Cary-Grove bounces back strong
Cary-Grove sophomore standout Meg Straumann scored her only 4 points of Monday's loss to Lake Zurich with 1:22 left in the game.
Straumann canned a 3-pointer, was fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to complete the 4-point play.
The Trojan sophomore guard made sure she scored early and often in Wednesday night's Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving Tournament finale against Rockton Hononegah.
Straumann scored 5 points in the first quarter including a 3-pointer en route to a 12-point effort as the Trojans got back on the winning track with a 58-42 win.
Straumann, who was 2-of-3 from 3-point range, also dished out 6 assists and had 5 steals.
"Myself and the team didn't play well Monday," said Straumann. "Lake Zurich is a very good team, but we didn't play well. We had a good team effort tonight. Our team defense was good tonight. I got off to a good start and I was able to have a good game."
Straumann had plenty of help from her teammates.
Claire Jakubicek led the Trojans (4-1) with 17 points and 4 assists. Liz Bart, who was 4-of-6 from 3-point range scored 16 points.
"My teammates did a great job of penetrating and dishing the ball to me and I was able to hit some 3s," said Bart. "We had a good practice (Tuesday) and we were really excited to play."
Tori Sandstrom added 10 for the winners.
The Trojans, who were a red hot 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, led 34-27 at halftime.
Cary-Grove salted the game away in the third quarter. Holding a slim 36-30 lead, the Trojans tallied 10 straight points to take a 46-30 advantage with a 1:22 left in the third quarter.
Three-pointers by Sandstrom and Bart along a pair of inside baskets by Jakubicek keyed the crucial run by the Trojans.
Cary-Grove, which made 24-of-44 shots from the floor for 55 percent, was 9-of-18 from 3-point range.
"We did a good job of penetrating, driving the lane and passing the ball to the open player," said Cary-Grove coach Rod Saffert. "We got good looks on our 3s and the kids hit the shots. We played well the last three-and-a half-quarters against Lake Zurich and played a solid four quarters tonight."