WHEATFIELD | Even though school had been canceled for the day and four inches of snow blanketed the ground, the Kankakee Valley girls and boys basketball teams waited in the auditorium for a visitor.
Retired Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady, who missed the Purdue at Michigan State basketball game Tuesday to talk to the Kougars, spoke about team unity and how to play in big games.
The Lady Kougars then went out and beat favored Andrean 45-33 in the opener of the Class 3A Kankakee Valley Sectional behind 23 points from Brandee Hudspeth.
"This is the best we've played all year," Kougars coach Ryan Myers said. "One of the parents worked this out, I don't know how he did it to get Gene Keady to speak to both the boys and the girls, but I think this really motivated the kids."
Hudspeth has missed practice of late, but returned Monday for her first workout in a week. She hit four 3-pointers, including two in the first quarter as K.V. built an early 11-0 lead.
The Kougars, who will play Griffith in a semifinal Friday, picked up seven rebounds -- six in the first half -- from sophomore Hailey Ruesken, whose father called in the favor to Keady.
Andrean couldn't overcome shooting woes, hitting 4-of-24 attempts from the field in the first half, including a 1-for-15 second quarter in which the 59ers scored just two points. K.V. held an 18-8 halftime lead over the 59ers, who defeated the Kougars in a regular-season conference matchup 41-32 on Jan. 22.
Andrean didn't crack double digits on the scoreboard until Kelly Dineen hit a jumper at the 3:46 mark of the third quarter.
"K.V. played with more intensity, more composure and they executed better," 59ers coach Ken Markfull said. "When you do those things, you're going to be successful. ... We really didn't talk about making shots. You can't talk about it. Once you do, it gets worse."
Andrean came back from a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to whittle the Kougars' lead to nine points with 1:30 remaining in the game. Late fouling by the 59ers and 9-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line by K.V. in the fourth quarter helped lead to the final score.
Natasha Zurek played for Andrean with a faceguard, her first game with the device after breaking her nose before a game against Bishop Noll last week. She went scoreless, but led her team with nine rebounds. Dineen paced the 59ers (14-6) with 11 points.
Marissa Butler added eight points for K.V. (13-8) and added team highs with 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.
In the second game Friday, Rensselaer will play the winner of the Knox vs. Calumet game, which ended after this edition of The Times went to press.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kankakee Valley Sectional
First round
Kankakee Valley 45, Andrean 33
Calumet vs. Knox, incomplete
