Like so many other times this season, Sycamore junior Quinn Carrier took over in the second half.

Against Burlington Central in the Class 3A Sycamore Regional championship, the guard scored 17 of her 19 points after halftime. But it was more than the points. It was the timely 3-pointer. It was the game-high 13 rebounds. It was finding her teammates.

And it all added up to a regional title and a celebration in front of their fans on their home court.

Last year was very much the opposite for the Spartans. They went 8-23 and had to watch other teams celebrate, DeKalb at the NIU Convocation Center for the first time since 2014, Plano in a regional semifinal.

But this year was different. Carrier learned to do less and trust her teammates more. That shift sparked a return to the success.

“Coming in, winning a conference championship, winning the [FNBO] Challenge, winning that regional, it brought together everything we worked so hard for,” said Carrier, the Daily Chronicle 2026 Girls Basketball Player of the Year. “A big goal this year was to not only get those wins but come out every game and work our hardest. I think carrying off last season it gave us a lot of eagerness to work hard every single day.”

The Spartans went 23-11 this year and reclaimed the Interstate 8 title from Kaneland. They avenged a season sweep at the hands of rival DeKalb and beat the Barbs on the biggest stage of the year. And they won a regional for the ninth time since the 2013-2014 season.

Carrier was first or second on the team in every major statistical category. She averaged 17.0 points, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 6.1 rebounds per game. She knocked down 31.3% of her 3-pointers and 70.8% of her free throws.

Her numbers were very close to Sadie Lang’s, a sophomore who averaged more points and rebounds but fewer steals and assists.

“When you flip the script like we did as a team, it’s obviously more than one person,” Wickness said. “But I thought [Carrier] stepped up in some huge moments for us. There were some games where she took over and led the charge.”

In addition to the win over Burlington Central, Carrier was equally dominant in the I-8 clincher against Kaneland. She scored 11 straight points to break a tie in a 48-35 win — a performance Wickness called “bonkers."

Carrier and her teammates got to celebrate on the court of the NIU Convocation Center after beating the Barbs, avenging the season sweep last year. They had won 16 overall against the Barbs before an early-season tournament loss in Burlington. They hadn’t lost the trophy game at the Convocation Center since 2014.

Lang was the driving force in that 38-26 win, scoring 15. Carrier still put up 11. Together, they matched the Barbs’ offensive output.

“A lot of plays we would work off each other so well, my coach would be like, ‘Sadie, Quinn, go do your thing,’ ” Carrier said. “I think that was really special. I just love playing with her.”

Carrier said she and Lang have played travel ball together, sometimes on the same teams, sometimes on rival teams. So they had a baseline of chemistry coming in last year.

But they were also expected to be leaders of a team that lost a lot from a 2023-2024 club that went 23-11 and won a regional title.

Wickness said Carrier felt the pressure of maintaining the program’s success. She was fourth on the team last year with 1.5 assists per game and led the team with 3.8 turnovers. This year she led the team in assists (2.8) and her turnovers dropped slightly to 3.4 per game.

This year, Wickness said, the game slowed down for her and it showed in the results.

“Last year I think she felt like she had to do a lot more than she actually really had to do,” Wickness said. “That’s hard when you’re a sophomore and expected to be one of the better players on the team. Sometimes you have rough patches.”

Carrier said the biggest difference in her game this year was remaining confident, even through dry spells. Having another top-level scoring threat like Lang helps. So do coaches and teammates who help her get out of her head.

Carrier’s shooting improved as the season progressed, leaving her optimistic about her senior year. The Spartans will graduate two starters and a role player, but Carrier and Lang will return.

“If my offense is off, I can do everything possible on defense or the other way around,” Carrier said. “My shooting got better toward the end of the year, especially coming off the shoulder injury. It took a while to get my shot back to where I wanted to, but I’m happy how the season ended.”