No. 1 Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball team rolls into Class 2A state championship game

NORMAL — The Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball team roared into the state championship game on Thursday with a 71-25 victory over Wilmette Regina Dominican in a Illinois High School Association Class 2A state semifinal at CEFCU Arena.

The No. 1-ranked Irish (33-4) will play in their first state title at 1 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the semifinal between No. 3 Nashville (32-3) and Robinson (28-5), who met later Thursday.

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Lexi Baer had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead PND, back at state for the first time since 1994. This will be the program's first state trophy. Julia Mingus added 17 points and Kaitlin Cassidy added 10 points and six rebounds. First-team all-stater Mya Wardle led PND with nine assists, adding seven points and two rebounds.

Unranked Regina Dominican (25-10), back at state for the first time since 2003, played for third place Thursday night. Olivia Fraterrigo and Payton Olszewski scored eight points each for lead Regina Domincan, which was held to 25 percent (9-for-36) shooting overall and forced into 22 turnovers.

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Below are updates from CEFCU Arena.

3:51 p.m. - Peoria Notre Dame 71, Wilmette Regina Dominican 25

The top-ranked Irish will play for the Class 2A state title at 1 p.m. Saturday.

3:28 p.m. - Peoria Notre Dame 54, Wilmette Regina Dominican 18

All Irish with Julia Mingus (17 points), Lexi Baer (15 points) and Kaitlin Cassidy (10 points) leading the way.

2:56 p.m. - Peoria Notre Dame 33, Wilmette Regina Dominican 9 Halftime

PND has forced 12 turnovers, getting a dozen points from Lexi Baer.

2:38 p.m. - Peoria Notre Dame 16, Wilmette Regina Dominican 5 after 1Q

Defense dominates for the Irish, forcing eight turnovers with three steals and just as many steals.

1:55 p.m. - Peoria Notre Dame warming up

The Class 2A top-ranked Irish are warming up for their 2 p.m. state semifinal. This game may start a little late due to Illini Bluffs winning its 9:30 a.m. game in overtime.

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Notre Dame wins Class 2A state semifinal, will play for title