Hendrick, pals lift Redhawks
For much of last season, Naperville Central guard Kelley Hendrick raced up and down the court without an injured pair of teammates, Jessica Carter and Lisa Lawrence.
Hendrick and the Naperville Central girls basketball team hope that this season brings change in that regard. The Redhawks got off to a good start this season as all three veterans played big roles in the team's season-opening 56-51 win over Oak Park-River Forest in Tip-Off Tournament action at Naperville Central on Friday night.
Hendrick nailed 9 of 10 foul shots in the fourth quarter to hold off a late Huskies rally. But Carter, who missed all of last season with an injury, added 8 points and 7 rebounds, and Lawrence had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.
"It feels so good to be back with Lisa and Jess," said Hendrick, who scored 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half. "To have them both back gives us a different component and makes us pretty tough."
With freshman Emma Ondik dropping in a pair of 3 pointers and sophomore Claire Fleming recording 9 points and 9 boards, it looked like the balanced Redhawks might handle the Huskies (0-2) easily. After trailing Oak Park 13-10 after one quarter, the hosts used a tight defense to build a 22-16 lead at the break after holding the Huskies to 3 points in the quarter.
The lead reached 35-20 following a pair of Lawrence free throws with 3:31 left in the third quarter. Naperville Central (1-0), which forced 19 turnovers, opened the second half with a 13-4 run to take a seemingly commanding lead. Ondik had a 3 and Carter a driving layup during the Redhawks' run.
But the Huskies stormed back in the fourth quarter behind the hot hand of forward Miki Carter, who had 5 field goals in the final quarter and finished her impressive night with 21 points, 8 boards and 2 steals. Two Miki Carter baskets seconds apart closed the Naperville Central lead to 49-45 with 1:20 left to play, but Hendrick went 6 of 6 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the Redhawks' victory.
"I just have to take my time and keep confident," Hendrick said of her free-throw shooting strategy. "They should go in."
Huskies coach Bob Biggins, whose team lost its opener against Trinity on Tuesday, said he's waiting for his players to string together four solid quarters.
"We know we've got a real good team, we're just not consistent yet," he said. "Miki's very good, but as a team we just haven't put four quarters together like we should."
Naperville Central coach Andy Nussbaum got a strong effort from several players as five different Redhawks tallied at least 8 points.
"They're a pretty good team and very athletic," Nussbaum said of the Huskies. "We played good defense for three quarters, hit our free throws and I'm real pleased."
-- Stan Goff
Downers Grove South 53, West Chicago 40:ŒAfter graduating seven seniors on a team that went 23-7 last season, West Chicago knew that it was in for some growing pains this year.
That youth and inexperience was evident in the Wildcats' girls basketball game against Downers Grove South in the Lyons Twp. Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Mustangs controlled the game for the most part with a stingy defense, especially on the full-court and half-court press, and their offense fed off that en route to a 53-40 victory in Western Springs.
"We haven't practiced against a press like that," said West Chicago coach Kim Wallner. "Breaking the press -- that hurt us the most. We did not come out attacking the press intelligently. We are so young and will keep building."
The Wildcats (0-2) missed their first 10 shots from the field in the game and fell behind early. Their first basket didn't come until 4:58 remained in the second quarter when guard Kayla Radloff -- the lone returning starter from last season -- finished a backdoor cut under the basket. They had trouble making some layups and Downers South blocked 4 shots in the first quarter to go up 12-5 after the first eight minutes of action.
"We really pride ourselves in playing good defense," said Downers South coach Mike McGinnis. "We deny shots and get to the boards. A lot of offense comes off that. Defense was the trend setter for us today."
McGinnis had three players score in the double figures. Guard Gianna Pecora led all scorers with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while backcourt mates DeeDee Scalzetti and Annie Brashaw chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Mustangs (1-0) did their scoring with a combination of outside shots and some nice movement without the basketball, which led to some quick backdoor buckets.
Brashaw was particularly active in the third quarter when she scored 9 of her points, including 2 field goals off West Chicago turnovers during a 7-0 run to begin the second half.
"We don't have a set offense -- we have a motion offense that allows us to react to what the other team's defense is doing," Brashaw said. "My teammates got the passes to me. I was just going tonight."
Wallner felt that early third-quarter spurt by Downers South was a turning point. Her team only trailed 23-16 at halftime.
"If we could have come out and jumped on them, the game could have gone the other way," Wallner said. "I thought we were rushing our shots. We got in foul trouble too."
The Wildcats were led in the scoring column by forward Jessica Baids, who came off the bench to finish with 10 points. Forward Lindsey Johnston added 9 points, while Radloff chipped in 8 points.
-- Brian Pitts
Neuqua Valley 51, Larkin 35:ŒThe girls on Neuqua Valley's bench know they'd better not get too comfortable.
Wildcats basketball coach Mike Williams liberally substituted all 11 of his players throughout his squad's 51-35 win over Larkin in opening-round action of the Hinsdale South Thanksgiving Tournament.
"We typically use everyone," Williams said. "I thought Courtney Palicka and Colleen Hohman both came in and did a nice job. We've got a lot of players that can contribute."
