Never in doubt

Johnsburg's Danielle Slivka (left) battles Francine Pasquale for the loose ball Thursday in the Class 3A St. Viator Sectional final. Slivka was called for the foul. Johnsburg won, 57-35. (Joe Cyganowski – For the Northwest Herald)

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – The celebration never gets old.

Johnsburg’s girls basketball team had the opportunity to secure another trophy for its case Thursday night and, in lockstep with the mentality of this postseason, went out and seized that chance.

The Skyhawks beat Regina Dominican, 57-35, in the Class 3A St. Viator Sectional final to win their third consecutive sectional crown.

As the crowd celebrated around her, senior point guard Megan Lopez soaked in the moment for a third time, but wasn’t quite as jubilant as in years past.

There’s more to accomplish, Lopez pointed out. The Skyhawks take on Oswego, which beat Hampshire in the DeKalb Sectional final, in the Class 3A Elgin Supersectional 7:30 p.m. Monday.

The Skyhawks get another chance to go to the state finals, and that appearance would mean more than any amount of sectional trophies.

“Three times in a row is so amazing,” Lopez said. “It shows that this program has come a long way and it shows how determined everyone is to make sure it stays [an elite one].

“This is great, it’s awesome, but we’re not done yet.”

Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint could see his players’ excitement, but saw the bigger picture as well.

“They are proud and they have every reason to be,” Toussaint said. “But I don’t see them satisfied. They want more.”

It showed Thursday.

The Skyhawks (25-9) were ahead by two, 20-18, early in the second quarter before stepping on the gas. Johnsburg outscored the Panthers (8-24) 14-1 and put an exclamation point on the first half with junior guard Melissa Dixon’s buzzer-beating three-pointer that gave the Skyhawks a 34-19 advantage at the break.

“We started running at the end of the second quarter and that made a big difference,” said Dixon, who led all scorers with 21 points. “That was more the way we like to play.

“It’s incredible to win three sectionals. It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve put a lot of hard work into it so it’s great to achieve this.”

Johnsburg used a 15-point third quarter to all but put the game out of reach. Junior guard Mary Kate Wright fueled the Skyhawks off the bench, scoring seven of her 11 points in the third.

“I just played aggressively,” said Wright, who also grabbed seven rebounds. “We really just want to get to state, so this is where we need to be right now.”

“I thought she stepped up big,” Toussaint added. “She’s a great offensive weapon to have, and it’s huge that she’s stepping up like this in the postseason.”

Toussaint looked across St. Viator’s gym at all the fans congratulating his players and smiled.

“They know what they want,” he said. “Now I think they’re more motivated than ever to go out and get it done.”