NORMAL - Sisters Allie and Carly Norton were given fair warning Monday. "I told them today in practice, this is a shooters' dream against a zone," said Central Catholic High School basketball coach Debbie Coffman. "You've got to be ready to shoot." | Tournament photo gallery | Box scores, schedules and stats

The Nortons were, draining five 3-pointers apiece in a 61-40 win over Kankakee McNamara in the small-school semifinals of the 30th State Farm Holiday Classic at Normal Community High School.

Allie finished with 22 points while Carly and Jess Reinhart had 15 apiece as the top-seeded and No. 3-state ranked Saints (13-0) advanced for the second straight year to today's 7 p.m. final against Brimfield (18-0) at Shirk Center.

"We were all pretty worried about this game because we knew it would be the best team so far that we've played," Allie Norton said.

No. 4-seeded and No. 10-state ranked McNamara (7-3) was within 47-40 with 2:37 left in the third period when the Saints made a game-ending 14-0 run.

"They just wear on you over time," said McNamara coach Jeff Bennett, whose team committed 26 turnovers while becoming the first Saint foe to be shutout for a quarter.

"The kids are really buying into how important defense is," Coffman said. "We work real hard on it every day in practice. This is a big, quality win for us."

The Fightin' Irish, who had allowed a tournament-low 23 points per game coming in, stuck with their 1-3-1 zone as the Saints made a season-high 11 3-pointers, two shy of the tournament record.

"We thought we could get Jess the ball, but they kept clogging it up," Allie Norton said. "We couldn't get it to her, but me and Carly were luckily on tonight.

"Our teammates kept hitting us and me and Carly were setting picks for each other, and it worked out really nicely."

One of the biggest 3-pointers came from Allie Norton after McNamara had made a 6-0 run to get within 42-36.

"I can't say enough about our outside shooting tonight," Coffman said. "That was awesome to see."

Erika Tatum led McNamara with 12 points. Belinda Schaafsma, the cousin of Illinois Wesleyan legend Jack Sikma, added 10 points.

Reinhart had 12 rebounds and three blocks while Kelly Curran had six assists.

"I think they've got great court savvy and good quickness," Bennett said.

Brimfield 35, Tolono Unity 32: Unity coach Kelly Gallick, a former NCHS assistant, has no doubt Ana Deters was fouled on a 3-point attempt with three seconds left. The officials disagreed and Brimfield escaped with its second closest win of the season.

"I believe we're the better team," said Gallick, whose team missed three shots to take the lead or tie in the final 27 seconds. "Unfortunately, we didn't show that tonight."

No. 3-seeded and No. 9-state ranked Brimfield, which has no seniors, received 12 points apiece from 6-3 Paige Spietz and Kelsey Herridge. Deters finished with 11.

"We've been averaging about 31-point margins," said Brimfield coach Jim Blane. "This is what we need. This is a good learning experience."

Park Ridge Maine South 59, Morton 58: In the first big-school semifinal, Bradley recruit Brooke Bisping of Morton was closely guarded when she missed a potential game-winning shot as time ran out. She finished with 28 points.

Kim Kohlndorfer had 22 points and Jackie Rieger 14 as No. 7-seeded Maine South upset the No. 3 seeds.

The Potters (12-3), who took a 45-44 lead into the final period, received 11 points from Mariah Nimmo and 10 from Sarah Hendricks.

Maine South (9-7) plays for the title at 4 p.m. today at Shirk Center against Peoria Richwoods (16-2).

Peoria Richwoods 61, Rock Island Alleman 44: Top-seeded and No. 4-state ranked Richwoods won its 11th consecutive contest to reach the championship game for the fifth time. The Knights, second a year ago, won titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Alleman (10-5) will meet Morton in today's 12:30 p.m. third-place game at Shirk Center. The Potters won a Dec. 13 meeting with Alleman, 42-39.

Olympia drops two in consolation play: After falling in the consolation semifinals to Rockridge, 46-35, Olympia dropped a 32-20 decision to Camp Point Central/Augusta SE in the third place game of the consolation bracket played at Central Catholic High School.

Melissa Phillips scored 12 points and Courtney Martin added 10 in the Spartans loss to Rockridge, which advances to the consolation championship against Monmouth-Roseville.

Martin also led the way for Olympia in the third place contest, netting a game-high 12 points.