CENTRALIA - Madison Webb led Father McGivney Catholic with 25 points, and Charlize Luehmann added 10 points as the Griffins made history with a 44-40 win over Jacksonville Routt Catholic, ranked third in the latest Associated Press state poll, in the final of the IHSA Class 1A sectional at Christ Our Rock Lutheran in Centralia on Thursday night.
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McGivney won the game with tough defense and a clutch performance from Webb that helped send the Griffins to Monday evening's super-sectional game for the chance to advance to next weekend's state tournament in Bloomington-Normal.
"They really came out, and Madison was tough from the beginning," said McGivney head coach Jeff Oller. "I just think we played really tough defense the whole game."
The Griffins built up as much as a 13-point lead before the Rockets made a run that cut the lead to 36-32 with 3:24 left in regulation, eventually drawing to within 41-40 with 1:23 to go.
"I think we were up 13 in the second half, and we knew that a run was probably going to come," Oller said, "and the girls withstood it."
McGivney salted the game away on a pair of late free throws from Anna McKee and one from Macy Hoppes to clinch the game.
"The girls worked so hard, and prepared really well for this the last two days," Oller said. "I thought we executed some stuff offensively pretty well. The difference was on defense."
Bella McCartney the Rockets' best player, led Routt with 17 points, while Addie Dobson added 12, and was the spark plug behind the final run that got Routt close.
"Bella McCartney is a really good player," Oller said, "and we knew we had to be ready for her. And the girls were."
While the Rockets' season ended at 29-3, the Griffins are now 27-7 and advance to their first-ever Elite Eight game on Monday night when they meet Lewistown, a 56-49 winner over Glasford Illini Bluffs in the Havana sectional final, in the super-sectional game Monday night at Illinois College in Jacksonville, with the tip-off coming at 6 p.m.
"It's exciting, especially for the girls," Oller said, "and how hard the worked and put in the time to get to this point. We've got to get prepared for (Lewistown), because they can put up a lot of points."
But Oller is very proud of his team, and is looking ahead to even bigger things.
"I'm just so absolutely proud of the girls," Oller said. "They deserve it."
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