(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College's women's basketball team suffered a heart-breaking loss in the opening round of the Region 4 Division II District A Tournament on Wednesday evening. The eighth-seeded Chiefs (22-9) fell just short in a season-ending 64-62 loss to ninth-seeded Sandburg College (22-9). Waubonsee shot just 16 percent from the field in the first quarter in falling behind early on. Coach Jim Williams' crew rallied from 15 points down in the second quarter and took the lead briefly in the third period. However, Sandburg regained the lead in the fourth quarter and held on as the Chiefs' last second shot fell short at the final buzzer.
A minute into the game Waubonsee's Anna-Marie Godina drilled a three-pointer from in front of the Chargers' bench to start the scoring. The Chargers responded with a 10-0 run to take control midway through the first stanza. By the time the quarter ended the cold-shooting Chiefs trailed 17-9. Sandburg began the second period with a 9-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 26-11 with five minutes to go to halftime. The visitors still led by 15 with two minutes remaining in the quarter until baskets by Danielle Bulson and Josie Larson cut the deficit to 30-19 heading to the locker room at the break.
A long three-pointer from well beyond the top of the key by Larson and another triple by Godina early in the third quarter trimmed the deficit down to five points. Waubonsee then put together a 13-2 run to jump in front 38-36 on a pair of free throws by Makayla McNally with two and a half minutes left in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Chiefs turned the ball over twice, committed three fouls and misfired on a three-pointer to allow the Chargers to grab a 41-38 lead heading into the final period.
Three minutes into the final quarter Sandburg got the upper hand by building its lead up to eight points. The Chiefs cut that deficit in half two minutes later and were on the verge of getting the ball back via a shot clock violation. However, Sandburg's 6'1" center Camryn Atterberg just got off a three-point shot from the right wing before the horn sounded. The ball rattled in for the freshman's first three-point basket of the season to make it 55-48 with four minutes remaining. Waubonsee responded by putting together a quick 6-0 run over the next minute of play, capped off as McNally scored inside off a nice assist from Savannah FitzSimons to make it 55-54. In a sign for Waubonsee that 'maybe it's not our night' Atterberg improbably connected on another trey to give the Chargers a 59-54 lead with 2:20 to go. Each team scored a pair of free throws and then Godina splashed a record-setting three-pointer from the left corner with 70 seconds to go. The sophomore's trey was her 90th of the season to eclipse Annika Beilskis' program mark of 89 set in 2022-2023.
Godina's three again made it a one possession game as Sandburg clung to a 61-59 lead heading into the final minute of action. Both teams had chances to score but didn't capitalize. The Chargers got the ball back with a 10 second difference between the game clock and shot clock. Waubonsee elected not to foul and played out the possession in hopes of getting the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game. But once more luck seemed to be on the Chargers' side as Antonia Kisler banked in a long two-point shot from the top of the key with 0:15 to go. McNally was fouled on the Chiefs' ensuing possession and nailed both free throws with 0:07.7 remaining to make it 63-61. Sandburg called its last timeout and set up an inbounds play which backfired horribly. A long half-court pass came up short and Kisler ran into FitzSimons for a foul sending her to the line. The sophomore guard made the first but missed the second as the Chargers' LaJaya Angel snagged the board. She was immediately fouled and went to the line with 0:05.9 left. She also made the first and missed the second with Waubonsee getting the rebound and calling its final timeout with 0:05.5 to go trailing 64-62. The Chiefs were able to advance the ball to midcourt and set up for a potential tying or winning shot. Waubonsee point guard Niallie Evans got the inbounds pass and bounced it into McNally on the block as the clock wound down. The Chiefs center spun to her left and fired but her shot was short and fell off the right side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Bulson booked a double-double to lead Waubonsee scoring 13 points and hauling down 12 rebounds to go with four steals and three assists. Godina finished with 12 points by making four shots from long range. McNally tallied 10 points and grabbed six boards, while Evans and FitzSimons each contributed nine points. Evans also corralled seven boards, handed out four assists and made four steals. Waubonsee finished the game shooting 32.8 percent from the field overall after their dismal first quarter. Sandburg won the rebounding battle 53-45, including securing 21 offensive boards. Kisler led all scorers with 28 points while also snagging a dozen rebounds.