Timothy Christian’s Brandy McNeil had a simple explanation for her team’s Class A regional final victory Thursday: “Scoring is good. But defense wins games.”
And the Trojans’ defense was at its best in blanking Elmhurst neighbor Immaculate Conception for the final 9 minutes 43 seconds in a 29-13 victory.
Timothy Christian (21-5) won its seventh consecutive regional title–12th in the last 13 seasons–and moves on to the sectional semifinals at Immaculate Conception’s gym. Its opponent could be Latin, the team that knocked the Trojans out of last season’s playoffs.
McNeil was one of the few players who managed to have a productive offensive game. She scored six and had five assists–one of them unintentional. Her miss in the second quarter went right to teammate Katrina Denny, who then scored two of her team-high eight points. Jana Lucas added seven points and six rebounds. Monica Geils and Kim Karges each scored five for Immaculate Conception.
“We didn’t come out concerned about scoring,” McNeil said. “Our main concern was playing tough `D.'”
Timothy actually had a productive first half by hitting 10 of 19 shots for a 20-9 lead. But even the Trojans didn’t have much luck scoring in the second half. They scored nine points while holding the Knights (19-10) to only four more. The 13 points were the fewest allowed by Timothy this season.
