It’s time to bring it

Johnsburg’s Melissa Dixon dribbles downcourt against Huntley in a game this season. The junior guard will lead the Skyhawks into action today in the IHSA Class 3A St. Viator Sectional final, where they hope to win their third consecutive sectional title. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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It’s time.

Cue the determination and focus that make Johnsburg’s girls basketball team perform.

There are two games standing between the Skyhawks and their long-sought appearance in the IHSA Class 3A state finals, which begin March 5 in Normal, and the team has prepared for that appearance all season.

Many of the Skyhawks already have been to a sectional final and a supersectional game, and they will rely on their experience and talent to carry them to new heights.

The Class 3A St. Viator Sectional final against Regina Dominican at 7:30 p.m. today marks the start of the final push and the chance to add a third consecutive sectional title to the program’s growing list of accolades.

“Two more games might seem like a lot right now,” senior point guard Megan Lopez said. “But we just have to play like we want it more than anything because we do. It’ll become a reality, and it will be ours if we want it bad enough. We’re not taking Regina lightly, and we’re very focused on these next two games because all we want is to get to state.”

When Regina (8-23) and Johnsburg (24-9) met in a 3A sectional title game in 2008, the Skyhawks won to claim the program’s first sectional title.

Johnsburg went on to the 3A supersectional and lost to eventual Class 3A state champion Chicago Marshall. The Skyhawks returned to a supersectional last year and lost to 3A state runner-up Freeport.

Coming close won’t work as a consolation prize this year.

“To come so close so many times and not get there has made us want it even more,” junior guard Melissa Dixon said. “It would be so great to finally get over the hump and get it done.”

Regina plays tougher than its record indicates, Lopez said. The Panthers have a scoring threat in junior Vanessa Kieres, whose inside-outside game should give Regina a boost.

To counter and ensure the momentum plays in their favor, the Skyhawks have to come out quickly and never relent.

“We’ve been coming out really strong, and now that we’re all healthy, we’re playing really well as a team,” said Dixon, who leads the Skyhawks in scoring with 19 points a game. “We just have to stay up for the entire game. We can’t ever have lapses.”

In Tuesday’s sectional semifinal against St. Viator, the Skyhawks used a dominant third quarter to pull out the victory after a less-inspired first half.

That won’t happen tonight, Lopez said. There’s too much at stake this late in the season, and the Skyhawks have motivation.

“[Going to the state finals] won’t be a reality until we make sure it is,” Lopez said. “We just have to go out there and grab it.”