Spartans gain some revenge

As the Elgin Community College women's basketball team stepped onto the court for Thursday night's ISCC matchup against visiting McHenry County College, it became apparent the Spartans had something to prove.

For sophomores Cristin MacCarthy, De'Larissa Morris and Ariana Topps, perhaps it was going out in style as they played their final home game.

For everybody else, maybe it was to avenge a 2-point loss at the buzzer in McHenry earlier this season.

Whatever their motivation, the Spartans walked away with a 61-48 win.

Leading 25-22 at the half, the Spartans came out strong for the final 20 minutes. A 10-1 run in the first four minutes extended their lead to 35-23.

Ariana Topps and Jessica Turnage attacked the inside to account for 8 points.

Topps finished with a double-double, recording 12 points and 14 rebounds. Turnage (6 rebounds) led the Spartans with 13 points.

"They (ECC) were driving tonight and we weren't able to defend it," said McHenry coach Pam Mason. "We didn't hit the boards tonight and they did which created second and third chances that they capitalized on."

While Topps and Turnage combined for 20 rebounds, McHenry (13-16, 8-6) finished the game with just over 20 boards.

The Scots challenged ECC (14-14, 6-7) early, but Karin Herrera came off the Spartans bench to connect three times from long distance amid five lead changes in the first half.

Herrera finished with 11 points and 4 assists.

"We were trying to get a 10-point lead early, but we weren't making a lot of shots in the first half," said ECC coach Jerry McLaughlin. "We came out in the second half, and got it done right away. "When our shots started falling from all over the court, it put a lot of pressure on them."

The Scots' Heide Reeves led all scorers with 15 points and added 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.

"Heide had a great game tonight," Mason said. "She played great defensively and I can always count on her to be on fire. Still, it takes a whole team to get it done."

Morris finished with 11 points and 3 assists, and Meghan Staley-Gamble came off the bench to add 8 points and 4 rebounds.

"Everybody contributed and played hard tonight," McLaughlin said. "It was a good team win for us. Now we have to move forward and learn from this one."

The Scots' Lisa Beyer had 14 points and 4 rebounds, and Catherine Martin (4 points) grabbed 9 rebounds.