Peoria High girls basketball stayed cool, leaned on defense and made program history
PONTIAC — Much like in the sectional final, Peoria High found itself trailing at halftime.
Instead of yelling or trying to implement a revised game plan, Meechie Edwards remained cool. The Peoria High girls basketball coach's message mirrored that of simple confidence.
"I think we're OK," the Peoria High coach told his squad.
Now, Peoria High is headed to the Class 3A Final Four.
The No. 3-ranked Lions came alive on offense and clamped down on defense to secure a 37-34 win over Chicago Heights Marian Catholic at the Class 3A Pontiac Supersectional on Monday night.
Peoria High (28-3) is back at the state finals for the first time since a 2001 Class AA appearance, ready to face top-ranked LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy (33-1) at 10 a.m. Friday at CEFCU Arena in Normal. The Lions are guaranteed to win the program's first state trophy.
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"It's really just unbelievable," Peoria High junior Aaliyah Guyton said. "Just looking to go forward, and go really far."
Two free throws by the highly coveted Division-I recruit gave Peoria High a lasting lead — 32-31 with 5:26 to play. However, she watched the game's final 58.9 seconds after picking up her fifth foul. The 5-foot-10 all-state point guard, though, remained steadfast in the belief of her team.
"It wasn't too stressful," said Guyton, who finished with 10 points. “At the end of the day, my team had my back. They bailed me out. Unfortunately, I got those unnecessary fouls on my behalf. That is what a team is for — to have your back.”
Defense down the stretch
And did they ever have her back.
Peoria High employed its signature defense and allowed unranked Marian Catholic (28-8) just one point over the game’s last minute. This came after Peoria High turned the Spartans over on six successive possessions, including four from steals.
“Our defense is what brought us back,” Peoria High junior Danielle Ruffin said. “I felt like we just hustled and kept our composure.”
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That poise didn’t exactly carry over to the free-throw line late in the game. Peoria High shot six freebies in the final 32 seconds and made only two. Ruffin set the final score by splitting her pair of free throws.
“We work on this every day,” said Edwards, whose team went 5-for-11 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. “I just really think it was one of those nights. ... I don't know if it that was a little bit of jitters there.”
Staying cool after slow start
In the first half, specifically the second quarter, Peoria High needed to cultivate offense. Ruffin was responsible for all four points as the Lions shot 1-for-11 from the field, turned the ball over four times and were outrebounded.
That all changed after going into halftime down 15-12.
“For us to go in the locker room, only down by three, that's actually not that bad for us,” Craig-Edwards said.
Craig-Edwards bookended a pair of baskets on a six-point run to open the third quarter by grabbing an 18-15 lead. She added an entry pass assist to Allannah Jackson, then knocked down a 3-pointer for a four-point lead.
The Western Michigan signee finished with 14 points and six rebounds as Peoria High shot 7-for-15 in the eight minutes after halftime. Ruffin chipped in eight points and six rebounds.
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“All I say is just patience,” Guyton said of what it took to overcome those early offensive struggles. “I felt like we weren't really patient. ... We're going to learn from this experience and be able to grow from it.”
Marian Catholic was limited to 12 field goals on 41.4 percent shooting (12-for-29), committed 20 turnovers and got nine points by Madison Davis, whose drive made it a one-point game with 1:37 to play.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria High girls basketball makes program history with trip to state
