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CHAMPAIGN – The three-point shot Chrislyn Carr hit in the late going for Rock Island in the recent IHSA Class 4A Champaign Centennial Sectional final that sent the game into overtime could have been a dagger for Edwardsville.
It wasn't.
The Tigers regrouped after the shot and took back control of the game in overtime to emerge with a 48-44 win over the Rocks, the fourth straight year EHS eliminated Rock Island in a sectional final, sending Edwardsville to Monday night's Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan Super-Sectional in Bloomington against Chicago Mother McAuley. The Tigers went on to win the game against the Mighty Macs with a 14-0 start leading to a 59-43 win to send the Tigers to this weekend’s state tournament. Pranger had 16 points for the Tigers, with Noodel-Hayward adding nine in the win.
“We were fine,” said Myriah Noodel-Hayward – who led the Tigers with 18 points on the night - about the three-ball Carr hit that forced overtime. “We take nothing for granted; it's time for us to go back to practice and work hard; that's what we do.”
Rachel Pranger had one of the game's key plays – drawing a charge on Bre Beal with 1:10 to go in overtime that gave the ball to the Tigers, who held a 43-41 lead at the time. Pranger is more interested in the team goals rather than individual achievements; when asked about the Tigers continuing on in the tournament, Pranger said “I'd rather make ti to state again like we did last year and get some redemption (after the Tigers lost last year's final to Geneva after a last-second shot rolled away at the siren) and with my team, I want to be successful more than myself.”
The Rocks brought back almost all of their team from last year's sectional final; that the Tigers found a way to win the game said something about the program, Pranger felt. “It shows how much we work hard in practice and how much we care about the game,” Pranger said. “We keep pushing to be as successful as we are.”
