Wrap: Defense keys South Elgin's big triumph
The South Elgin girls basketball team entered Tuesday night's nonconference matchup against Glenbard East with both home court advantage and a height advantage.
However, the Storm took nothing for granted, pressuring Glenbard East with full-court man coverage just one minute into the game, helping aid a 15-5 first quarter lead.
The Rams refused to quit countering with an early full-court press, while picking up the pace as the second quarter got under way. In the end the Storm prevailed via a 57-49 conclusion.
Junior center Courtney Kumerow and junior guard Genevieve Johnson combined for 10 points early to get the Storm on top. Kumerow (12 points, 8 rebounds) pulled down 5 rebounds in the first quarter alone giving South Elgin ample scoring opportunities.
Glenbard East cut the lead to 8 points before the break, sparked by a quick second-quarter drive from Kelsey Taylor. After a scoreless first, Taylor went on to lead all scorers with 23 points including 11 points during the third quarter.
"Kelsey had a nice game, but it takes more than one to win a game," said Glenbard East coach Nicole Miller. "South Elgin had a balanced attack offensively with three girls scoring in the double-digits."
Despite the height advantage, Glenbard East did a nice job of limiting points from the inside for South Elgin (12-12).
But the Storm made adjustments, and Johnson (5 assists, 2 steals, 3 rebounds) provided consistent scoring throughout, collecting 15 points to lead the South Elgin attack.
"I thought we played well early," said Storm coach Tim Prendergast. "I kept thinking we could extend the lead, but we weren't finishing out quarters well. Glenbard did a nice job of doubling down on us inside."
South Elgin earned its largest lead of the game following the break going on an 11-5 run to extend the lead to 39-25 before the Rams would close the third quarter out on a 9-2 run to get back to within 7.
"I felt we could've played better down the stretch," said Prendergast. "Give Glenbard credit. The wanted it, and they hustled in the end. They play a tough schedule, and they have some very nice players."
With 8 rebounds and 6 points, Elizabeth Erb helped keep the Rams alive. Ashley Farrell came off the bench to add 5 points, all during the final quarter and Jackie Foreman also scored 5 points.
For the Storm, Alexa Kruel finished with 14 points while Dijon Smith contributed with 5 rebounds, 6 points, a block and a steal. Amanda Sieverding recorded 6 points.
"Amanda came through for us late," Prendergast said. "I'm pleased with the win. I saw some great things from our girls, and as for mistakes, there is nothing we can't fix."
With the loss, Glenbard East fell to 8-16 on the season.
"They outplayed us here," said Miller of the Storm. "They executed better than we did. They played the better game."
Rosary 59, Aurora Central Catholic 13:ŒThe Royals (19-5, 11-2) won their third straight Suburban Catholic Conference game.
Jordan Rettig led all scorers with 14 points and Lane Richmond added 8 points. The Chargers dropped to 1-22 on the season.
St. Francis 43, Immaculate Conception 39:ŒThe way St. Francis junior center Jamie Stefely sees it, her role as the team's first post player off the bench means she usually has some catching up to do when she enters a game.
In Tuesday's Suburban Catholic Conference girls basketball game against visiting Immaculate Conception, Stefely wasted little time getting right into the swing of things. As soon as she entered the game with the score tied 7-7 and three minutes left in the opening quarter, the 6-foot Stefely hit a short jumper.
She then added a putback as the Spartans (11-12, 3-9) took a 13-10 lead into the second period against a Knights team that had beaten them earlier this season in SCC play.
This time around the game went back and forth before the Spartans pulled out a 43-39 victory thanks in large part to 18 points and 6 rebounds from Stefely.
"I just want to start getting pumped up," she said of her strategy upon entering games. "Everyone else is already warmed up out there. Getting a quick score or two gets me fired up."
After tallying 6 points in the first half, Stefely scored 6 points in each of the final two quarters to finish with a season-high 18 for the game. Christina Belniak, who had a game-high 6 assists on the night, hooked up with her post player for a trio of big baskets in the second half, including one that put the hosts on top 41-34 with 2:03 left to play.
"I had a lot of help from my teammates," said Stefely, who added that it also took a solid team effort on defense to slow the Knights' Erin Hayes.
"Our goal was to try and shut her down and we had a lot of help defense," she said.
