Charger Classic at Dundee-Crown
The bad news for Buffalo Grove's girls basketball team is its perfect record took a hit in Saturday's championship game of the 25th annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.
Fenwick won its fourth straight crown by defeating Buffalo Grove 60-52 in overtime.
The good news is that the last time the Bison won a state championship in 2000 they didn't win the Charger Classic.
"These kids have a goal to win the state title," said Bison Hall of Fame coach Tom Dineen, who was honored prior to the game for his retirement from teaching after the school year. "So we've still got to make changes. Fortunately there are still five to six weeks to do that."
Sophomores Tricia Liston (23 points) and Katlyn Payne (16) helped lead the Friars (16-2) past the Bison (16-1), who were ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
The Bison, whose only lead was 2-0, were paced by senior Ellen Ayoub's 21 points.
It was Fenwick's seventh Charger Classic title in eight years.
"I would have loved to have seen Tom (Dineen) win the tourney if we didn't," said Fenwick coach Dave Power. "I was very proud of how our girls handled their pressure their pressure."
Kaitlin Hillner had the pressure shot of the game for the Bison. The 5-foot-6 junior drilled a 3-pointer from the side with 23 seconds left to tie it at 50-50 in regulation.
"That was just huge by Kaitlin," said the Loyola-bound Ayoub, who connected for a pair of 3s.
The Bison proceeded to force a jump ball and gain possession again for a final shot. However, one was blocked and then Maggie Mocchi (13 points) had to rush an off-balance 15-footer at the buzzer that hit the rim.
In overtime, Fenwick scored the first 8 points on 2 free throws from Liston, two from Lauren Gula, a layup by Claire Liston and 2 free throws from Tricia Liston.
"Tricia was on fire," said Payne, who lives in Schaumburg. "There's no other way to describe her."
Payne also described her game as a bit painful.
"I'm playing on broken foot," she said "I'm taking Motrin, I'm going to be out for two weeks now to heal it. So I really wanted to win this game because I knew I wouldn't be able to play next Thursday."
BG will host Fenwick at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a locally-televised game on Comcast.
"Since they came into the game No. 1 in the state and we were No. 5, we knew they might feel they had that edge," Payne added " I think that's what motivated us."
BG was 7-of-19 from 3-point range and 19-of-50 from the floor. Fenwick was 6-of-18 from long range and 18-of-43 for the contest.
Heather Nisbet and Lauren Angotti also had big 3s for the Bison. Allison Mocchi had 6 steals and Ayoub 5.
"We had good looks all night long," Dineen said. "We just didn't shoot well. I thought the big difference was the first eight minutes (18-9 deficit). We didn't play good defense or take care of the ball."
Fremd 38, Prospect 29:ŒJust like Fremd, Dani Videka is starting to play her best basketball.
Videka's increased playing time after recovering from knee problems is one of the many reasons Fremd (7-9) came away with a 2-2 record at the Charger Classic after its victory over Prospect (11-7).
The 6-foot senior scored 7 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to help the Vikings claim the seventh-place game of the 16-team tourney.
Just one day earlier, Fremd coach Dave Yates said the "Dani of old" was back.
Videka underwent ACL surgery in March, then tore her MCL in the knee during gym class this fall.
So it's been a slow process for the three-year varsity player to work herself back into the starting lineup.
She tore her ACL with nine game left last season after leading the Vikings in scoring eight times.
"Sometimes, there's pain but I just have to play through it," she said. "We've been playing tough team all along so it was nice to see some more in the winner's bracket of this tournament. We played really good team defense."
Fremd limited Prospect to 10 points in the second half after leading 22-18 at the intermission.
Megan Murray's 3-pointer from the top of the key tie the game at 8-8, but Fremd surged ahead with a 6-0 run on a layup by Kaitlin Jones, a free throw by Videka and a 3-point play by Lauren Zaworski.
Prospect went ahead 16-14 on a pair of free throws by Lexi Glennon but Fremd took the lead for good with a 9-0 run, ignited by Tracey Nachtsheim's 3-pointer.
