Things break in Grayslake North's favor against Hoffman Estates
The best play of this early morning girls basketball matchup went to Grayslake North star Sidney Lovitsch.
"Oh, is that the one I was trapped on?" Lovitsch asked.
Here goes the story. Lovitsch was clearly in a bad spot, as two Hoffman Estates defenders stood ready to take away the basketball on Monday morning. So the junior split the two girls and took the ball down court. There she faced more defenders. No problem, she just drove to basket and flipped in a shot.
"That's not our normal press break,'' said Grayslake North coach Rob Nicoletti. "But it worked in this case."
It was typical morning basketball, with a surplus of missed shots and turnovers. However, in the third quarter, the Knights (7-4) put on a clinic on how to share the ball. North outscored the Hawks 22-6 in that quarter and went on to post a 56-44 win in the Mundelein Holiday Tournament.
"At halftime, our coach to us to pick up our defense,'' Lovitsch said. "We needed to pass the ball more."
North trailed by 2 points heading to the decisive third quarter. Brandi Thibeaux (14 points) opened and closed the quarter with buckets. Lovitsch (22 points, 4 blocks) hit her 3-pointer in this quarter.
"It was like night and day,'' Nicoletti said. "We talked at halftime that were too predictable. Once we started moving the ball we started clicking."
The Hawks (5-7) also had a pair of gifted players. Monraia Wilson (18 points) and Erin Hanson (15 points) scored all 14 points for their team in the final quarter.
"I think they wore us out in the second half,'' said Hoffman Estates coach Mike Koester. "Our two girls stepped up, but we struggled defensively. We just needed to play a little smarter."
Lovitsch and Thibeaux scored 15 of the team's 22 points in the first half. The third quarter-blitz by North saw other girls step up. North's inside threat, Abbey Stinner, had a personal 6-point run and added 10 points to the North attack. This senior also grabbed 6 rebounds, and Kelley O'Brien scored all of her 4 points in this quarter.
For any of the coaches in this 16-team tourney, drawing the early game isn't always the easiest assignment.
"Our bus left at 7:45 a.m,'' Nicoletti said. "But I told the girls there are no excuses. In that first half, it looked like a 9 a.m. game."
The Grayslake North lead went as high as 18 points in the fourth quarter. The North starters took a break after that.
That didn't stop the one-two punch of the Hawks, as Wilson landed a pair of 3-pointers and Hanson got to the hoop and had 5 of her points in the final minutes.