Girls Basketball: Jane Addams 7th-Graders Ousted in an Overtime Thriller

Jane Addams Middle School’s hopes of making it to next week’s Illinois Elementary School Association Class 4A 7th grade girls basketball state quarterfinals were shattered Wednesday night thanks to a 35-34 overtime sectional final loss to Oak Prairie Junior High of Lockport

The Mustangs (19-6) appeared to have victory in hand until an OakPrairie guard banked in an improbable off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to tie it at 29.

Arielle McElroy, who scored all 5 of her team’s points in overtime including a 3-point play on a drive that put the Mustangs up 33-32 with 1:23play, gave it her best on a drive at the buzzer but it rolled off the rim. Oak Prairie (14-5) won it with four free throws and a put-back in OT.

Twelve first quarter turnovers put Addams in a tough spot early before Alyssa Cazares (17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks) scored 5 points in the last minute and a half to give the Mustangs a 7-5 lead.

After an early second quarter layup by Jasmine Doguin off a nifty pass from McElroy made it 9-5, Oak Prairie went on 13-2 run over the next 7-plus minutes to go on top 18-11 with 3:03 left in the third quarter. But Makayla Conway came off the bench to rally the Mustangs with a free throw, a put-back and four rebounds to make it 18-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

McIlroy (10 points, 6 steals, 3 assists) and Cazares led a fourth quarter surge that saw the Mustangs take a 26-21 lead with 2:24 to play. With the score 28-26, McIlroy blocked an Oak Prairie shot with 9 seconds left in regulation, then hit a free throw with 6 seconds left to set the stage for the Bulldogs’ miracle three-pointer.