Providence pulls away from TF North in second half, advances to sectional finals on Thursday

CHICAGO HEIGHTS -- The first half of the 3A Marian Sectional Semifinal between Providence Catholic and Thornton Fractional North on Tuesday was exactly the game it should’ve been: A competitive battle between the second seed and the third seed for a spot in the finals.

Then Providence did what it’s done so many times this year: Pull away.

After leading by just one at halftime, the Celtics outscored the Meteors by 16 in the second half thanks in large part the play of Molly Knight. The result was a 57-41 victory to punch the Celtics' ticket to the sectional finals on Thursday.

Providence Catholic (23-11) looked like it would need every point it could get in the early going. Both teams traded baskets back and forth in the early going, spending the bulk of the opening quarter tied. A buzzer-beating three by Kennady Kotowski put Providence up 14-8 after one.

However, T.F. North opened the second with a steal and score by Kamariyah McClinton to trigger a 7-1 run tying the game at 15-all. The squad remained tied much of the period with Eilish Raines' free throws with 2 seconds left giving Providence a lead of 26-25.

“We just needed to relax,” Celtics coach Eileen Copenhaver said. “It was a big environment for a lot of these kids and sectionals are a big deal. We just had to temper our emotions a bit and play more our style.

“I don’t think we defended well in the first half, especially the second period. Kudos to (T.F. North) for hitting threes, but we didn’t do a good job of finding them. In the second half I felt like we made a little bit better adjustments.”

Indeed. Providence was up 33-29 with 5:15 to go in the third when Knight hit a three-pointer from NBA range. She followed that up with a layup a minute later to give her 20 for the game and put the Celtics up by nine. When Natalie McGhee hit a trey shortly after, Knight responded with a layup and the foul to keep pace. A pair of free throws by Claire Wajda gave Providence a double-digit lead entering the fourth, 43-33.

The Meteors never got back within single digits as the Celtics did their duty in the fourth.

“(Copenhaver) definitely gave us a lot of motivation (at halftime),” Kotowski said. “She told us what we were doing wrong and we knew we had to fix it. We just went out there and did what we could.”

The story in the first half, and even the game, was the battle between Knight and McGhee. Knight finished with 25 points while McGhee had 22 as one would answer the other for every basket. While some might be pleased with putting up 25 and outscoring their opponent’s best player, Knight was more focused on improving the defense for Thursday.

“We definitely didn’t get out on (McGhee) enough,” Knight said. “She’d a great shooter and I knew that if we just kept going basket for basket at some point someone had to step in and stop her.”

Kotowski finished with nine points for the Celtics, Raines added eight, and Wajda had six. Gabrielle McClain scored nine for the Meteors (23-9).

Next up, the toughest task yet in the sectional finals as the Celtics take on top seeded Marian Catholic on their home court. The Spartans are 25-8 and beat Providence 52-41 back in December. While the Celtics know they’ll have to be better on Thursday, they’re confident they can get the job done.

“We played them already this season so we have to learn from that first game,” Raines said. “We have to see what all we can improve on. We just have to get some reps in and see what we’ve done wrong by watching film. I know we can beat them.”