Darren Kinnard/River Radio Sports Central
TAYLORVILLE – The Mt. Vernon Lady Rams’ historic season came to a close one win short of a trip to state.
How close?
They were two points from a trip to Normal.
Mt. Vernon fell 55-54 to Quincy Notre Dame in a fantastic 3A Supersectional hosted by Taylorville. It was a back and forth affair that saw neither team lead by more than five points.
The Lady Rams trailed 49-44 with less than 90 seconds to play but rallied to tie the game at 51 with 21 seconds to play on a pair of free throws from senior Kamaree Pollard, who was sensational all game finishing with 25 points.
After the Lady Rams tied the game, the Raiders went 4-4 from the free throw line sandwiched around a Mt. Vernon miss to take a 55-51 lead.
Needing a miracle in the final seconds, Pollard banked in a three-pointer with a second to play, but the Lady Rams were out of timeouts, and the buzzer sounded, ending Mt. Vernon’s season and setting off a Quincy Notre Dame celebration near midcourt.
The Lady Rams finished 29-4. That’s a school record for wins to go along with the program’s first Elite Eight appearance.
Quincy Notre Dame improves to 32-3 and will face Lombard Montini in the second 3A semifinal Thursday night at 8:15.
