NORMAL, Ill. – The Dee-Mack Lady Chiefs are the queens of the court.
In its first ever trip to the IHSA girls basketball state finals, Dee-Mack won the Class 1A state championship on Saturday morning with a 49-34 win over Mt. Pulaski.
Senior forward Dalia Dejesus got a double-double in her final game as a Lady Chief, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Junior guard Riley Durbin scored 11 points while shooting 3-3 from three point range, and senior guard Jaelyn Nunley also added 11 points.
For the Mt. Pulaski Hilltoppers, senior guard Alyson Murphy added 16 points.
Dee-Mack led 9-4 after the first quarter, but a 15 point burst by Mt. Pulaski gave the Hilltoppers the halftime lead at 19-16. Dee-Mack took control of the game in the second half, outsourcing Mt. Pulaski 33-to-15.
Dee-Mack head coach Joni Nightingale says the team was no stranger to being down at the half, and needed a message in the locker room. But she says she knew her team was not scared and would fight through to turn it around.
“When we see the ball go through the net, and then it builds and the energy’s high, and it’s one play to the next,” Nightingale said. “We knew if we could create one stop and one score and one stop and one score and just compound that, we’d be just fine.”
Dejesus says the victory was a team effort, and is grateful for all of them.
“There’s only nine of us, but we are such a close group,” Dejesus said. “Even if just one of our players didn’t play on this team, or if one of our players were missing, we would not be where we are today.”
Nightingale says the team’s legacy is one that applies off the court, and in being a good person and of great character.
