Clutch shooting lifts Storm over Meadows
Every time the South Elgin girls basketball team fell behind Thursday night, it hit the clutch shot.
The most important was a 3-pointer from Alexa Kruel with just under a minute remaining to tie the game and helped the Storm defeat Rolling Meadows, 52-50, in South Elgin.
"They hit a lot big shots," Mustangs coach Patrick O'Connell said. "To their credit, they were a lot of tough shots."
South Elgin (4-5) led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter after Cortney Kumerow hit 2 free throws to give the Storm a 23-10 lead with 3:30 remaining in the half.
The Mustangs (2-6) rallied to cut the deficit to 26-23 at halftime.
The lead was still three, 38-35, heading into the fourth quarter. Shannon McGuire's free-throw line jumper with 6:20 left in the third quarter to give Rolling Meadows its first lead of the game, 39-38.
"We turned the ball over a little bit and let them get back into the game," Storm coach Tim Prendergast said. "We got real stagnant on offense."
That lead last 9 seconds as South Elgin junior Genevieve Johnson hit a 3-pointer as the Storm regained the lead, 41-49. Johnson added another basket off a turnover with 5 minutes left as the Storm's lead increased to 44-41.
Rolling Meadows' Taylor Fritz tied the game with a 3-pointer with 4:50 remaining. Two and a half minutes later Fritz hit 2 free throws, giving the Mustangs' a 46-44 lead.
Again it was Johnson who hit a 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining to give the lead, 47-46, to South Elgin.
Liezl Aluquin hit a basket and 2 free throws as Rolling Meadows again took a three-point lead, 50-47. Kruel came off a pick and fired a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 50-50.
"Alexa hit the big 3," Prendergast said. "Genevieve hit some shots. I give those girls the green light all the time. Alexa and Genevieve can shoot."
After a Rolling Meadows turnover and an key offensive rebound from the Storm's Dijon Smith, Johnson hit a runner off the glass with 24 seconds remaining to give the Storm the lead, 52-50.
Johnson finished with a game-high 19 points, 10 in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs had one final chance after a steal by Aluquin and a timeout with 3.6 seconds left, but were never able to get off a shot.
"All through the lineup the kids play really hard," O'Connell said. "We definitely picked up our intensity."
Kumerow added 9 points and 10 rebounds for the Storm. Smith scored 9 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, 6 offensive, off the bench.
The Mustangs were led by Fritz, who finished with 11 points, 7 in the fourth. Aluquin added 9 points.
Johnsburg 47, Crystal Lake South 43:: Crystal Lake South (5-3) fell to Johnsburg in a close Fox Valley Conference crossover game 47-43.
The Gators, despite their loss were led by Jessica Taldone who had 12 points including three 3-pointers. Carly Juliano added 10 points while Catlin Mize had 9 for South.
Jenny McDonald led Johnsburg with 32 points.