Round Lake remains unbeaten
To say that visiting Antioch got off to a slow start in its North Suburban Conference girls basketball game at Round Lake on Saturday afternoon would be an understatement.
The Sequoits struggled mightily from the field, shooting 3-for-30 in the first half - and Round Lake bolted to a 22-3 lead before Antioch really knew what happened.
The Sequoits did manage to cut the lead to 9 points early in the second half, but the Panthers rolled to a 49-35 NSC Prairie Division victory to remain undefeated.
Round Lake (7-0, 3-0) took its 22-3 lead on an inside basket by junior Yassnia Rios with 4:57 left in the second quarter before Antioch (3-4, 1-1) clawed to within 22-10 at halftime.
A 3-point play by Round Lake senior Ashley Miller (11 points) boosted the Panthers' lead to 25-10 to open the third quarter, but 3-point baskets by Antioch teammates Katie Budd and Allie Anttila (team-high 12 points) cut the gap to 25-16 with 5:45 remaining in the period.
"We got the lead down to nine in the third quarter and we were fighting hard, but when you shoot the percentage we did today it's going to be hard to win any game," said Antioch coach Tim Borries, whose team was outscored 16-3 in the first quarter. "I thought we rushed our shots a little today and we just didn't play under control."
After the Sequoits had cut the lead to 25-16, a 3-point play by Round Lake senior Labrenthia Murdock (game-high 14 points), a shot in the lane by Miller, and a rebound basket by Murdock boosted the Panthers' lead back to 30-18 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.
"We thought this was going to be a battle and I was a little surprised how well we played in the first quarter, but I was surprised how poorly we played in the second quarter," said Round Lake coach Gary Edge, whose team outscored Antioch 18-10 in the third quarter. "I thought we played really well in the third quarter, we were better fundamentally, and played a little better defense."
Round Lake continued to pull away in the third quarter. The Panthers went on a 10-point run to end the period with a rebound basket by sophomore Chanee Brown that gave them a commanding 40-20 advantage entering the final eight minutes.
Brown scored 8 points in Round Lake's balanced scoring attack, while senior teammate Amber Phillips chipped in 6 points.
"Murdock, Miller, and Phillips all played well and contributed to our victory today," Edge said. "I thought we did a pretty good job, and (Antioch) beat Grant the other night by a point so I was very pleased."