Cole, Kuhl carry Cary-Grove

Cary-Grove girls basketball coach Rod Saffert tried to use an analogy of an iceberg to describe Jill Cole's play.

Cole's play and leadership off the bench was a major factor as the Trojans held off St. Viator to take a 66-57 victory in the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving Tournament Monday. Cole grabbed 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter and went 4 of 4 from the free throw line. The senior finished the game with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

"Jill was my player of the game," Saffert said. "She gave us the spark. She was very vocal during the timeouts to all of the kids."

The vocal Cole's free-throw shooting -- she finished 9 of 11 from the line -- also keyed the victory. Cole made 4 of 4 attempts in the fourth quarter to hold off a late St. Viator run.

The Lions did not fare as well from the charity stripe.

Cary-Grove (3-0) sent St. Viator (1-2) to the line 18 times in the third quarter, but the Lions connected just 8 times. St. Viator shot 23.5 percent (4 of 17) from the floor in the third quarter.

"It was kind of rough," St. Viator forward Colleen Nolan said. "We need to work on that in practice."

Nolan went 2 of 4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, but more than made up for it on the offensive glass. The junior scooped up 4 offensive rebounds and scored 3 putbacks in the final period. Nolan (14 points, 8 rebounds) also added 3 steals in the final period.

"Nolan was great," St. Viator coach Paul Bjerkness said. "She went off on the rebounding on the offensive end. She played with a lot of fire."

So did Cary-Grove center Jamie Kuhl.

Kuhl scored 6 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and added game-highs of 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Freshman Claire Jakubicek added 8 points and 3 steals for the Trojans. Jenny Muench led the Lions with 19 points, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and 2 assists and Tori Callero put in 13 points.

The Trojans opened up a 21-13 lead after the first period. Cary-Grove shot 7 of 11 from the free-throw line in the first period, with Kuhl and Cole going a combined 5 of 9. The Trojans would attempt just 7 free throws in the next two quarters.

St. Viator was just 1 of 3 in the first period and went 5 of 6 in the second quarter.

"We fouled way too much," Cole said. "It was sloppy defense but it was a team win."