By Dominic Scianna
The Phillips girls basketball team mounted a strong run through the IHSA Class 2A state playoffs, but the magic ended in its supersectional battle at Morton College with a 53-40 lost at the hands of Regina Dominican on February 26. The loss left the Wildcats just one game shy of playing in the Final Four at Illinois State University in Bloomington.
LaKeeyah Barnes, a senior guard from Phillips, took the defeat hard, especially after her history with head coach Larry Stokes that dated back to her first learning the sport in 8th grade. Barnes transferred from Morgan Park High School to reunite with Stokes for her final senior season this year.
“It meant a lot to get this far and be the only Chicago Public League team still left standing,” Barnes said. “I transferred for a better opportunity and to be back with my coach (Stokes) who taught me basketball. I trusted him with my last year, and I got exactly what I was looking for.”
Barnes finished with a team-high 12 points for Phillips (19-14), while teammates Kamaria Sephus pitched in with 11 points, and Nakiyah Williams contributed 10 points in the defeat.
“We started 0-7 in the fall league and had a rough beginning, but I told them just trust the process and once they started believing in each other we started to jell just right,” Stokes said.
As for Barnes, Stokes and the Wildcats will miss her as they retool with four starters returning next year.
“I know the type of kid LaKeeyah is with great toughness and heart. She tried to carry us home, but we couldn’t get anything going as a team and just fell short today to a very good Regina Dominican team.”
After a tight first quarter that saw Phillips trail by only three points at 16-13, Regina (25-9) got hot as sophomore Olivia Fraterrigo (15 points) tallied seven of the team’s 11 points in the second quarter to break the game open and lead 27-18 at halftime. That proved to be the difference as the Wildcats would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Panthers start three sophomores and were ousted from IHSA state play last season in the sectional final by DePaul Prep. That same squad returned intact this year.
“Our team doesn’t get a lot of credit because we’re not flashy and don’t score a lot of points, but they can play basketball and leave it all out on the floor,” Regina head coach Bob Newton said. “They (Phillips) have great shooters and we tried to make them uncomfortable by pressing and keeping them on the perimeter. Our kids executed the game plan and it worked flawlessly.”
Jillian DeFranza, another sophomore standout for Regina, led all scorers with 19 points.
“We had great communication on defense, and we talked the whole time, and knew number 11 (Sephus) was a great shooter so we keyed on her, got back on defense and tried to figure out where she was at all times,” said Fraterrigo.
Sephus scored eight of her 11 points in the fourth quarter for Phillips to mount a furious comeback after trailing by 18 at 43-25 midway through the period. Phillips would go on a 15-6 run to cut the Regina lead to 49-40 with just under three minutes to play in the game but it was too little, too late for the Wildcats.
“We’re used to just pushing the ball and going but they did a good job sitting in their zone defense and slowing us down,” said Sephus of the Regina defensive effort.
She feels the team has come a long way and there’s a bright future ahead as she returns to the Phillips lineup for Stokes for the 2024-25 season. “I plan on being in the gym all summer and come in with a disciplined attitude while working on my defense,” said Sephus. “A lot of us are used to being on the court together coming up from the JV team to varsity, so we need to continue that communication and bond as a unit moving forward.”
Photos by Ashley Harris/OSA
