Prospect 61, Elk Grove 44

Rachel Hunt hit baskets from inside and outside.

Prospect's 6-foot sophomore forward also rebounded, assisted, blocked shots, drove to the basket and ran the floor on the fastbreak.

When she was done, she probably played the best game of her career with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 4 assists to help lead the Knights girls basketball team to a 61-44 triumph over Elk Grove at the Charles A. Aldrich Gymnasium.

"Rachel had a fabulous game," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly after the Mid-Suburban East contest. "She's been playing well all season, but this was ten times better than any time."

Elk Grove sophomore Ashley Capotosto was quite impressive herself, netting a game-high 24 points despite taking a bump on her knee late in the first half.

The two sophomores, both No. 33, scored the game's first 10 points.

"It will be exciting to watch them match up for the next three years," Kelly said. "Rachel knows Ashley from AAU basketball so I think she's been dreaming of playing against her."

The Knights (10-4, 2-2) played several minutes in the first half without leading scorer Megan Murray because of foul trouble.

"The bench stepped up," Kelly added "Sarah Winans (freshman) did a good job when Megan was out and Megan Geraghty played well defensively and rebounding."

Capotosto's 3-pointer brought Elk Grove (10-4, 2-2) to within 14-11 but Prospect went on an 11-2 run to take control, getting two big 3-pointers from Danielle Brucci (12 points, 4 steals, 3 assists).

"Give Prospect credit," said Elk Grove coach Jim Wills. "Brucci hit some big shots, when we guarded her and when we didn't.

"We were too one-dimensional. We need other people to step up and score. We can't put it all in Ashley's hands."

The Grenadiers battled back within 31-27 early in the third quarter on Capotosto's 15-footer, but Prospect pulled away with a 13-4 run, including Hunt's 3-pointer.

"We had two tough games against state-ranked teams (Buffalo Grove and Wheeling) before this," Hunt said. "So it was nice to get a win heading into next week (Dundee-Crown tournament). The experience of playing in those games really helped us."

"We knew Capotosto was their best player and we wanted to stop her," added Murray, who had 4 rebounds. "We're going to see some good teams next week so it was good to get this win."

Olivia Roback handed out 7 assists for the Grenadiers while Kristy Ottosen had 6 points and Maggie Fries 5 points. Sophomore Lexi Glennon added 7 points for Prospect while junior Alyssa Glennon had 4 points.

"Obviously we're disappointed," Wills said. "We had four days to prepare and we would have liked to had a better result. But we'll get another chance to see them."