Brooks Middle School Wins Basketbal Regional Crown

Brooks Middle School exploded in the first quarter and never looked back as they clipped Jane Addams 45-36 Friday afternoon to win the Class 4A girls basketball regional championship.

The Bulldogs advance to Wednesday's sectionals at Summit Hill in Frankfort against either Mokena or Homer with the winner moving on to the state quarterfinals.

Two players registered double-doubles in the contest. Brooks' Talia Edwards tossed in 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to go with 4 steals, while Addams' Karly Seay nearly matched that with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Aggressive offensive rebounding yielded five put-backs in the first quarter alone, two each by Taylor Robinson and Edwards and one by Tsimba Malonga, as Brooks built an 18-3 lead with Edwards scoring 10 points. But Seay's steal and layup got Addams' offense going in the second quarter with the Mustangs (16-7) outscoring Brooks 9-1 in the final 2 minutes to pull within 9 at halftime.

Seay made a nifty pass to Alyssa Cazarez and then scored herself on a put-back to pull within 5 at 26-21 in the opening minute of the third quarter. However, Edwards took over again, scoring 7 points and grabbing six rebounds to move the lead back to 10 after three quarters. The Bulldogs cruised home in the fourth quarter making 5 free throws along the way.

Malonga helped the Brooks effort with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Robinson added 6 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. MacKenzie Williams tallied 5 points, Francesca Aniceto hit a 3-pointer and Evelyn Jones added a hoop.

Kike Ojo hauled in 10 rebounds and scored 9 points for the Mustangs. Yacy Izaguirre added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Cazarez hit a bucket. And Alexia Nicolai grabbed 6 rebounds.

Other members of the winning team include Shenicqua Kelly, Auriel Sanders, Camile Jordan, Marisa Manning, Cheyenne Martinez and Nzuzi Malonga. They are coached by Alan Hampton.

Editor's note: This is a press release from Valley View School District 365U. 

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