball for a little while," Kuffel quipped. "Our defense definitely kept us in that first half."

Prairie Ridge kept the second quarter close, cutting the Panthers' advantage to 15-11 with 4:25 remaining in the first half, but the Wolves went scoreless for the rest of the quarter while Oswego went on a six-point run that put the Panthers ahead, 21-11, at the half.

Oswego pressured the entire game but changed to a full-court zone press in the second half that Prairie Ridge struggled to break. Oswego built a 38-18 lead after the third quarter to all but put the game out of reach.

The Wolves' only double-digit quarter was the fourth. Junior guard Ashley Fenton came off the bench and hit a three, senior forward Sara Davino scored four points, and junior forward Taylor Smerecky scored three of her five points.

Senior guard Anna Patras was sad to see the season end but grateful for all her team was able to accomplish.

"We had a pretty off shooting night tonight; it was like we couldn't throw it in the ocean, and it's hard to win like that," Patras said. "No one gave up, though.

"It was a great season. We're leaving without any shame and with all our integrity, keeping our heads high and knowing that we gave it all we could."

Junior Emily Bruksch led the Wolves with 10 points, and sophomore guard Brittany Collier led Oswego with 18.