Pearson's Prowess helps Maine West finish with a victory
Maine West girls basketball coach Derril Kipp says his team wasn't exactly at the top of its game shooting-wise in the 33rd annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic in Carpentersville.
But one player who was on target quite often in the Warriors' fourth and final game of the 16-team tourney on Wednesday was Allison Pearson.
The sophomore guard made 5-of-7 shots from the field, including the only 3-pointer she attempted, to finish with a season-high 15 points as West took seventh place with a 55-37 triumph over Resurrection.
The Warriors led 18-8 after one quarter and never looked back while improving to 11-6 overall.
Pearson is back to 100 percent after missing the Warriors' first four games with a stress fracture in the foot.
”I now feel like I'm doing all the stuff I did before (the injury),” said Pearson, who whose first double-figure scoring game of the season also included 2 assists. “It feels natural. It feels good.
“This is the best we've play as a team, too. Once we get in a rhythm and we're passing the ball the right way, we are unselfish and it helps us play so well.”
Kipp felt Pearson played well, start to to finish.
“Her shot was there,” said the Hall of Fame coach who has brought his teams to the D-C tourney every year since the tournament began in 1983. “That's important for us. She hasn't played like this since last year (twice hit for a career-high 18 points at D-C tourney last winter). A lot of it was the injury. It's just taken time.”
By the time the buzzer sounded at half, the Warriors held a commanding 33-13 lead.
They didn't let up in the third quarter, starting out with a 9-0 run that included two baskets from Pearson (including a 3-pointer) and one apiece from senior Jordan Hart (4 points) and sophomore all-tourney selection Catherine Johnson (9 points, 4 assists, 1 steal).
Kipp played 12 girls as the Warriors went 2-2 in Carpentersville.
“It was better than last year,” said Pearson, referring to the Warriors' 0-4 record in 2014. “Now we have to get ready for Highland Park (final game of first-round play in the CSL North where the Warriors are 4-0).”
Freshman all-tourney selection Rachel Kent added 14 points for West along with 2 assists and 1 steal. Teammate Liz Sanchez (9 points, 2 assists) connected for three 3-pointers. Richa Patel and Anna Lipinski also made it into the scoring column for West while teammate Monica Liwag had an assist and steal.
Kipp is hoping to see the return of Destiny Onyeise (attending funeral services), Kayla Pociejewski (foot) and Acacia Hernandez (illness) back by Jan. 5.
“We should have our entire lineup by then and we are looking forward to 2016,” said Kipp, who has 778 career wins. “Going 2-2 is a lot better than last year but we are disappointed that we didn't do a little better. But we will have most of our kids back here for next season, so that's good.”