Prospect goes out on top against St. Charles N.

For the first time in four years under coach Martha Kelly, the Prospect girls basketball team left the final day of the Dundee-Crown Charger Classic with a victory.

Senior Sarah Winans sank five straight free throws in the final 1:17 to help the Knights secure a 39-34 triumph over St. Charles North in the seventh-place matchup Thursday.

Winans's classmate Sarah Hunt produced her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The 6-foot-1 center, also a volleyball standout, wasted little time in pinpointing the reason for Prospect's second win in four games at one of the state's premier tournaments.

“We definitely outrebounded them (27-22) as opposed to our game on Wednesday (a loss to Rockton Honenagah),” Hunt said. “We just had more energy and more desire. You've got to want it. We had a lot more second-chance shots this game.”

After losing the battle of the boards in five straight games, Kelly challenged her team about rebounding before Thursday's contest.

“I told them they had been taught how to rebound, how to read things, and how to position themselves,” the coach said. “Now it just comes down to heart.”

The Knights (8-7) showed heart early in the game, rallying from a 7-0 deficit to take a 9-7 lead on a fastbreak layup by Ashley Wabik (4 rebounds, 4 points) and 3-pointer by Michele Molini with 2:06 left in the first quarter.

Winans followed with a driving layup and the Knights would never trail again.

“Their pressure in the first half bothered us,” said Stars coach Colleen Brennan. “We had a hard time matching their intensity. But I thought we did fine against it in the second half.”

Trailing by as many as 9 following a bank shot by senior Marissa Petenuzzo (5 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) and a putback by Hunt with 4:45 left in the third quarter, the North Stars battled back to a 32-32 tie with 3:52 left on the game on a free throw by Kate Booe.

But Hunt answered with a bank shot and Winans made the 5 straight free throws to cap the Knights' scoring.

“We knew we had never won on the last day of the tourney under coach Kelly so that definitely was a goal,” Hunt said. “Going 2-2 is better than 1-3 and there are a lot of good teams we played here. So it was nice to go out with a win.”

“We played pretty well in all four games and against good teams,” Winans said. “It was our goal to go out a winner on the last day.”

Despite foul trouble (4 fouls), senior Tess Fischer (4 assist, 3 rebounds) led St. Charles North (6-8) with 10 points while classmate Booe added 9 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals.

Senior Taylor Russell chipped in 7 points with 4 assists.

“Kate Booe had a great offensively and defensively,” Brennan said. “She does so many little things that people don't see. She is a smart player and plays a very tall 5-foot-8.

“Fischer had a great game, too. She is tough inside.”

Fischer and Booe had all the points in the Stars' 7-0 run to start the game.

“This tournament gives us great experience,” Brennan said. “Anyone who looks at the teams we have played this season will be amazed. We have played a very competitive schedule so we are prepared for our 11 remaining conference games.

“Obviously our record isn't where we'd like it to be, but we have seen a lot of growth.”

Kelly liked the way her team's rebounding numbers grew from the previous day.

“Right off the bat, we were getting boards,” she said. “So I was very proud of the girls after the night before (outrebounded 30-13). And 13 turnovers are well down for our normal number in the 20s. So that was a great number, too.”