J’burg finds its form

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – It took 16 minutes, but Johnsburg’s girls basketball team eventually looked as though it had been there before.

After a slow first half against St. Viator, the Skyhawks settled down, allowed their experience to take over and willed themselves to a chance for their third consecutive Class 3A sectional title.

Johnsburg beat St. Viator,
53-41, on Tuesday night and advanced to face Regina Dominican at 7:30 p.m. Thursday for the St. Viator Sectional crown.

Regina beat Chicago Gordon Tech, 58-43, in the other sectional semifinal Monday.

The win allowed the Skyhawks to exhale – if only for a moment. Playing their toughest postseason opponent to date on the Lions’ home floor was intimidating.

But junior guard Melissa Dixon, who led all scorers with 24 points, ensured the Skyhawks (24-9) never lost their confidence.

“At halftime, Coach [Mike Toussaint] told us this was ours,” Dixon said. “We came out and played with a ton of energy. ... We always knew we would win. It just didn’t show the whole time.”

Johnsburg, which trailed, 18-17, at halftime thanks to poor shooting and foul trouble, played without fear in the second half.

St. Viator (21-11) opened the third quarter with two quick field goals to go up, 22-19, but Johnsburg took over, putting together an 18-2 run to go up, 37-24, at the end of the third.

Dixon scored nine, senior guard Danielle Slivka – who scored her 1,000th point in the fourth quarter – added seven, and senior forward Krista Volden added four during the surge.

“We talked about coming out in the third as if it were a new game,” Slivka said. “The third is our quarter, and we came out firing.”

“It was sad to see us play like that [in the first half],” Volden said. “We’re a team that’s been here before, and it finally showed.”

St. Viator cut it to four with 1:20 left to play, but Johnsburg – playing down the stretch without floor leader Megan Lopez, who fouled out in the fourth – scored eight unanswered points to close out the game.

“We were worried because this is their home floor, they’re a great team and they play in a great league,” Toussaint said. “I knew this was going to be a tough game.

“I was impressed with how well we played, especially facing all the adversity we did with fouls and losing Megan.”