Jones led Fremd with 11 points while Nachtsheim added 6 with 4 rebounds. Melissa Castles pulled down 3 rebounds with 4 points.
"We were really concentrating on our defense and getting stops," Videka added.
"Fremd did a good job on defense," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. "And they played hard."
Kelly's club was led by Murray's 9 points while Alyssa Glennon added 6 Rachel Hunt and Lexi Glennon each had 5 rebounds.
"We've been working rally hard in practice," Videka said. "So it really helped get us ready to play the tough teams we saw here."
Now the Vikings will return to their home floor on Jan. 8 against Rolling Meadows for the first time since their season opener on Nov. 12 against Evanston.
Regina 59, D-C 35: Call it what you want, Dundee-Crown's girls basketball team is in a funk.
For the second straight year, Dundee-Crown went 0-4 in its own tournament, losing to Regina Domincan Saturday morning 59-35 in the 25th annual Charger Classic, sponsored by the Daily Herald.
Regina's defense smothered the Chargers (7-8), especially in the second half. Dundee-Crown committed 28 turnovers, allowing 8 Panther steals, and were out-rebounded 30-21.
"Today was our first game playing man-to-man the whole game. It was a challenge to us and we accomplished it," said Panthers guard Julia Stoner.
While Stoner's effort didn't show up in the box score, her defensive pressure gave the Panthers (8-11) an edge over the Chargers.
"When Julia Stoner is able to put pressure on someone's point guard, to cause turnovers, to set the table, she played the entire game -- the four kids that play with her really benefit," said Regina coach Jim Russo.
"She's the wheel that makes us go round."
In the second half, the Chargers committed 19 turnovers. Regina capitalized, increasing its lead to 21 after an 11-0 run from forcing those turnovers and getting easy layups. Brittany Johnson scored 6 of her game-high 14 points during the run.
The game was tied at 22 in the second quarter, but Kelsey Traynoff's consecutive 3-point shots ending the first half gave the Panthers a 6-point halftime lead. They never looked back.
Ending the tournament on the losing end really puzzled Chargers coach Joe Komaromy.
"It's a little embarrassing to play four homes games in your own tournament and not win a game," said Komaromy.
The Chargers started off in good rhythm, leading the Panthers 12-9 after the first quarter. Robyn Staudenmaier kept the Chargers close with her play on the offensive end. It was the second quarter that ended any hope as the turnovers piled up.
"We start turning the ball over and they increased the pressure on defense and they had us on our heels in the second half and part of the second quarter," said Komaromy.
Staudenmaier led the Chargers with 12 points.
Johnsburg 55, Maine West 51: Michelle McDonald's 24 points boosted Johnsburg to victory with a 13th place finish at Dundee-Crown. Melissa Dixon scored 14 points, including 6-for-8 from the free throw line.
Mary Kusner led Maine West with 14 points. Erin Baumstark scored 13 points, and Brittany Begrowicz scored 10 points for the Warriors.
Hononegah 53, Bartlett 39: The Bartlett girls basketball team would love to forget about Saturday's second quarter.
The Hawks scored only 2 points, turned the ball over 10 times and saw a tied game become a blowout, which eventually ended in a 53-39 Hononegah victory at the 25th annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.
"That quarter was the ballgame," Hawks coach Denise Sa7rna said. "We got a little frazzled."
Bartlett (5-11) led 15-11 with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. The Indians' Kate Young scored 4 points in the final 9 seconds of the quarter to tie the game.
Hononegah, which finished 11th with the victory, continued the run in the second quarter and opened up a 25-15 lead after Whitney Carroll hit a 3-pointer with 5:20 left. A basket by the Hawks' Christine Carlson 20 seconds later ended the run, but it turned out to be Bartlett's only points of the quarter. Later in the quarter the Hawks committed a turnover on five consecutive possessions as the Indians took advantage and went into halftime with a 36-17 lead.
For the quarter, Bartlett went 1 of 8 from the field and had 10 of its 29 turnovers.
"We trap all over the floor, make or miss," Indians coach Tim Bukoski said. "We hope in time that it does break opponents down."
