Girls basketball: Things bounce Carmel's way against Mundelein
The buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Rachel Tipperreiter tipped right in, eliciting a sheepish smile from the Mundelein senior guard as she trotted off the court at halftime.
Carmel Catholic's Jennifer Giesey then got a friendly bounce too, as her 15-footer nailed the back iron and sailed high before falling in the hoop. Her buzzer beater ended the third quarter.
By game's end Tuesday night, Giesey and her teammates were still smiling. Carmel picked up its first win of the season, 32-18, in a Mundelein Thanksgiving tournament game that featured many shots that didn't get favorable bounces.
Corsairs coach Kelly Perz just liked the fact that her girls played hard and with purpose after opening the season with a loss to Glenbrook South on Monday night.
"It would have been really easy for them to show up tonight and be downhearted," she said. "It was a tough loss (to Glenbrook South). It was close the whole first half, and then they just pulled away. I liked our energy from the start (against Mundelein). I liked our effort throughout the game on defense."
Carmel jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter and was in control the rest of the game. Tipperreiter's banked 3 pulled the Mustangs within 20-11 at halftime. Geisey's bucket had Carmel up 26-16 entering the fourth.
Senior post Daija Pruitt, a three-year varsity player, led Carmel with 9 points, all in the first half. Freshman Ranya Jamison added 8 points and sank the Corsairs' only 3-pointer.
Perz started freshman Katie Lach (6 points) and fellow varsity rookie Brigit Barr (2 points), who's a sophomore.
"I love that the young players have bought in right from the start," Perz said. "They're really on board with the whole team, so that helps a ton."
Tipperreiter led Mundelein (0-2) with 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers. Senior guard Kendall Wald and freshman guard Morgan Frank (3-pointer) each had five.
"After about midway through the second quarter, I thought we ran a pretty good offense," Mundelein coach Martin Pazanin said. "It's just that there was a lid on the basket. I was happy with the type of shots we got. We got a lot of open, uncontested shots. I thought we did a lot of really good things, outside of the shooting."
Highland Park 48, Grant 46: At Mundelein, sophomore point guard Sydney Ignoffo scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, as the Giants rallied for the win.
Freshman post Addie Budnik added 18 points for Highland Park (1-1), which trailed 24-17 at halftime and 40-39 after three.
Junior forward Mallory Harrity led Grant (0-2) with 18 points, despite playing only two quarters, and sophomore guard Ally Mahinay added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Trailing 34-27, the Giants got a 3-pointer from Ignoffo, who then stole the inbounds pass. She sank her shot and was fouled, and completed the three-point play.
Ignoffo came up big again in the fourth after Mahinay's 3 put Grant up 46-45 with 1:33 left. Ignoffo answered by sinking her fourth 3.
"She sets the tone with how she pushes the ball up the floor," Grant coach Kathie Swanson said of Ignoffo. "They did a great job of pushing the ball up the floor and creating things, and we weren't communicating. When we don't communicate, we have defensive breakdowns."
A 3-point shot by Grant in the final seconds fell short.
Glenbrook South 70, Grayslake North 30: At Mundelein, senior guard Carie Weinman poured in seven 3-pointers, scoring 29 points, as the Titans cruised to improve to 2-0 in the tournament.
Grayslake North (1-1) was led in scoring by sophomore guard Savannah Guenther with 10 points. Sidney Lovitsch had 8 points for the Knights.
Stevenson 48, St. Viator 32: At Schaumburg, Ashley Richardson led all scorers with 23 points to pace the Patriots in their season opener.
Klaire Steffens added 11 for Stevenson, which got 6 points apiece from Kiana Cencula and Madison Wicklund.