Smith hits 1,000th point, C-G downs Chargers
Cary-Grove senior Danielle Smith didn't really know why her team was congratulating her as the Trojans headed into the locker room at halftime.
Smith did spin past 3 Dundee-Crown defenders to sink a layup as time expired and give the visiting Trojans a 16-15 lead over Dundee-Crown.
The layup, important in the context of the game, took on a whole new meaning when Smith realized her teammates were acknowledging her 1,000th career point. Smith finished with a game-high 15 points, leading the Trojans to a 49-37 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division victory in Carpentersville.
"At the beginning of the season coach (Rod Saffert) said something about it, but I didn't even know," Smith said of her milestone.
Smith becomes the first Cary-Grove player to reach 1,000 career points since Amy Kaplan (1,117) achieved the feat during the 2003-04 season. Trojans' coach Rod Saffert said that in total either 5 or 6 players have reached the mark since Eve Perry hit the milestone in the mid-1980s.
While Smith's historic basket gave the Trojans a 1-point lead going into the second half, her next one capped off an 18-0 run.
The Trojans (21-3, 7-0) ran the floor in the third quarter to take a 32-15 lead with 3:29 left in the period. Dundee-Crown (10-13, 3-4) had 13 turnovers in the third quarter, while Cary-Grove shot 10 of 12 from the floor. Overall, the Trojans finished the second half going 13 of 15. The Trojans were just 26 percent (6 of 23) in the first half.
"We had one bad stretch against them," Chargers coach Joe Komaromy said. "We can't let those runs happen. We have to cut down on the turnovers. We came out in third quarter and threw the ball away."
With 13 turnovers, Dundee-Crown was outsocred 24-4 in the third quarter. The Chargers went just 2 of 9 from the floor in the period.
While the Chargers struggled, Cary-Grove had several hot hands to choose from.
After going 1 of 5 in the first half, Meg Straumann (13 points, 3 steals, 3 assists) was 3 of 4 in the third quarter. Jill Cole (14 points, 4 steals) was 3 of 6 in the first half and rebounded to go 3 of 3 in the third quarter.
"We got more energetic," Saffert said. "I told them you need to play your game."
Dundee-Crown rebounded to score 18 points in the fourth quarter, led by 7 points from center Kate-Leigh Pilson (11 points) and 4 points from Robyn Staudenmaier (11 points, 4 steals, 2 blocks).
The fourth-quarter efforts may have some long-lasting effects for the Chargers.
"Our kids played really hard," Komaromy said. "We're going to be in a regional together. Our kids will be prepared."