ROCKFORD — In a season that already included one championship, the Carl Sandburg College women’s basketball team came up one victory shy of another.
Up against a red-hot shooting night by top-seeded Morton, the Chargers lost 102-59 in the title game of the Region 4 Division II District A tournament Saturday evening at Rock Valley College.
Fourth-seeded Sandburg, which won a share of the Arrowhead Conference title during the regular season, ends its 2023-24 campaign with a 23-10 record. Morton, ranked No. 7 nationally, advances to the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.
KEY MOMENTS
• Morton (30-3) raced to a 15–2 lead in the opening 4 minutes of the contest. The Chargers, playing in their first region championship game since 2017 and in search of their first title since 2008, kept their poise and pulled within 20-14 with 3:14 left in the first quarter when freshman Camille Kruse knocked down all three free throws after being fouled on a jumper.
• Sandburg trailed 42-28 midway through the second quarter after Elly Bentley connected on a pull-up jump shot, but the Chargers were limited to just six points the rest of the half. The Panthers, meanwhile, scored 20 of the last 26, including an 11-0 run in the final 1:43 of the half for a 62-34 lead at the break. Morton hit 11 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 17 made 3s on the night.
SANDBURG STANDOUT
Bentley scored a team-high 17 points in the final game of her Chargers career. The sophomore guard hit 5 of her first 6 shots and finished 7 of 14 from the field. She also collected four steals and four rebounds. Bentley ended her two-season tenure at Sandburg with 1,168 career points.
OTHER TOP CHARGERS
• Brook Pieper: 13 points, 5-13 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• Kruse: 10 points, 3-6 FG, 4-5 FT
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Bentley and fellow sophomore guard Kelci Shelton represented the Chargers on the all-tournament team. In addition to her 17 points in the championship game, Bentley tied a career-high with 32 points in the Chargers’ quarterfinal victory over Olive-Harvey. Shelton tallied a triple-double in Sandburg’s semifinal win last week over Milwaukee Area Technical, posting 14 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists.
FOR THE PANTHERS
• Shanihya Brown: 17 points
• Alex Stewart: 18 points, 3-7 3FG
• Taylor Marquart: 15 points, 3-3 3FG
• Sophia Remmel: 13 points, 7 rebounds
• Caroline Clemmer: 11 points, 3-7 3FG
• Antionique Auston: 10 points, 4 assists
REGION 4 DIVISION II DISTRICT A WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals
Feb. 29
Game 1 — No. 1 Morton 95, No. 16 Elgin 54
Game 2 — No. 8 Prairie State 82, No. 9 Moraine Valley 69
Game 3 — No. 5 Milwaukee Area Technical 67, No. 12 DuPage 52
Game 4 — No. 4 Sandburg 91, No. 13 Olive-Harvey 71
Semifinals
March 2 at Rock Valley
Game 5 — No. 1 Morton 99, No. 8 Prairie State 63
Game 6 — No. 4 Sandburg 75, No. 5 Milwaukee Area Technical 67
Championship
March 9 at Rock Valley
No. 1 Morton 102, No. 4 Sandburg 59
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***Story and photo courtesy of Sandburg Charger Athletics***
