OSWEGO – Four quarters was not enough to decide an IHSA sectional champion, and it took junior Lily Newton to push the Warriors into the Elite Eight on Thursday night at Oswego High School. Waubonsie defeated Benet Academy in overtime, 63-61. Newton hit a running layup with one second remaining to give the Warriors the win.
“It felt like any other shot,” said Newton. “It went in, and I was like, “oh my god. Did this just happen?”
Benet had a nine-point lead heading into the half, but the Warriors mounted a comeback that included eight three-pointers. Senior Hannah Laub was a big part of the comeback, shooting five three-pointers on the night. Sophomore Maya Cobb came off the bench to hit two big three-pointers, sophomore Arie Garcia drove the lane twice to get the Warriors back in the game. Once Waubonsie was within reach, sophomore Danyella Mporokoso’s layup with :35 left in regulation sent the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, Benet took a 61-59 lead with under a minute remaining. Mporokoso hit another layup to tie it before Newton’s layup won the game.
Mporokoso finished with 19 points. Senior Hannah Laub scored 15 points. Garcia tallied 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, Newton scored 10 points and Cobb had 8 points.
The Warriors improved to 31-3 and surpassed the school’s 1998-1999 team (30-3) for most wins in a single season. That team was coached by Julie Callan and was led by all-state player Ashley Luke. That team also went to the Elite Eight.
Waubonsie will face Alton on Monday for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at Illinois Wesleyan University.