SOUTH HOLLAND | After the ups and downs of the regular season, Seton Academy is playing its best basketball in the playoffs.
The Sting rolled to a 52-38 victory over Illiana Christian to capture the 2A Seton Academy Regional crown. Seton was led by senior Charlita Berry who scored 16 points and recorded seven steals. Teammate Ebony Bailey scored 12 for Seton Academy and added seven rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Tiffany Ellis scored 11 points and had two steals.
"We just came out and did what we had to do to win," Berry said. "We came out and played hard and now we'll go to the next sectional."
Seton Academy (21-8) came out running against the Vikings and led 17-8 after one quarter. The Sting started the second quarter with a 13-4 run and found themselves up 30-12 midway through the second quarter.
"We knew we had to come out and take their confidence away," Seton Academy coach Kevin Green said. "We told the girls to press hard and play as hard as they could. They stepped up tonight. It seems like each game they play harder and harder."
Illiana Christian (3-26) struggled to control the transition game of the Sting, but the Vikings were able to find some success against Seton Academy in the half-court game. Alexa Van Beek led the Vikings with 18 points and four rebounds. Freshman Sydney Van Beek added seven points and six rebounds.
"We haven't had a lot of wins this season," Illiana Christian coach Dave Bosman said. "And I think it's really tough to stay focused and work hard, and these girls came to work hard every single day."
With the win, Seton Academy is now enjoying a 12-game winning streak. Coach Green said the team is concentrating on defense in practice and will look to the defense to keep the winning streak and their playoff chances alive. Seton plays either Collins Academy or Cristo Rey Jesuit at 6 p.m. Monday in a Seton Academy Sectional semifinal.
"That's mostly what we work on in practice: defense," Green said. "We can score just as good as anybody. But defensively, if we can shut you down and that's our thing, we don't want to give up more than 20 points in a half. If we do that, we're pretty good."
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