Harvest Christian rolls in 1A sectional

Hey, this sectional stuff isn't so hard.

Kylee Knox had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, and Paulina Castro added 15 points as Harvest Christian rolled to its first sectional semifinal victory in school history, 57-27, against Alden-Hebron in the Class 1A Harvest Christian sectional Tuesday night in Elgin.

Alden-Hebron, which dressed only 5 players, was never in the game. Harvest scored the game's first 16 points and led 22-2 after one quarter. After a brief flurry by the Giants made it 28-6 early in the second quarter, the Lions scored another 21 in a row extending into the second half.

Morgan Lockwood contributed 9 points and Taylor Keeran grabbed 6 rebounds for Harvest (24-6), which will play for the sectional title at 7 p.m. Thursday against Chicago Hope Academy, a 46-45 winner over Luther North in Tuesday's second semifinal.

For Harvest, it was just taking care of business.

"The kids totally believe," said Harvest coach Rich DeTamble. "They're playing together. There's no euphoria in there (the locker room). It's very businesslike."

The Lions got a lift from the return of Alyssa Iverson, who missed the past week with an illness. She scored 5 points off the bench.

The undermanned Giants had a deer-in-the-headlights look when confronting the Lions' pressure. The pressure helped the Lions completely dominate the first half, forcing 18 turnovers, outrebounding the Giants 19-11, and holding the visitors to 17 percent shooting.

The defensive intensity was a practical necessity, given that the Lions' outside shots weren't falling. The steals caused by the pressure gave Harvest a steady offense on a night when they made just 4 of 17 3-point attempts.

"Our goal is to have multiple insurance policies," said DeTamble.