SYCAMORE – Faith Feuerbach and Kylie Feuerbach each had a block in the final 6 seconds, helping the Kaneland girls basketball team hold on for a 35-34 win against Kaneland on Tuesday.
“I thought defensively we played pretty well,” Sycamore coach Wickness said. “We had a couple lapses but to hold a good team to 34 points is a nice accomplishment. Offensively, I’m kind of at a loss for words. We did everything we needed to do in terms of being in position to seal the game, we just didn’t execute. I’ll be honest, we’re lucky we got that win because we tried everything we could to give them every opportunity to win that game. I guess it’s better to be lucky sometimes.”
The Spartans (16-6, 7-1 Northern Illinois Big 12 East) led 35-29 with 2:02 left after a layup by Kylie Feuerbach. But they missed all seven of their free throws down the stretch while the Knights (15-8, 5-3) roared back to get within one with 14.5 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Kelsey Modaff.
“Our kids aren’t going to give up. It’s just how they are,” Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said. “We just wanted to hang around and give ourselves a chance to make a play. You just focus on the next play instead of worrying about being down nine or eight or seven.”
Kylie Feuerbach missed both her free throws down at the other end, Chloe Conley corralled one of her team-leading six rebounds in the game, then Hannah Armin had her shot blocked by Faith Feuerbach. The rebound went out of bounds to the Knights. Kylie Holubecki took the quick shot for the Knights, but it was blocked by Kylie Feuerbach.
Armin tried a reverse layup after grabbing the offensive board, but the shot missed, Kylie Feuerbach grabbed the rebound as time expired and the Spartans escaped with the win.
“Those two girls stepped up,” Wickness said. “Faith and Kylie, on those last two plays, made big blocks. Anybody else, without that length, that’s a layup and we’re going the other way hoping we make a game winner.”
Colombe said he was hoping his team connected on a bucket or got the foul call down the stretch.
"We had a shot at the end, I thought we had a couple good looks," Colombe said. "We were hoping to go to the line there but it didn't happen."
By the numbers: Kylie Feuerbach didn’t score in the first quarter and had four after three. She finished with a game-high 14 to go with eight boards, four blocks and three steals.
Beyond the stats: Sycamore scored the first nine points of the game and Kaneland scored the next 10. When the Spartans took the lead back early in the second, they never trailed again.
They said it: "Even when we were up seven or up nine, I was still pretty upset because it could have been 14, 15," Wickness said. "But stress situations like this are good for us in the longterm. I think it will help us grow as a team."
Up next: The Spartans host Ottawa for a game 6 p.m. Saturday, while the Knights have a Northern Illinois Big 12 crossover game at the same time at LaSalle-Peru.
Kaneland guard Kelsey Modaff passes away from Sycamore defender Ella Shipley in the first quarter of their Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference game Tuesday Jan. 15 in Sycamore.