HINCKLEY - Through three quarters on Monday night, Mooseheart's girls basketball team did all the things to put itself into position to defeat Elgin Academy in the opening round of the IHSA Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Regional.

Then the Ramblers struggled in the fourth quarter and the Hilltoppers surged, and the resulting 14-4 scoring disparity in Elgin Academy 's favor lifted them to a 35-28 victory.

The win moves Elgin Academy (12-12), a private school 15 miles upriver from Mooseheart, into Wednesday's semifinals against the top-seeded hosts.

Mooseheart (14-8) saw a very successful season end following its first playoff contest.

"It's very frustrating," Mooseheart senior Kim Phillips said. "We needed better passes. Our shots that we took were all off."

The Ramblers led for much of the contest, though the game was always close. The only Ramblers player who scored with consistency was sophomore Katie Stryker, who finished with 10 points.

And when the Ramblers took a 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter, they looked on-course for defeating the Hilltoppers for the second time in three meetings between the teams this year.

"I've got to give Elgin Academy credit; they don't buckle," Mooseheart coach Bryan Miller said. "They stay with their game plan and it proved worthy for them tonight."

But a combination of Elgin Academy players got hot offensively in the fourth quarter -- none more than Lauren Steimle, who finished with a game-high 14 points. Steimle scored 5 points in the final quarter while teammate Alyssa Pena added 4 of her 9 points in the fourth quarter.

"We just didn't get the job done," Miller said. "That fourth quarter was ugly. Ugly."

The Ramblers finished well above .500 for 2008-09 -- though nearly always playing schools with larger enrollments.  And they had a string of solid results through the year. But the final buzzer brought tears to some members of the squad.

"I think it (the season) went pretty well," Phillips said. "In past seasons, we've had a losing record. This year, we had a winning record. I think it gives more confidence to the upcoming upperclassmen and lowerclassmen."

Elgin Academy: Lee 3 2-5 8, Steimle 5 3-4 14, Cilla 0 0-0 0, Ward 0 0-0 0, Barnes 2 0-0 4, Pena 3 3-7 9, Ovington 3 3-7 9. Totals 13 8-16 35.

Mooseheart: Stryker 3 4-4 10, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Mays 2 0-1 4, Torres 2 0-0 4, Tolson 0 0-2 0, Sanchez 3 0-0 6, Ellsworth 1 2-2 4. Totals 11 6-9 28.

Elgin Academy      7        10      4        14      -        35
Mooseheart           10      10      4        4        -        28

3-point goals: Steimle 1. Fouled out: None.