Two Thompsons lead Young by Morgan Park
By Drake Skleba
To win a championship one must have depth for the nights when the starting lineup is not playing its best. Fortunately for No. 1 Young, it has a quality bench. Led by the Thompsons, junior Vicky and sophomore Janee, the Dolphins (21-0) defeated Morgan Park 58-51 in the second Chicago Public League semifinal Tuesday at Attacks Athletics in Chicago.
Both girls, who are not related, came off the bench to spark the top-ranked squad.
Morgan Park (20-6) had rallied from a 31-21 halftime deficit to close within 45-41 after three quarters.
Young's Victoria Thompson scored five of her seven points in the first two minutes of the vital fourth quarter.
Janee Thompson (12 points) added a bucket and Vicky Thompson hit a three-point bomb during the 7-0 run that opened the fourth quarter. It extended the Lady Dolphins' lead to 52-41 with 6:10 left in the game
"I played strong in the fourth quarter to help us pick up this victory," said Vicky Thompson. "This was a big win for us and it's great to be playing in the championship game again."
Janee Thompson scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter to lead the Lady Dolphins to a 31-21 lead at half.
Young led 9-7 after the first quarter.
"Coach told me to come in and play at the top of my game," said Janee Thompson. "We did not play to the best of our ability as a team, but we still won."
Morgan Park rallied behind seven points and eight rebounds in the third quarter from sophomore guard Kendyl Nunn (15 points, 10 rebounds). Junior Keona Green scored five of her 10 points in the same quarter to help rally the Lady Mustangs to within 45-41 after three quarters of play.
After the barrage by the Thompsons the Lady Mustangs of Morgan Park fought well, but never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Young once again received a fine performance from its junior sharp-shooter Kiana Johnson, who scored 14 points and hauled in six rebounds along with four steals and two assists. Johnson connected on four treys in the game.
"We really didn't play well tonight," said Johnson. "We played well enough to win. I played okay tonight. Like the team I think we all could play better. We will have to be prepared to play well against Bogan on Thursday."
Young's freshman center Linnae Harper scored eight points and was a demon on the glass with 13 rebounds.
Young wins with defense. Although the Lady Dolphins offense was stymied by the hard play of Morgan Park, the Lady Dolphins defense forced an amazing 36 turnovers in the semifinal game.
"We never really could get our offense going tonight," said Young head coach Corry Irvin. "Our defense for the most part did a fine job. Our bench, led by the Thompsons, helped us win tonight."
With the victory, the defending city champs get to meet Bogan (22-6) in the Chicago Public League championship game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at De Paul.
Morgan Park (20-6) had fine performances from: 6-foot-1 Gabrielle Richmond, who scored eight points and hauled in 13 rebounds; and senior forward Ayanna Hardy-Fuller, who scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Lady
Mustangs.
