Seton had one heck of a player the past three seasons in Ebony Bailey.
Her little sister Danielle, for sure, appreciated what she did to lead Seton to three consecutive supersectionals.
But the younger Bailey has every reason to believe that the Sting won’t fall one step short of state this time.
“We don’t just depend on one player. We score all-around more with this team,” the 5-foot-6 junior guard said. “That’s going to help us do it.”
It showed in the stats after the Sting’s 55-44 win over Illiana Christian in Thursday’s Class 2A Seton Regional title game.
Bailey was the leading scorer with 16 points. But Alfantinee Boyd and Kyra Ford had 10 each, and Bria Gamble added eight. Brittany Hardeman only had six points, but contributed eight rebounds.
They’re definitely a team. A determined team.
“It’s exciting,” Bailey said. “We did this together and that’s all that matters.”
Illiana Christian (15-13) was led by Gabby Kreykes (12 points, 11 rebounds), Alyssa Murin (11 points), Andrea Van Beek (11 points) and Mikinsey Pruim (12 rebounds).
Last year in the regional final, Seton hit Illiana with a devastating 27-0 knockout punch.
This time, the start was much different.
Illiana, which didn’t score its first points midway through the second quarter in 2014, hung with Seton the entire first quarter, trailing at the conclusion just 13-10.
Good work underneath by Van Beek offset three-point artistry by Bailey and Gamble for Seton.
Speed and aggressiveness kicked in for the Sting after that, however. A string of attacks toward the basket during the second quarter resulted in two baskets each by Boyd, Bailey and Ford.
The balanced scoring and a defensive shutdown on Illiana allowed Seton to build a 26-13 lead at the half.
“They played hard but they didn’t play hard enough,” Gamble said. “We had read in an article that they said they knew what we were going to do. But they couldn’t stop us.”
Seton continued to attack in the third quarter and opened up as much as a 44-22 lead. It was a difficult 16 minutes for the Vikings, who between the second and third quarters were 3-for-19 and committed 13 turnovers.
“It was the quickness, the quick hands,” Illiana coach Tom Knapper said. “We’re just a little bit slower when it comes to that, and their defense was just right there. We’d make a pass where we’re used to getting it by a certain level of defense, but their quick hands were there.
“I give credit to Seton. They play some good defense, run the floor well. They played their game and we couldn’t stop them.”
The Sting moves on to the Lisle Sectional and a semifinal game against the winner of Friday’s Aurora Christian Regional title game between the host Eagles and Westmont.
Confident? Count Seton coach Kevin Green in on the sentiment.
“This is the more experienced team, and probably my most cohesive team,” Green said. “These are probably my two strongest captains I’ve had since I’ve been here (Gamble and Boyd). Hopefully this is a team that will have a little bit more.”
