For someone who had eaten only two pieces of toast in the last 48 hours because she had a case of the flu, it was only appropriate Ashley Tomzik delivered the game-winning basket that made Maine South the toast of the Central Suburban South.
One of three Hawks players saddled with sickness, the junior guard was the recipient of a nice back-door pass from Lauren Pagone that led to the deciding layup with 12 seconds remaining and sent upset-minded Evanston packing 39-38.
“I was in bed all [Thursday],” said Tomzik, who had Maine South 10 points in limited action. “It wasn’t an easy game.”
In winning their first conference crown since 1999, the Hawks got off to a good start by forcing Evanston (20-6, 7-3) into 19 percent shooting in the opening half.
After finally evening the score 19-19 on a turnaround jumper by Katey Larson (10 points, 10 rebounds) 1:33 into the third period, Evanston couldn’t prevent a 10-4 Hawks run capped by a Christina Solari (10 points) basket four minutes later (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
Maine South (27-4, 9-1) couldn’t cash in on free throws in the final minute and the Wildkits led 38-37 on a pair of Katey Larson free throws with 30 seconds remaining (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).
But Tomzik, one of two players who missed the front end of one-and-one situations, redeemed herself 18 seconds later courtesy of Pagone.
“After missing that free throw, I knew I had to do whatever I could to make up for it,” Tomzik said.