Hononegah (14-4) stretched its lead to 22, 39-17, early in the third quarter.
The Hawks cut the deficit down to 43-30 heading into the fourth. A 3-pointer from Bartlett's Nicole Beck 1:10 into the quarter made the score 43-33.
"One thing I think we learned (in the tournament), and I think we displayed it a little in the second half, is how aggressive you have to be and how hard you have to play," Sarna said. "Our kids picked it up in the second. We played harder and worked harder."
But Hononegah responded with a 9-0 run to end any hopes of a Bartlett comeback.
Jacki Gulczynski led the Hawks with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Becca Cronin finished with 9 points, all on 3-pointers.
Evanston 41, SCN 40: A chance to tie. Two chances to win. But the St. Charles North girls basketball team couldn't find any nylon.
As a result, the North Stars fell to Evanston, 41-40, in the consolation championship game of the 25th annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic.
"I thought both (shots to win) were in," North junior guard Anna Conrad said. "They are a great team. They gave us good fight. It was great competition."
St. Charles North (10-4) trailed 41-39 when junior center Kelsey Smith was fouled. Smith hit the first free throw and Evanston called a 30-second timeout. Smith missed the second free throw.
The rebound bounced out to Kiley Hackbarth behind the 3-point line. She fired up a shot, which hit the front of the rim and Caitlin Winkelman grabbed another offensive rebound. Her 6-footer bounced on the rim twice before falling off as the buzzer sounded.
"I almost had a heart attack," Evanston coach Steve Wool said. "We caught a lucky break, but we put ourselves in the position to catch that break."
The Wildkits (12-6) took an 11-3 lead 3 minutes into the game and led 16-10 after the first quarter thanks in large part to the hot shooting of senior Darcel Retreage, who scored 9 of her game-high 14 points in the quarter. A defensive switch, putting Hackbarth on Retreage, in the second quarter helped slow down Evanston.
Trailing 19-10 the North Stars went on an 8-0 run, holding the Wildkits scoreless for more than five minutes. Three-pointers by Hackbarth and Nika Sircher cut the deficit to 19-18. A buzzer-beating basket by St. Charles North's Jenna Bell made it a 2-point game, 24-22 Evanston, at halftime.
The North Stars got the 6-foot-4 Smith, who only scored 3 points in the first half, involved early in the second half. Her basket with 3:15 left in the third quarter gave North a 30-27 lead, its largest lead since 3-0. Collier Clegg hit a 3-pointer with a minute left in the quarter to give the Wildkits a 34-32 lead going into the fourth.
A Hackbarth 3-pointer with 2:30 left tied the game at 37-37. Retreage had a steal and layup to give the Wildkits the lead again. Winkelman tied the game at 39-39 with 1:55 left.
Kim Davis's off-balance basket in the lane with 1:30 remaining gave Evanston a 41-39 lead. The Wildkits twice missed the front end of a 1-and-1 in the final 25 seconds giving the North Stars their chances to tie and win.
"First quarter we weren't patient with the ball. We had to start digging ourselves out of a hole," St. Charles North coach Katie Sauber said. "We started to take control of the pace and slowed it down."
Smith led St. Charles North with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Conrad added 9 points.
The North Stars lost two games at the tournament by a total of 3 points, a nice showing in their first appearance in arguably the top girls tournament in the state.
"Nice tournament, wish we could have finished better," Sauber said.
McAuley 68, Naperville Central 47: With a 44-25 lead at halftime, Mother McAuley kept the pace and never looked back, taking a 5th place finish. Chelsea Owens scored 14 points, while both Mary Stasaitis and Kayla Tisza scored 10 points apiece.
Kelley Hendrick scored 11 points for Naperville Central, and Claire Fleming added 10 points.
Resurrection 57, New Trier 44: Resurrection took a third place finish after defeating New Trier Saturday. Lisa Gariti and Hannah Hartman led Resurrection, each scoring 12 points. Becky Sweeney finished with 10 points for the Bandits.
Maeve Campbell led New Trier with a game-high 17 points, including a 7-for-8 performance at the line. Amy Hart added 13 points for the Trevians.