Credit Meadows with strong second half at Wheeling
Rolling Meadows junior Lily Griefenstein gave credit to her teammates following a career-high 22 points on Friday night
Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky gave credit to assistant Nick Nichols for Meadows' second-half adjustment on Friday night.
While Griefenstein and Kirkorsky handed out praise, Meadows also kept a hand in the running for the Mid-Suburban League East lead.
With a 72-47 Mid-Suburban East triumph at Wheeling, the Mustangs (8-4, 3-0) remained tied for first with Prospect (7-2, 3-0).
The two teams meet in Mt. Prospect on Thursday night.
Meadows trailed 27-23 late in the first half but closed with a 7-1 run and then outscored the hosts 38-19 in the second half.
"I credit Nick for defensive adjustments in the second half," Kirkorsky said. "And I thought Melissa Spiwak (senior guard) was the key for the offensive adjustments we made."
Sophomore Chloe Drozdz's 3-pointer early in the second quarter gave Wheeling (7-4,1-2) a 24-19 lead.
Drozdz hit another one from long range to give the Wildcats the 27-23 advantage before Meadows' defense sparked the 7-1 run.
Sophomore Susannah Holifield made a steal and then went coast-to-coast for layup to ignite the 7-1 burst.
Classmate Bridget Rolla came up with a steal and got the assist on Melissa Spiwak's layup that made it 32-28.
Spiwak (7 points) added 2 free throws for a 34-28 lead at intermission.
"Wheeling was well prepared for what we normally do this season," Kirkorsky added. "We kind of had to go to a different style than we've been playing."
Griefenstein scored 11 points in each half.
"She is one of those kids who finished play regularly," Kirkorsky said. "And that is he because a lot of high school players are able to make plays but don't finish them. I think that's what separates her. She finishes.
"Bridget (Rolla, a sophomore who had 14 points) is another kid who is able to finish plays in the paint and has a real high basketball IQ."
Holifield added 11 points and teammate Alexa Davis had 10.
"Obviously, one of Wheeling's strength is they have some really tough post players," Kirkorsky said. "And Sue (Holifield) is a little undersized, but she continues to battle against some really good posts in the MSL and beyond.
"I thought Mallory King came in and her minutes really stabilized us for a good portion of the game. Alexis (Davis) was in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half but she rebounded well on both end of the floor in the second half."
Griefestein has reached double figures in 10 games this season.
"Melissa (Spiwak) made a lot of great assists for us," Griefenstein said. "It was her passing - I couldn't do it without my teammates. We played as a team. It was a good team win."
"We definitely got a lot more reversals in the second half," Spiwak said. "We were dribbling too much in the first half. And we started talking more on defense in the second half."
Sophomore Morgan Collar led Wheeling with career-high 19 points followed by senior Nansy Velev (13 points, three 3-pointers).
"I thought Morgan was very aggressive in the post," said Wheeling coach Matt Weber. "And she was running the court very well."
"I liked our effort. We nerd to continue to grow as a team and learn from our mistakes. We need to understand we have to value every single possession. We have to force defenses to make mistakes."