Knights edge LZ in overtime

Martha Kelly sure seems to have hit the ground running in her first season as Prospect's girls basketball coach.

After an opening-night victory against Libertyville on Monday, Kelly and her Knights pulled out another dramatic win on Tuesday with a 56-52 overtime thriller over Lake Zurich.

After outscoring Prospect 17-8 in the first quarter, it appeared as though the Bears' defense would control the pace of the game. An offensive explosion in the second quarter, though, would catapult the Knights to a 28-27 lead at the break.

Leading that charge was junior Danielle Brucci, who sank a pair of 3-pointers, and freshman Sarah Winans, who also added a bucket just before halftime.

As soon as the clock began ticking in the third quarter, Lake Zurich found its stroke yet again and took over on both sides of the ball. The Bears came out playing relentless defense while junior Lydia Bauer powered her way through defenders. She posted 9 of her 13 points in the third.

"Lydia is a forced to be reckoned with," said Kelly. "She made it very hard for us to control the game but I thought Megan Murray did a great job playing her."

Murray led Prospect (2-0) with 15 points in addition to adding some much-needed assists.

Lake Zurich lost leading scorer senior Peggie Parhas, briefly due to injury in the third quarter. Parhas later returned but Prospect would take advantage of her absence.

Coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter Bauer tossed in a layup and was fouled on the play. She went to sink her free throw which put Lake Zurich up by 3 with a minute to play. Prospect quickly scored on the other end as Murray hit a mid-range jumper with 45 seconds left.

After a Lake Zurich turnover, Parhas fouled Prospect sophomore Lexy Glennon on a missed 3-pointer sending her to the line to tie the game -- a familiar situation for Glennon, who made 5 free throws in the clutch the previous night. Glennon stayed poised at the line, making all 3 and sending the see-saw of a game to overtime.

"There was a lot of pressure but we work on that in practice," said Glennon. "You just have to block everyone out and shoot and that's what I did."

Prospect's free throw shooting ultimately made the difference. Murray added a pair as well as sophomore Rachel Hunt.

"We've just been talking about having a lot of energy whether it's on the floor or on the bench," said Kelly. "That energy normally leads to a wildfire of scoring and that's what it did tonight."