Bears' defense does in D-C

Lake Zurich used its defense to create its offense.

The Bears' defense created a whole lot of it.

Lake Zurich forced Dundee-Crown to turn the ball over 19 times in the first three quarters and used the turnovers to build a 52-24 led after three periods. The Bears (1-1) went on to take their opening game of the Dundee-Crown girls basketball Thanksgiving tournament, 54-38 over the host Chargers (1-1).

For as good as the Bears' defense was, the offense equaled it. Lake Zurich shot 56.4 percent (22 of 39) from the floor. Junior Lydia Bauer led the charge. Bauer led all scorers with 23 points, all of which came in the first three quarters, and shot 81.8 percent (9 of 11) from the floor. She added 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the victory.

Lake Zurich opened up the game in the second quarter, when it outscored D-C 20-10. The Bears made 6 straight shots from the floor, turning a 13-11 game into a 26-13 advantage. Gabby Chapa made a pair of 3-pointers during the run and finished with 8 of her 13 points in the second quarter.

D-C shot just 3 of 10 in the second quarter and went just 1 of 4 from beyond the arc. After center Kate Pilson made a offensive putback to make it 13-10 with 7:20 remaining in the period, the Chargers would go 3 minutes, 49 seconds without making a field goal.

"Our defense is definitely what won us the game," Bauer said. "We had really big help with their bigs on the inside."

The Chargers' "bigs" were held in check. Pilson finished with 6 points and forward Robyn Staudenmaier led Dundee-Crown with 8 points.

The Chargers shot 30 percent (14 of 46) from the floor. D-C was just 8 of 28 in the first three periods. Kathleen Collingbourne (3 assists) added 6 points in the loss.

"Lake Zurich really played good defense," Dundee-Crown coach Joe Komaromy said. "I don't think we matched their intensity. They played a very good game."

Bears' point guard Peggie Parhas finished with 9 assists, including 6 in the first quarter. Lake Zurich finished the game with 14 assists, with Dundee-Crown finished with 9. Sophomore Sierra Dunner tallied 5 of those assists, with 4 coming in the fourth quarter. Dunner found junior Jill Gantz (6 points) three times in the fourth quarter, when the Chargers outscored Lake Zurich 14-2.