ROXANA - Haley Rodgers led four Marquette Catholic players in double figures as the Explorers defeated Piasa Southwestern 70-19 to advance to Thursday's final in the IHSA Class 2A girls basketball regional semifinals at Larry Milazzo Memorial Gym in Roxana.
Marquette came out blazing in the opening quarter and jumped out to a double-digit lead despite one of their starters being out with illness.
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"You're always a little nervous going in," said Explorers head coach Lee Green. "Jillian Nelson was out sick, and we may not have her for Thursday's game, but the kids were really pumped up and played a great game tonight. We had a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter, which is always nice."
From there, Marquette dominated the game and held the Piasa Birds to nine points over the first three quarters in going on to Thursday's final as the Explorers won the first meeting between the two schools since the Class 2A regional final in 2018.
"Everybody played really well," Green said, "and it's on to the final on Thursday night."
The Explorers led from wire-to-wire, leading at the end of the first quarter 19-3, extending the advantage to 41-8 at halftime and 55-9 after the third quarter, outscoring Southwestern in the fourth 15-10.
Rodgers led Marquette with 17 points, with Chloe White scoring 16 points, Alyssa Powell came up with 13 points, Nia Ballinger had 12 points, Abby Williams chipped in six points and Megan Meyer, Payton Patterson and Hayley Porter all had two points each.
Hannah Nixon led the Birds with five points, while MaCaylin Day had four points, Morgan Durham scored three points, Addie Green, Gracie Darr and Haley Stormer all had two points each and Callie Stormer scored a single point.
Southwestern's season ends with a 9-15 record, while the Explorers advance to the final on Thursday against Staunton, a 49-44 winner over Pittsfield in the second semifinal on Monday night. Green hopes to have Nelson back for the final, but knows that his team will be ready to go.
"It's the playoffs and you can't take anything for granted," Green said. "Both Staunton and Pittsfield are two really well-coached teams, so we have to be ready for them."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
