It didn’t seem to matter which jersey Marshall’s Janesha Washington wore Saturday. Her numbers and the Commandos added up to another Public League title.
The 5-foot-8-inch senior scored 20 points–same as the number she wore in the second half–to help Marshall defeat Young 69-61 at the UIC Pavilion for its 23rd city championship. Washington had 11 of her points in the first half, nine in the second, as the No. 5 Commandos beat the Dolphins for the second time this season to lift their record to 24-3.
Washington normally wears No. 21, but she got some blood on her uniform from a scratch in the first half. So she had to change jerseys at halftime with the game tied 35-35.
“We were in the locker room and I told . . . my teammates we’re too close,” Washington said. “Every call is going against us, so we’re going to have to get on a run [to] take the lead.”
The first half was a foul-fest as the teams went to the line for a combined 31 free throws, Young getting 21.
But things worked much differently in the second half as it was No. 12 Young (18-7) weighted with foul trouble. After 6-3 Danielle Campbell picked up her fourth foul with four minutes left in the third quarter, Dolphins coach Corry Carter had no choice but to take her out. Young trailed 42-39 at the time.
Marshall stretched the margin to its largest lead at 50-39 going into the final quarter after a 12-0 run–six points from Washington, six from Britney Jones–ended the third.
The word that Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters will likely retire at the end of the season wasn’t lost on Washington.
“It feels good,” Washington said. “It was like my teammate [Jones] said [Friday]: `Ms. Gaters came in with a bang, we want her to go out with a bang.'”
A Marshall spokesman said Gaters now has 791 career victories, and that means she still could get her 800th–if Marshall wins the rest of its games and the Class AA state title.
Young’s Amanda Thompson, also in foul trouble, had 20 points, five rebounds and five steals while Campbell scored 14 and Brittany Artis 13.
Up next for the Commandos is a trip to No. 1 Naperville Central on Tuesday.
