Highland coach Stephanie Harris wasn't quite sure how to defend against Mater Dei standout Brooke Schulte on Thursday night.
Harris figured she would go with some type of rotation, and started sophomore Emily Holtzclaw on the DePaul signee. But just three minutes into the regional final at Highland, senior Sarah Trobaugh took the bull by the horns.
"Sarah said, ‘I got her, she's mine," Harris said. "So I was like, ‘OK, go get her.'"
Trobaugh, a 5-foot-7 point guard, was in the face of the 6-foot Schulte all night.
"I tried not to give her too much separation because she can step back and hit from outside," Trobaugh said. "I just wanted to get a hand in her face and make her shoot over me."
Though that was a tall task for Trobaugh, she held Schulte to 13 points. Meanwhile, Highland got a game-high 21 points from senior Emily Michael in its 54-50 upset victory.
The win sends Highland (17-14) into tonight's semifinals against Salem (27-4) at the Mater Dei Sectional.
Schulte scored 29 points in Mater Dei's 11-point win over Highland earlier this season. After falling to Mater Dei in last year's sectional final at Salem, Trobaugh and her teammates were ecstatic after the win.
"It felt so good," Trobaugh said. "We were pretty confident because we knew we had nothing to lose."
The same could be said about tonight's matchup, where the Bulldogs will again have to try and hold an outstanding player in check. Salem forward Katie Meador comes into the contest averaging 16 points per game.
"She is very athletic, similar to Brooke," Harris said. "But Meador is more of a slasher, and hits the boards extremely hard.
"She is a very aggressive player. I'm still trying to figure out who we're going to put on her."
This time, Trobaugh won't be all alone.
"I don't think it will be me since she (Meador) is a post player," Trobaugh said. "I guess I could get switched off on her."
Highland played a murderer's row schedule this season, including games against Breese Central, Collinsville, Althoff and two against O'Fallon. Harris thinks that's what's paying off now.
"We're playing our best basketball right now," Harris said. "Once you knock off a top team, anything is possible. If we can play the way we did Thursday night, we have a good chance."
Said Trobaugh: "We just have to go out again and play like there's no tomorrow."
