By Michael Wojtychiw
Sometimes a little bit of experience is what a team needs to be successful.
The Phillips girls basketball team has experienced a good amount of that in recent years, but has always fallen short in its quest to make it downstate. The Wildcats made it to the supersectional last season, but fell to eventual fourth-place finisher Regina Dominican.
But not this year.
That experience, along with the sophomore or varsity teams consistently making it to the semifinal or final round of the Chicago Public League playoffs each of the past three seasons, helped it when the program took on fellow Chicago Public League member Crane in the Class 2A supersectional at Dominican University. It was the Wildcats’ time this year, however, as the team took down the Cougars 49-40 to win, cementing the program’s first trip downstate.
“It’s like a weight off our shoulders,” Phillips coach Larry Stokes said about the win. “This is one of the best squads I’ve had.
“The biggest difference between last year’s squad and this year’s is inexperience. Last year, we were shooting a lot of threes, missing layups and our depth wasn’t there. We’re a little deeper this year and we had juniors last year who are now seniors and they got us over the hump.”
“We’re really excited for this,” Kamaria Sephus said. “We’ve been trying to set the tone since my freshman year, trying to make a statement for a while.
“I’m really proud of us.”
With about a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first quarter, Sephus hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 9-7 lead, one they would not relinquish the rest of the game.
Sephus’ basket sparked a 10-0 run, with the Wildcats’ defense forcing turnovers on three consecutive possessions, allowing them to up their lead. It was the defense that frustrated the Cougars, preventing them from making a dent into the deficit.
“We played them earlier in the year, so we switched everything up a little bit,” Stokes said. “We went man-to-man, then went to a 1-3-1, so we constantly switched it up to give us opportunities.”
The Wildcats extended the 28-15 halftime lead to 37-19 more than midway through the third quarter, courtesy of five points by Makeemah Byrd.
Sephus would lead the Wildcats with 17 points.
Phillips prepares to face Nashville Thursday at 3:45 in the second Class 2A semifinal at Illinois State University. Stokes knows what his team needs to do if they want to win and have a chance to play for a state championship.
“We need to just have some fun,” he said. “This is all new to us, so we’re just going to have some fun. No pressure, just relax and play basketball. That’s all it is, basketball.
“We’re making history as we go. If it’s over with tomorrow, I’m happy with it.”
Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA
