Huskies press the issue, stop Elk Grove
Full-court pressure was the story Friday night for the Hersey girls basketball team in a 57-37 victory over Elk Grove in an MSL East game.
The Grenadiers came out strong after the tip led by Ashley Capotosto (14 points, 4-for-6 at the free throw line).
Elk Grove had a 13-6 lead after the first quarter before their troubles started. Just before halftime, Capotosto got into foul trouble. Without her defensive and offensive presence, the Huskies produced a 7-0 run and trailed 28-23 at half.
"I felt we weren't especially playing to our ability. But we brought ball pressure in the second half, especially on the perimeter shooting," said Huskies coach Mary Fendley.
At the start of the second half, Hersey (6-3) initiated full-court pressure and brought double teams at Capotosto. That enabled a 10-0 Huskies spurt led by Kelly and Megan Rogowski, leaving the Grenadiers in a five-minute scoreless drought. The Rogowski sisters totaled 38 points between them.
And once the Huskies took a 38-33 lead midway through the third quarter, they never looked back.
"We weren't hitting screens and getting rebounds," said Huskies guard Kelly Rogowski, "Coach (Fendley) said we need to make a stop, keep morale and not to let them see our frustration. Our press tired them out."
The Huskies' defense held Elk Grove to only 9 points in the second half. The defensive presence of Hersey forward Maddie Swan was a factor in Capotosto fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
"We need to execute on both offense and defense," said Grenadiers coach Ryan Sikorsky. "Our offense comes from the defense. They were able to put points up and it messed up what were trying to do as well. We also didn't shoot well after Capotosto got into foul trouble, and Hersey has kids that can make that outside shot."
After the 10-0 run, the Grenadiers (4-5) had a five-minute scoreless drought as the Huskies built a comfortable lead.
"The last game and a half, I though tour 'D' wasn't very good," said Fendley, "Even though our last 6 quarters we've had bad defense. But we came through in the second half with the full-court pressure. We put out a great effort today."
Maine West 61, Glenbrook North 42: Junior Megan O'Neill scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the host Warriors (7-3, 2-1) evened their record in the Central Suburban North.
Junior right-handed sharpshooter Sam Acosta (7 rebounds, 3 steals) added 13 points with three 3-pointers while and Kelsey Hargesheimer added 9 points and 4 rebounds.
For the third consecutive game, senior point guard Shaina Yalda (6 points) handed out 8 assists.