Schaumburg puts on clinic en route to win over Lyons
Schaumburg coach Bill Murmann expects one thing from his girls basketball team: execution.
He got it Saturday.
Murmann's polished Saxons were a lot shinier than nonconference visitor Lyons Township -- and the Saxons ran away with a 78-26 win.
"(We wanted) execution, just like any other game," Murmann said. "I'm happy that we executed and did what we needed to do. I'm also happy that we got quality time for all 11 kids."
The Saxons (10-0) never trailed, and after an early 14-2 run that included baskets by Gabrielle Blackwell, Drewann Pancratz and Kylie Castans, the Lions never got closer than 11.
But the key to the game was more than just an offensive effort.
Defensively, the Saxons turned off everything the Lions could do. There was just one instance where Lyons scored back-to-back baskets.
"We wanted to play really good defense and execute on offense," Blackwell said. "I think we did both. We balanced it out. Usually, we are a really good offensive team and our defense lacks.
"Today, I think our defense really stepped up, which caused breakaways and layups -- easy stuff."
Blackwell (19 points) and Kylie Castans (18) led the way. Their games were so strong that at one point during the third quarter, they both had more points on the board than Lyons.
"We've been working hard on our defense," Murmann said. "Our defense created a lot of our offense today."
Sara Hoffman (8) and Olya Cholewick (6) led the Lions.
"We (played) really well," Blackwell said. Usually when we get lead like this, we let up in the second half. Today, we kept on pushing. Everyone contributed and did a good job today."
The Saxons' Rachael Kahan (10) and Siobhan Cerney (8) came off the bench and made big contributions in the second half. Starters Taylor Kosla and Pancratz dropped in 6 apiece.
Schaumburg also got some help at the free-throw line by converting 22 of 26 shots. Blackwell sunk 9 of 9.
"We've shot free throws like no other lately," Blackwell said. "We've been trying to work on free-throw percentage -- trying to get that up to at least 80 percent."
"I'm really happy with our effort," Murmann said. "This is as close as we've come to a complete game all year long."
Buffalo Grove 71, Stevenson 46: Buffalo Grove (11-0), the top-ranked team in Class 4A, rolled with 10 3-pointers, including five from senior all-stater Maggie Mocchi (19 points), as the Bison captured a 71-46 victory over visiting Stevenson in a Sweet Sixteen contest.
Ellen Ayoub led all scorers with 20 points (three 3-pointers), while Allison Mocchi chipped in 10 points and Kaitlyn Hillner 8 as coach Tom Dineen notched career win No. 655.
Senior Katie Lee also had a 3-pointer for BG, which travels to Chicago on Tuesday night to face Marist in another Sweet Sixteen game.
Elk Grove 56, Glenbard West 55: Holding for 1 shot, Elk Grove junior Christy Ottosen took a pass from sophomore Olivia Roback and was fouled with 1.3 seconds left in Glen Ellyn.
Ottosen (13 points) hit the first of 2, then Roback (9 assists, 6 points) broke up the Hilltoppers' inbounds pass to give the Grenadiers their 10th win in 13 games in a 56-55 victory.
Sophomore Ashley Capotosto scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds, while Melissa Regan added 8 points.
Regan and Maggie Fries each hit 3-pointers for Elk Grove, which went up against a Glenbard West frontline that stood 6-feet, 6-feet and 5-11.
Naperville C. 36, Palatine 31: Good teams gut out victories on the worst of days, and at 10-2, Naperville Central definitely qualifies as a good team.
Saturday wasn't a good day, but the Redhawks persevered for a 36-31 Sweet Sixteen tournament victory over Palatine in Naperville. It was their fifth consecutive victory.
The Redhawks shot just 34 percent from the floor and committed 21 turnovers, but they won because whatever got into their water jug also migrated to Palatine's. The Pirates committed 27 turnovers and shot just 27 percent from the floor.
"We talked about the '83 White Sox, winning ugly," said Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum. "This isn't the first game that we've had like that, but I can't argue with the results. We're winning games. If you'd told me at the beginning of the season we'd be 10-2 I would've been pretty happy. And we can potentially get better."
Each team scored in single digits in the first and second quarters, with the Redhawks leading 15-14.
"That's usually our first quarter," said Redhawks junior guard Kelley Hendrick. "So after we came out of halftime, we decided we wanted to take the game into our hands and play the way we play."
Both teams found their range in the third, with Palatine scoring 14 to take a 28-26 lead going into the fourth.
"We had plenty of chances," said Pirates coach Ron Theberge. "We had plenty of opportunities. We're hurting ourselves. It's been that way with us with turnovers. This was a game we had an opportunity to win. We just gave the ball away. We had a lot of empty possessions."
One possession in particular bothered Theberge, the opening possession of the second half when some miscommunication resulted in a turnover before the Pirates could attack the defense.
"I always like to give credit to the other team," Theberge said. "They did some nice things, but really it's more of us really taking care of the basketball. … To start the second half we throw the ball right out of bounds. Nobody's even playing defense there. Those are more mental mistakes on our part."
The Pirates reverted to their stone-cold ways in the fourth. The Redhawks held them to just a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, by 6-foot-3 junior Katelyn MacFabe. MacFabe's 9 points led the Pirates.
"We didn't seize the opportunity today," Theberge said. "We're 2-10, and we're playing like a team that's 2-10 right now. We've got to get over the hump."
Naperville Central led 32-31 with 1:45 to play when the Pirates started fouling. Hendrick sealed the win with a pair of free throws, then Claire Fleming and Hendrick each added one in the final 1:03.
"They were more aggressive," said Theberge, noting his team only shot 2 free throws. "Until we become more aggressive and we get a little better with the basketball we're going to continue to do what we're doing."
-- Orrin Schwarz
Nazareth Academy 47, St. Viator 45: Senior Jenny Muench (14 points) hit a 3-pointer to pull the visiting Lions (3-7, 2-2) to within 2 points with 16 seconds left in the East Suburban Catholic Conference game.
The Lions fouled and Nazareth missed both free throws, setting up a final shot for St. Viator -- which missed in the final seconds.
"The kids played hard," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness, who also received 8 points from Susan Hohenadel and 7 from Colleen Nolan.
Johnsburg 63, Barrington 37: The host Fillies (3-9) were led by Lianne Davis (9 points, three 3-pointers), Shelby Whigham (6) and Lindsey Dulla (6) in the nonconference game in the Sweet 16 tournament.