NORMAL — Deer Creek-Mackinaw defeated Rockford Christian in a Class 1A girls basketball state semifinal.
The No. 1 Chiefs (33-3) cruised to a 48-35 victory over Rockford Christian (25-12) on Thursday, advancing to the state title game against No. 4 Mt. Pulaski (33-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday. This is the first title game appearance in program history for Dee-Mack.
“We had a great year, and our girls deserved to be here,” Rockford Christian head coach Ted Lawver said. “But we knew Dee-Mack was well equipped and very talented. They were tough.”
Dalia Dejesus scored a game-high points 31 points. She went 9-for-15 from the floor and 12 of 15 from the free-throw line. Dejesus also had 10 rebounds, four steals and four blocks.
Live updates from the game are below. Click here for a longer recap of the game.
Dee-Mack vs. Rockford Christian live score updates
Dee-Mack 48, Rockford Christian 35 | FINAL
No. 1 Dee-Mack will play for the Class 1A state championship. Dalia Dejesus scores a game-high 31 points.
Dee-Mack 45, Rockford Christian 31 | 3:13 left 4Q
Dalia Dejesus has scored the last 12 points for the Chiefs. She has 30 points.
Dee-Mack 39, Rockford Christian 27 | End of 3Q
Chiefs are in control, getting 15 of their 18 points from Dalia Dejesus in the frame. She has 24 points.
Dee-Mack 35, Rockford Christian 21 | 1:54 left 3Q
Dalia Dejesus has 11 this quarter and 20 for the game.
Dee-Mack 29, Rockford Christian 17 | 5:11 left 3Q
Chiefs start the half on a 8-2 push, Dejesus buries a 3-pointer. She has 14 points.
Dee-Mack 21, Rockford Christian 15 | Halftime
Both teams aren’t shooting the best – D-M (31.6%) & RC (21.7%). Dalia Dejesus is filling up the stat sheet for the Chiefs – 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.
Dee-Mack 15, Rockford Christian | 5:25 left 2Q
Chiefs’ only bucket was a rebound putback by Dalia Dejesus. She has 8 points.
Dee-Mack 13, Rockford Christian | End of the 1Q
Dalia Dejesus gets fouled on 3-pointer at the buzzer, then makes 2-of-3. She has 6 points for the Chiefs.
Dee-Mack 5, Rockford Christian 5 | 3:40 left 1Q
Chiefs are on a 5-0 run thanks to a banked in 3 from Riley Durbin and a floater in lane from Dalia Dejesus.
Starting lineups
Starters for today’s game are:Dee-Mack- Riley Durbin, Anna Schmidgall, Kate Schmidgall, Jaelyn Nunley and Dalia DejesusRC: Jaden Conerly, Teagan Lawver, Shea Ludwig, Lucy Gargani and Josie Becker.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Dee-Mack cruises to victory in the IHSA girls basketball state tournament
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
