Stefanie Reiff remembered her team’s first game this season against district rival Hinsdale South back in November.
Her Hinsdale Central team fell behind 23-2 and Reiff spent the last three quarters of the 39-27 loss glued firmly to the bench because coach Steve Gross was unhappy with her defense.
But Thursday night the 5-foot-10-inch Red Devils senior started fast and did not come off the court until the final minute. Hinsdale Central stormed to a 10-0 lead and rolled to a 43-27 victory to capture the Hinsdale South regional title.
Reiff scored 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals as the Red Devils won their 13th regional title in the last 14 years, losing just a year ago to Benet.
When it was over Reiff hugged the regional plaque.
“It feels great the have the plaque back in our hands,” Reiff said. “Every year I look forward to playing South and I felt I hadn’t really played them and they hadn’t seen what I could bring.”
Fifth-seeded Hinsdale Central (19-10) held Hinsdale South to just one free throw in the first quarter as the Hornets (24-8) shot 0-for-5 from the floor in the quarter.