Through two quarters, Larkin (0-1) kept things close and only trailed 21-17 at halftime. Neuqua Valley (2-0) led 16-9 in the second quarter after a Danielle Davis 3-pointer and a Beth Goldberg free throw, but Larkin fought back on a pair of Alyssa Burns baskets.
A free throw by Larkin's Jennifer Koch tied the game at 17-17 before the Wildcats got a baseline jumper from Danielle Carroll and a Palicka basket before halftime.
As so often happens in basketball, Friday's game was largely decided in the third quarter. Neuqua Valley (2-0) earned a 14-2 scoring edge in the third and picked up its defense in helping to force 12 Larkin turnovers in eight minutes.
"We focused on the little things in the second half," said Wildcats senior Viv Kindt. "Once we started doing the little things, we started to come together real nice."
If Larkin coach Amy Silverman had to pick a player to lose to illness prior to her squad's game against the Wildcats, it wouldn't have been 5-foot-10-inch senior Laura Kay.
Kay had to sit out a game in which the Neuqua Valley earned a 37-21 edge in rebounds for the game and hammered the offensive glass throughout the second half.
"We needed one more post player tonight," Silverman said. "But this was not a bad first game for us. We stayed with them for almost 2½ quarters."
"They were just a little bigger and stronger than us, especially in rebounding. That's where they really got us."
The Wildcats had five players with 5 rebounds or more each. Kindt led her squad with 11 points on a night of balanced scoring, but it was the Wildcats' defensive stand in the third quarter that spelled doom for Larkin.
"We realize that offense is important, but defense is really what wins games," Kindt said. "We'll get better as we go along."
"We've got a lot of athletic ability and talent, and we'll just have to be patient with this team," Williams said. "Eight of our 11 kids have never played varsity before."
Senior guard Burns shined for Larkin, leading all players with 16 points to go with 6 rebounds and a handful of steals on the night. Lindsey Casebeer and Jessica Harris also put in quality minutes for Larkin.
"Burns did an excellent job," Silverman said. "She picked up from where she left off last year, and she's just going to build on that. She's a very skilled, strong, smart player."
-- Gary Larsen
Montini 80, Glenbard South 44:ŒMontini's Michala Johnson did something many prep athletes dream of doing during their high school career.
The sophomore outscored the opposition in the first half 26-25 as she shot 11 of 12 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line, and the Broncos beat Glenbard South 80-44.
The nice thing about it was she had no idea she did it after the game.
"Wow, I had no clue I had that many at the half," Johnson said. "I guess I will have to enjoy it because I'm not sure if it'll happen again."
Johnson went on to score 32 points on 14-of-16 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 12 boards and blocked 3 shots.
The Broncos (2-0) were not a one-woman show. They hit a barrage of shots from the outside, including 9 of 19 from behind the arc. Both Cootie Leeberg and Mallory Sosnovich each hit two 3-pointers.
Having four players that stand over 6-foot (Johnson, Crissy Fletcher, Whitney Adams and Allison Seberger) allowed Montini to dominate the glass as it doubled up the Raiders with a 38-19 advantage on the boards.
"We don't think about missing when we shoot from the outside," Leeberg said. "If we miss we know one way or another, the ball is going to be going through the basket at some point. It's a luxury having the bigs."
Glenbard South (1-1) coach Julie Fonda jumped at the opportunity to play Montini because she knows it will get her team better down the road. One thing that made the game a little lopsided was the Broncos came out of the gates scoring the game's first 15 points.
Johnson was one of the reasons Montini started so fast, and she got high praise from Fonda.
"We knew this was going to be a challenge, and we will get better because we played against a team this good," Fonda said. "I think it was a privilege for us to play on the same court as her. She is a fantastic player. In my opinion she is the best athlete in DuPage County."
The Raiders' Danielle Pipal scored a team-high 10 points while Alicia Englehardt chipped in with 9 points in the loss.
-- Jason Watt
Willowbrook 59, St. Benedict 28:ŒTaylor Nelson scored 14 points, Angela Domin and Ashley Kanelos had 11 each and Colette Williams notched 10 for the Warriors (1-0) at the Willowbrook tournament. They play East Aurora tonight.
Driscoll 42, St. Joseph 41:ŒCourtney Lindfors tallied 23 points, including a short jump hook with four seconds to play to give the Highlanders the victory at the Willowbrook tournament. She also grabbed 8 rebounds. Driscoll (1-0) plays St. Benedict tonight in the tournament.
Timothy Christian 40, St. Benedict 39:ŒAt the IMSA/Aurora Christian tournament, Lindsay VanderBrug scored 11 points to lead the Trojans.
St. Francis 38, Marengo 31:ŒAt the Burlington Central tournament, Catherine Culligan led the Spartans (1-0) in scoring with 8 points. She also had 3 steals.
Hinsdale South 47, Plainfield Central 42:ŒChloe Harris poured in 24 points as the Hornets held off the Wildcats despite being outscored 20-8 in the fourth quarter at the Hinsdale South tournament.