Spartans coach Leslie Fay-Dehn is well aware of Hayes' scoring abilities. Not only did the IC guard scorch the Spartans the last time they met, but she had 12 points in the first half before getting blanked in the second half.
"She did a lot of damage the first time and scored 30-something points," Fay-Dehn said. "We worked on the kids playing better team defense. We had contributions from a lot of kids."
Jennifer Eldridge had 8 points and 8 rebounds for St. Francis, Shannon Phillips had 6 points and 4 assists and Kelly Reinke added 6 points.
For the Knights, Hayes led the way with 12 points, while Erin Dunne had three 3-pointers and 9 points, and Mary Kate Manion added 8 points.
"It was a good game that went back and forth," IC coach Dan Murray said. "It was just a matter of who was going to get that one little push and they got it in the fourth quarter and we didn't."
After leading just 31-30 after three quarters, St. Francis opened the final quarter with a 10-4 run to take command. Stefely had three baskets during the stretch, with Reinke and Eldridge also scoring key baskets.
-- Stan Goff
Boys basketball
Bartlett 76, Maine West 65:ŒBartlett boys basketball coach Jim Wolfsmith has said time and time again that his team has depth.
And that rang true once again as the Hawks' top three scorers on the night netted 57 points in a 76-65 nonconference win over the Maine West Warriors.
"It's a theme that I've repeated so many times," Wolfsmith said. "We have so many offensive threats that teams have to choose who to stop."
With 17 second-half points and three 3-pointers, Cory Hrynyk led the way with 24 points while Marc Little added 18 points and Luke Labedzki 15 for the Hawks (15-6).
"It's great having a balance on the perimeter," Hrynyk said. "It's a good team effort. That's what makes this team so special."
After a slow start to the game, with the Hawks clinging to a 32-28 lead at the break, Hrynyk opened up a 10-2 run in the third quarter after nailing a 3-pointer.
The Hawks went on to score 24 points in the quarter to take a 56-46 lead over the Warriors (5-17).
Little kept the momentum going with a steal for a layup followed by another basket and 5 points for Hrynyk to start the fourth.
"Marc Little in the middle of the field is a dangerous creature," Wolfsmith said. "He did a nice job driving to the hole and also getting the ball to our outside guys."
The Hawks went on to take the largest lead of the game minutes later after baskets by Marcell Randell and Kamil Janton for a 72-50 lead.
The Hawks finished the game shooting over 60 percent, but it took the strong 48-point second half to win the game after a slow start led to an early 12-9 deficit after one quarter of play.
"I'm getting tired of that slow start stuff," Wolfsmith said. "We just settled for poor jump shots early."
"Everyone gets to a slow start, and I don't know why," Hrynyk said.
After falling to a 5-0 deficit to begin the game, the Warriors went on a 10-2 run keyed by 6 points from Jimmy Orlowski.
The Warriors also made a run near the end as Tommy Solis netted 6 of his team-leading 21 points in the final 4 minutes of play. Orlowski finished the night with 17 points.
-- Seth Hancock
Men's basketball
Boyd honored:ŒFormer Batavia star and Judson University senior was recently named the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I men's basketball Co-Player of the Week.
Justen Boyd averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in helping Judson stay undefeated in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Against Trinity International, Boyd scored a career-high 35 points. He scored 28 in the second half.
Baseball
Cougars banquet:ŒThe Kane County Cougars' 2008 winter banquet and silent auction, sponsored by Provena Mercy Medical Center, takes place this Friday at Riverside Receptions and Conference Center in Geneva.
Tickets are still available.
Former Cub and four-time batting champion Bill Madlock will serve as keynote speaker. Madlock will be joined at the podium by Cougars manager Aaron Nieckula, 2007 Team MVP Jermaine Mitchell and Cougars General Manager Jeff Sedivy.
The evening's festivities kick off at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and the start of the silent auction and raffle. All proceeds from the silent auction and raffle benefit Ozzie's Outreach, the Cougars' charitable foundation.
Dinner will be served at 7 p.m. with the auction concluding when the speakers program begins at 8 p.m.
A limited quantity of banquet tickets are still available. Fans can secure their seats by ordering online at www.kccougars.com, calling the Cougars front office at (630) 232-8811 or in person at the Cougars box office.