Illinois High School Basketball

When I watched Whitney Young against Stevenson at Fremd’s early December invite, the Dolphins’ talent was achingly apparent. I’d previously seen it in spurts on a summer day at the Morton College Summer League.

Stevenson’s cohesiveness was light years ahead of what the Dolphins showed that day, leading to a 69-60 win. The Dolphins at that point found themselves 2-3, having lost three games to teams that are now in the Illinois-Basketball.com Top 25. 

Saturday, the Dolphins claimed a city title at Credit Union 1 Arena, in a 57-55 triumph over a Kenwood team with three current senior Division I commits in Brianna McDaniel (Texas A&M), Whitney Dunn (Loyola) and DonYeil Bolton (Alabama State). 

“I think the losses that we took earlier in the season were needed so we could be prepared for games like this, because at one point we were down 17-6,” junior Skylar Jones said. “I think we needed to stay composed, slow down and get our groove back.”

Jones was in takeover mode in the third quarter, with her defense (five steals) helping jump-start the Dolphins and leading to easy buckets in transition and the half-court. She helped Whitney Young dictate the pace it wanted as they surged ahead.

“Her mental is on a whole other level right now,” Whitney Young coach Krissy Harper said. “How she was earlier in the season, how she came out slow, that first possession she missed that left-handed layup … She would have crumbled. But she held it together. She couldn’t really find her rhythm in the first half, but she definitely came through for us in the second half.”

Every Dolphins player played with assured confidence that showed their belief in one another and what they were doing collectively. Tanila Marshall’s defense around the rim deterred the Broncos. Olivia Vick provided a shooting threat and a cool under-pressure ball-handling presence. Freshman Alana Shields hit timely free throws and handled the ball well against Kenwood’s pressure.

After an ice-cold first half, freshman Destiny Jackson rose to the occasion in the second half with some pull-up jumpers, and added rebounding and a passing touch. Maia Downes’ crucial 10 points in the first half kept the Dolphins in the hunt. 

“Maia Downes was the silent assassin,” Harper said. “Seriously. She’s the one who kept us in the game, undoubtedly. … I’m so proud of her. Her being a senior, I really believe she took all of this in and she wanted to go out with a bang.”

Every Dolphins player has meshed as the season advanced. At the time of Saturday’s win, Whitney Young had won 12 consecutive games. That run started with a 50-44 win over Loyola Academy on Dec. 30. 

“We’re light years ahead,” Harper said of where the Dolphins were in December. 

“We all started to mix,” Jones said. “We all started to get on the same page. When you saw us against Stevenson, I don’t think we were all on the same page. We were having mental and internal issues, and I think over time they started flattening out and we started to get on the same page.”

The Dolphins are highly likely to face Kenwood again. Soon. 

A possible sectional semifinal matchup looms between the two. 

“We should definitely be grateful, but not take it for granted because Kenwood is definitely a very good team,” Jones said. “We’re going to end up playing them again in state (playoffs), so I don’t think we should take them for granted at all.”

Should the Dolphins play to their full potential, sink more shots than they did in the comeback win over Kenwood…

And should a motivated Kenwood bring their A-game and prove ready to weather the storm…

Tuesday, Feb. 22 at Lyons Township High School should be a great deal of fun.