Acosta, Maine West top Palatine
Samantha Acosta missed several games midway through last season with a fractured right hand.
This summer, she was absent for about a week after suffering a sprained left hand.
But Acosta lent a big helping hand Monday night for the Maine West girls basketball team in its 28th season opener under Hall of Fame coach Derril Kipp.
The junior sharpshooter scored 12 of the host Warriors' first 14 points and finished with a game-high 21 points (including three 3-pointers) as West posted a 48-41 nonconference victory over Palatine, whose coach Leslie Schock was making her varsity debut in that position.
"It was really nice to see Leslie Schock," Kipp said. "She was a quality player (at Elgin and Northwestern) and she will be a quality coach. I wish her the best."
Pirates all-area forward Katie MacFabe wished she could have played but the 6-foot-2 senior center suffered a sprained ankle in Saturday's practice. She hopes to be ready for Friday's game against Rockton Hononegah in the Dundee-Crown tourney.
"With their center out, that changed some of our defensive plans," Kipp said. "We didn't have to double down."
Kipp got 8 rebounds from junior Megan O'Neil (12 points) while senior Kelsey Hargesheimer added 6 rebounds and junior Ellen Coogan 5.
"I thought we came out with a lot of intensity in the first half," said Hargesheimer, a 5-9 forward who also handed out 6 assists and had 3 steals. "Sam hit some nice shots and I thought we played better defense in the first half."
Acosta said the Pirates did a nice job defending her after her 12 points and two 3s in the first five minutes.
"They were playing real good defense," Acosta said. "Every time I got the ball, they had someone helping out, too. We had to start setting screens to get open."
Junior Jenny Solberg led the Pirates with 8 points, followed by junior Katie Nawrot (7), sophomore Katie Mnichowicz (6) and junior Megan Spencer (6).
"Not having Katie (MacFabe) was a big factor," Schock said. "A lot of what were trying to do centers around her. We didn't have a lot of time to make adjustments since she got hurt Saturday. We had to put a 5-7 player in the post."
Schock found a couple of bright spots.
"I was happy with how Katie Mnichowicz did in her varsity debut," Schock said. "She showed she belonged. And Jenny Solberg stepped up and showed some good offensive output."
Acosta hit back-to-back 3s and added a layup to give West an 8-0 lead it never relinquished. Palatine pulled to within 4 in the second quarter but trailed 30-19 at half. The Pirates never got closer than 6 in the second half.
Shaina Yalda (4 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) ran the offense for the hosts.
"Ellen Coogan (6 points, 4 steals, 1 blocked shot) did a good job," Kipp added. "She hit two big shots in the second half, had a bunch of deflections and 5 rebounds. Emily Hargesheimer did a steady job.
"For a first game, both teams were pretty young and inexperienced. It showed at both ends."
"If we hadn't played such poor defense in the first half, we might have been right there at the end," Schock said.
Prospect 44, Libertyville 36: Rachel Hunt scored a game-high 16 points with a 3-pointer and Alyssa Baker added 12 for the Knights in their nonconference season-opening win in Mount Prospect. Sarah Winans also had a 3-pointer for the hosts.
Grant 46, Fremd 37: Visiting Fremd was led by Taylor Glassman (17 points, 3 assists) and Gianna Abruzzo (11 points, 6 rebounds).
The Vikings made only 3-of-17 free throws in the non conference season opener in Fox Lake. Fremd senior starter Sam Thelin was out with an injury.
Mundelein 63, Glenbrook North 31: Toni Knar scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Mustangs to a victory in their own Thanksgiving tournament. Teammate Kelsey O'Connor added 12 points for Mundelein, which had stormed out to a 38-15 advantage by halftime.
Wauconda 38, Crystal Lake Central 29: Tammy Ellis scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory in nonconference play. Aimee Prudhomme tallied a team-high 6 rebounds for Wauconda.
Prairie Ridge 59, Vernon Hills 52: Julie Schwartz and Shannon Hennelly each had big fourth quarters to lead Prairie Ridge to a victory in the Mundelein Thanksgiving Tournament. Schwartz finished with 17 points while Hennelly added 13 points. Sarah Krippinger led Vernon Hills with 18 points, including 3 3-pointers. Alana Coy added 13 points for the Cougars.