COUNTRY CLUB HILLS | Thornwood's Ashanti Walker didn't mince words about the Times No. 1 Thunderbirds looking at an upset from Oak Forest.

"If we didn't get it together, we were going to lose the game," Walker said. "We got it together at halftime and came out and played great."

The Thunderbirds came back to beat a tough Bengals team 50-47 in one quarterfinal of the Hillcrest Holiday Classic on Wednesday.

Thornwood (11-1) will meet Marian Catholic at 6 tonight in one semifinal. The two met last year in the semifinals, with Marian winning.

The Times No. 2 Spartans beat Lockport 80-38 behind Katy Clark's 23 points.

Thornwood jumped out to a 6-0 lead, then fell behind 18-11 after one quarter. Walker scored nine of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, including a basket at the buzzer.

The Thunderbirds survived a scare from Oak Forest with a 57-46 win on Dec. 13.

"I was real worried about my free-throw shooting and handling the ball at the end," Walker said.

Brittani Nichols made two free throws with 22.9 seconds left to give Thornwood a 48-45 lead.

"I try not to think about the situation, just think about making the free throws," Nichols said.

Oak Forest's Stephanie Signore hit two of three free throws to make it 48-47. Walker got the inbounds pass, but Oak Forest could not foul her. She traveled twice, but there was no call.

Thornwood got back into the game by switching from a man to a 2-3 zone.

"I think with that we came out more intense and did some things to shut them down," Nichols said.

"We just started slow, but when we switched up, we got back into the game."

Marian Catholic (12-2) is the four-time defending tourney champ and is in semifinals for the sixth straight year. The Spartans won their 20th straight game on Hillcrest's court.

"I knew with Kathlyn (McClain) out I had to step it up," Clark said. "We know the pressure of winning it four straight years."

McClain sat out her second game with back spasms, but said she expects to play tonight. Sarah Pillon had 16 points.

"I knew that Katy couldn't do it all by herself, we are a team," Pillon said. "I knew it is time to step it up."