Dundee-Crown racks up 5th straight win

Like a car that has trouble starting in the frigid cold, the Dundee-Crown offense got off to a sluggish start through the first 8 minutes of play.

D-C's offense which produced only 3 points and 1 basket in the first quarter, recovered and outscored McHenry 37-24 during the final 24 minutes in posting a 40-29 victory in Fox Valley Conference girls basketball action in Carpentersville Friday night.

The Chargers (14-11, 8-5), who struggled in the early going of the season, posted their fifth straight win with the 11-point victory.

"We have been playing much better during the 5-game winning streak, " said D-C coach Sarah Miller. "We didn't play well at PR (Prairie Ridge) Wednesday but bounced back with a much better effort tonight. We got off to a bad start but made some adjustments. We moved the ball better and found the gaps. With our trap we were able to get easy baskets. McHenry always gives us a battle. It was a very good win."

Trailing 5-3 after 1 quarter, the Chargers' offense finally got on track during the second 8 minutes of the contest.

With the score tied at 8, the Chargers went on a pivotal 7-0 surge. Allison Michalski converted a conventional 3-point play, Anna Kieltyka buried a 15-footer and Paige Gieseke connected on a driving layup as D-C led 15-8 with 2:02 remaining before intermission.

Leading 18-14 at halftime, D-C seized control of the game in the third quarter with an 11-2 run.

Kieltyka scored 5 points including a trey and Gieseke, Michalski and Maddie Tripp all chipped in with buckets as the Chargers turned a 4-point halftime advantage to a 13-point lead, 29-16, with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

The Chargers' biggest lead of the game was 15, 38-23, after a 17-footer in the corner by Katelyn Skibinski with 2:28 left in the contest.

Gieseke paced the Chargers with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

"We are starting to work out the kinks from earlier in the season," said Gieseke. "My teammates did a great job of getting in their gaps and they gave me great passes. We have played as a team during this 5-game winning streak. We hope to keep the momentum going into the postseason."

Kietyka added 10 points with a pair of treys while Michalski scored 8 with 12 rebounds for the winners.

Isabell Gscheidle, Liz Alsot (11 rebounds) and Jamie Howie tallied 9 points each for the Warriors (14-9, 7-5).