Aurora basketball seniors deliver on Senior Day against Roosevelt

AURORA — A young Greenmen team relied on a number of underclassmen throughout Saturday's game and the season as a whole.

Come crunch time on Senior Day, Aurora's Class of 2023 stepped to the forefront, delivering myriad big plays for a 45-42 win over Roosevelt.

"It's awesome when seniors take control of their own destiny, like that's a really cool thing," Greenmen coach Erika Greenberg said. "So I'm really proud of them. They worked hard all year, and so it's nice to have them get rewarded and we had fans and it was just all around a great day."

Two of the Greenmen's four seniors put them in front for good with 3:15 remaining Saturday as senior Grace Barbour caught an entry pass at the top of the key from junior Sam Stask and kicked the ball back out to senior Cailyn Ries, who drained the go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing.

"I missed the one before and my form felt really out of place," Ries said. "So I was really nervous but I feel like I came into it with enough confidence and I just knocked it down."

Just under the two-minute mark, Stask pushed the lead to five (40-35) for Aurora (8-12, 5-9 Suburban American) as she used a screen from sophomore Julia Miller to free herself for a 3-pointer.

The Rough Riders (10-12, 4-10) rallied valiantly, starting with a drive-and-scoop from senior Ari Crockett, who led all scorers with 22 points, to draw within four (41-37).

Lexie Canning added a deep 3-pointer to get within three (43-40) and fellow senior Taylor Dunlap knocked down a layup through contact to draw within two (44-42) with 24 seconds remaining. Dunlap missed the ensuing free throw, which was actually helpful as Roosevelt sophomore Julia Nash snagged the board.

But that's when Aurora's seniors stepped up once more.

Canning had a look at a 3-pointer, a very similar look to the one she drained seconds earlier, but Barbour ensured there would be no repeat, partially blocking Canning's shot.

"Well, I knew she was going to shoot it and I'm like, 'Oh, if I let this in, it's going to be so bad,'" Barbour said. "So I just put my hand up, and thankfully, I could get it but not foul her."

Barbour then split a pair at the line, pushing the lead to three (45-42), which forced the Rough Riders to seek a 3-point look in the closing seconds, a look that never materialized thanks to the Greenmen's fierce defense.

"I was getting in my head a little bit from missing that [first] one," Barbour said. "And then when I made the second one, just like the feeling, it feels so great to do that. Like I don't know how to put it into words."

Sophomore Julia Miller, freshman Brooke Pierce excel for Aurora

Before the Greenmen's seniors took over the closing minutes, they were honored pregame and then all four started and made plays.

Hannah Rogge had a steal, Bailey Hemming hit a pair of free throws and snagged several rebounds, Barbour finished with 10 rebounds and Ries hit a pair of 3-pointers and tallied nine points on the afternoon.

But in between the opening and closing minutes, Aurora's underclassmen showed that the future is bright along West Pioneer Trail.

With the Greenmen down 19-16 at the half, having shot just 4-of-25 from the field, Miller (10 points) provided a massive lift in the third.

The sophomore scored eight of Aurora's 10 third-quarter points, including a pair of shots from the middle of the paint.

Miller later added a wonderfully composed jump stop en route to a fast-break layup and another finish from the middle of the paint off a slick no-look dish from Stask to push the Greenmen's advantage to seven (26-19).

"We have a really strong freshman and sophomore class as a whole," Greenberg said. "There's a couple that just need a little bit more time on JV to develop, but I think next year we're going to be pretty good."

Brooke Pierce was no less impressive, scoring nine points in the fourth, making 6-of-8 from the free-throw line. The freshman also had a nice drive-and-drop pass to Barbour for a basket midway through the final quarter.

"I definitely see a lot of potential because we are so young," Ries said. "I'm really excited to come back and watch them play and see how it's grown. They just need to get out of their heads and they'll be perfectly fine. I think they'll be really, really, really good next year."

Ari Crockett battles valiantly for Roosevelt

While the Greenmen rotated scorers, with four players finishing between eight and 11 points, the Rough Riders leaned heavily on Crockett.

Against a wonderfully tough Aurora defense, the Roosevelt senior guard seemingly created buckets through sheer will at times.

"Crockett was in total control that way," Rough Riders coach Craig Foreman said. "That's how she's been the last 10 games or so."

Take when the Greenmen built a seven-point lead midway through the third.

Crockett responded with a runner, then battled to snag her own missed shot and put it back in to cut within 26-23. Crockett followed by extending her personal run to 6-0 with a pair of free throws.

The senior later put the Rough Riders in the lead for the final time as she raced into the paint, pulling up at the perfect time to draw contact and making both free throws for a 35-34 lead midway through the fourth.

Crockett showcased that uncanny ability to drive and finish or drive and draw a foul all afternoon, earning 14 free throws.

And while the result ultimately wasn't in Roosevelt's favor, Foreman remained positive as he departed Aurora Saturday.

"We got to take this as a positive," Foreman said. "If we get all frustrated now and try to get ready for Hoban, there would be no point, but we need to understand we got to take lessons from this and apply it to next week."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Aurora basketball seniors deliver on Senior Day against Roosevelt