With 29.5 seconds left in the Class AA title game Saturday night against Elgin, Stevenson coach Frank Mattucci emptied his bench.
One by one, the Patriots’ substitutes shared in what is now part of Illinois state tournament history: consecutive championships.
Marshall is the only other Class AA team to accomplish that feat.
The Patriots’ 50-35 victory wasn’t exactly unexpected. But a win wasn’t guaranteed either. That’s what made the title, won before a crowd of 5,277, so satisfying.
“Last year, they expected us to win,” said a spent Katie Coleman, who scored 22 points. “If we didn’t win the game last year, it would’ve been more of a letdown. But this is sweeter. You lose the best player on your team and you still win.”
After losing Ms. Basketball of Illinois–Tamika Catchings–last spring, people figured the Patriots were vulnerable.
Well, they were wrong.
Tauja Catchings’ game said as much. She, too, scored 22 points and pulled down six rebounds and generally shut down Elgin’s All-State guard, Melissa Parker, who finished with eight points.
“I don’t know. It hasn’t really hit me yet,” said Tauja, clutching a present from her sister. “It feels kind of weird.
“Maybe it’s because `Mika’ (Tamika) isn’t here. I don’t know. I guess it’s just a relief. A lot of people said we wouldn’t make it. Everyone expected us to drop after last year. Well, we proved them wrong.”
Stevenson, which finished 34-1, proved them wrong, starting at the top. Catchings and Coleman accounted for all but six of the Patriots’ points. Trish DeClark had the other six.
“Hey, I’ve got (Babe) Ruth and (Lou) Gehrig,” said Stevenson coach Frank Mattucci, trying to frame the victory in the proper perspective. “They’ve got (Willie) McCovey and (Willie) Mays.”
Mattucci was referring to Elgin’s All-State tandem of Parker and Leslie Schock. But only Schock, headed for Northwestern, could get untracked. She led the Maroons with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
After Parker’s eight points, Elgin could only manage eight points from two of its other starters.
“They threw different looks at us,” said Elgin coach Lee Turek. “They played their zone. They just kept us uncomfortable. And there were times we just weren’t patient enough on offense.”
Two decisive runs proved fatal for Elgin.
Trailing 24-22 at the half, Stevenson ran off the first six points of the second half, forcing Turek to take a timeout with 5:15 left in the third quarter.
An 8-2 spurt–with 5:10 left until the 2:00 mark–killed any chance the Maroons had of winning their first title.
“To hold Elgin to 35 points, you don’t know what kind of effort it took,” said Mattucci.
Coming into the game, both coaches were excited at the prospect of a Chicago-area final. Finally, Stevenson and Elgin were meeting in a game that meant something.
“I think the people from Elgin and the people from Stevenson wanted this to be an Elgin-Stevenson final,” said Turek, moments after his team defeated Morris in the semifinals.
The two teams, ranked first and second for much of the year, tried to play earlier this season, but the game never materialized because of a scheduling conflict.
Turek hinted his Maroons may have been looking forward to playing Stevenson before getting past Morris in the semifinal. Elgin struggled to a 53-41 victory in that game, with Parker scored just six points, playing just 19 minutes because of foul problems.
“This wasn’t a good game for us. I had a feeling at the start that this game (with Stevenson) could be on our minds,” said Turek. “I’m sure it might have been that way for him (Mattucci) too. I’m sure our kids had a bug in their ear.”
Coleman and Schock did. The two have known each other since 7th grade, when they played on an AAU team together.
“I think it adds a little spice to the game,” Schock said before the title game. “I know both Catchings and Coleman personally. It should be a fun game.”
“Schock and Parker are two of my best friends,” Coleman said after Stevenson disposed of Galesburg 71-54 in its semifinal. “I like the thought of playing them.”
And the thought of beating them even better.
