Hoffman breaks away from St. Viator for win
Hoffman Estates' and St. Viator's girls basketball teams were never separated by more than 4 points in the first half of Monday's nonconference game in Arlington Heights.
The Hawks made sure that wouldn't be the case in the final 16 minutes.
After a free throw by the Lions' Jamie Blenner tied the game at 21-21 to start the second half, the Hoffman took off on a 15-0 run and never looked back in defeating St. Viator 56-41 in the Fr. Cahill Gymnasium.
A free throw by Jada Stotts (12 rebounds) started the big rally. Megan Fischer (17 points, 6 rebounds) followed with 2 free throws and a layup and Stotts added 2 more free throws.
Senior forward Megan Evans then scored on back-to-back put-backs for a 32-21 lead with 4:08 left in the third quarter.
Evans (8 points, 8 rebounds) was making her first appearance after missing the last two games with a concussion. Senior Megan Bernardoni added 11 points and 7 rebounds for the winners (8-2).
Hawks senior guard Carol King hit a layup at the first-half buzzer, which coach Mike Nocella felt helped spark the second-half surge.
"That helped, and my halftime speech," he joked. "The gym was lethargic and quiet and that's how we played in the first half."
"We played more as a team in the second half," said the 5-foot-11 Evans. "I wasn't keeping track of that run (15-0). But that's impressive. I'm proud of the way our team came together in the second half."
Susan Hohenadel led the Lions (6-4) with 14 points while Jamie Blenner added 9.
"I thought we were just flat tonight, our shots were off," said Lions senior guard Kelly Hendricks. "But we're going to come back strong for Nazareth Academy (home game) on Wednesday,"
"Hoffman is a physical team," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. "We tried to force a few too many passes and had a few more turnovers than normal. But it's just a blip on the radar. The girls will move forward."
Wheeling 67, Neuqua Valley 45: On a bitterly cold Monday night that was good for sitting home and sipping cocoa, Neuqua Valley hosted Wheeling, the second-ranked team in the state.
The cocoa would have tasted better.
The visiting Wildcats, led by all-stater Ashley Wilson's 21 points, 6 steals, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, took care of the host Wildcats 67-45 in the nonconference contest.
"Our goal is to just come out and dominate," said Wilson, who was 11-for-12 from the free-throw line and also stepped out and hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. "Don't let them think they can play with us."
That goal was pretty much taken care of in the first quarter as undefeated Wheeling (11-0), a contender for the state title, built a 20-9 lead over Neuqua.
Neuqua was missing starting center McKenzie Hughes, who like Wilson, stands over 6 feet.
To take over in the middle, Neuqua coach Mike Williams called up two freshmen - Rachael Ross and Danielle Stanciel - to the varsity before last week's game against St. Charles North. Guarding a player of Wilson's strength and skills was a tall order for the newcomers.
"I don't know that McKenzie would have made a difference in this game, but, we're a better team with her in the lineup," Williams said. "Our freshmen have really gone to school early, playing against Kelsey Smith last week and then tonight against Wilson."
Wheeling coach Shelly Wiegel was pleased with her team's performance and talked about Wilson's effect on the game.
"Our team is moving the ball so well," Wiegel said. "We have a lot of possessions where the ball doesn't even touch the floor. Ashley is amazing. The steals, the blocks, the rebounds, the points are great. But she does so many other things. She makes people adjust their shots and adjust their defense. They try to game plan around her and she still finds ways to do all those great things for us."
Bianca Szafarowicz scored 19 for the Wildcats, and Janelle Cannon added 16.
"Neuqua is a fast team and they can shoot the three," Wiegel said. "We tried to neutralize them so they never got any momentum."
Fremd 55, Glenbard North 45: Mid-Suburban West leading Fremd improved to 8-2 as Gianna Abruzzo (17 points) and Taylor Glassmann (13 points and two 3-pointers) led the offense for the host Vikings in the nonconference game.
Jessi Wiedemann and Sam Thelin also had 3-pointers for the Vikings.
Elk Grove 82, Addison Trail 22: Krystina Leazer (21 points), Ashley Capotosto (15), Dani Goranson (10) and Katie Naughton (10) all reached double figures for visiting Elk Grove (5-5) in the nonconference game.
New Trier 51, Palatine 37: Sophomore Katie Scovic (10 points) and senior Katie MacFabe (9) led Palatine (2-8) in the Sweet 16 contest.
Boys
James Hurley had a game-high 13 points and two 3-pointers and Mike Cornely and John Angotti added 8 points apiece for host Buffalo Grove (7-1) in a 64-38 nonconference win over Prairie Ridge.