Elgin runs out of gas in loss; Jacobs falls

ROCKFORD -- Rockford Lutheran's fast break eventually wore down Elgin. The Crusaders broke open a close game in the second half by pushing the ball upcourt regularly. The Maroons couldn't keep up.

Elgin trailed 32-28 after three quarters, but the Crusaders outscored the Maroons 21-11 in the fourth quarter and pulled away to a 53-39 nonconference win in Rockford.

Ellen Holton scored all 10 of Elgin's points as the Maroons took a 10-9 lead after one quarter. By halftime, Holton had 14 of Elgin's 17 points before finishing with a game-high 20.

Holton also had 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. Brandi Hernandez added 7 points, all in the second half, for Elgin.

Lutheran used balanced scoring. Emily Luedke led the Crusaders with just 10 points, but 6 other players scored at least 5.

"I think we ran out of gas at the end," said Elgin coach Angie Hudson. "That's really the big thing for us. Our key players ran out of gas and didn't perform at the end like they needed to do for us to win."

A coast-to-coast drive and layup by Caris Alan got Elgin (0-9) within 32-30 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. It was still 37-34 after Holton scored inside, but Lutheran then went on a 10-1 run to break the game open. Sophomore callups Laura Rushing and Callie Rezin scored the first 6 points in the run.

The Crusaders then put the game away by making their last 6 free throws.

Led by Holton and Kayla Jackson with 7, the Maroons out-rebounded the home team, 37-34.

Johnsburg 59, Jacobs 44: Jacobs simply couldn't put the ball in the basket.

Despite getting good looks, the Golden Eagles only shot 29 percent from the field In dropping a 59-44 decision to Johnsburg in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game in Algonquin Saturday night.

"We got good shots and we ran our offense pretty well," said Jacobs coach Ed Haugens. "We just couldn't make shots. Our reliable shooters had tough shooting nights. We didn't take advantage of opportunities."

Jacobs started the game like it would have a good shooting night. Making 3 of 4 shots with 3 assists, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead. Two layups by Hailey Cnota (assist) and a 10-footer by Markie Rahn (2 assists) gave the Golden Eagles an early 6-point advantage

Johnsburg (4-4), which didn't score until Michelle McDonald made 2 free throws with 5:39 left, answered with 7 straight points to take a 7-6 lead. A 3-pointer by Rebecca Staveteig gave the Skyhawks, winners of 4 in a row, the lead for good with 3:48 left in the first quarter.

Jacobs stayed within striking distance until the final 2:32 of the half.

Led by 2 putbacks by McDonald and a long 3-pointer from Megan Lopez, Johnsburg ended the half on a 7-2 run and led 34-27 at intermission.

Jacobs couldn't take advantage of a poor third quarter by Johnsburg. Despite making only 3 of 15 shots (20 percent) and 1 of 7 (14 percent) from 3-point range while committing 7 turnovers, Johnsburg still outscored Jacobs 11-8 in the quarter.

"We came down four straight possessions and jacked up 3s without a pass," said Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint. "I told the girls no more 3s. We needed to be more patient."

McDonald's 18-footer at the buzzer gave Johnsburg a 45-35 lead heading into the final quarter.

Jacobs couldn't cut into the Johnsburg lead during the final 8 minutes. McDonald led the Skyhawks with 25 points, which included 11 of 16 from the free-throw line. She also added 14 rebounds and 3 assists. Heather Miller scored 12 for the winners.

"Our transition defense tonight was terrible," said Haugens. "We were very lazy and lacked focus. We weren't consistent and had too many mental errors. We have too nice a team. We need to be more competitive."

Keri Bultman and Rahn led Jacobs with 10 points each. Rahn scored in double figures despite making only 3 of 16 from the field.

"It is a mental thing with Markie," said Haugens. "She is a competitive kid and she will get out of it. She is too good of shooter not to."

-- Dave Hess

Dundee-Crown 54, CL Central 29: Robyn Staudenmaier led a balanced D-C attack with 15 points as the Chargers (6-2) rolled to this Fox Valley Conference crossover win.

Rachel Wilhelmi added 10 points for the Chargers and Kate Pilson had 8.

Cary-Grove 66, Grayslake North 41: Jill Cole, Danielle Smith and Liz Bart each scored 13 points to lead Cary-Grove (6-1) to this Fox Valley Conference crossover win.

Prairie Ridge 45, McHenry 43: Emily Murphy scored 15 points and Anna Patras added 10 as the Wolves (3-6) hung on for a Fox Valley Conference crossover victory.

CL South 38, Grayslake Central 37: Molly Benoit scored 12 points and Jessica Taldone added 11 as the Gators (6-3) slipped past Grayslake Central in a Fox Valley Conference crossover. Carly Juliano added 7 points for CL South.

Huntley 52, Woodstock 42: Daisy Jara registered a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds while Katie Bergquist had 17 points and 6 rebounds to lead Huntley (5-2) past once-beaten Woodstock in a Fox Valley Conference crossover.

Shannon Callahan added 10 points and 3 assists for the Red Raiders.