Conant's patience, tough defense solves Schaumburg
Thanks to a snow day, the Conant girls basketball players didn't have to attend classes Friday.
But for most of the final three quarters of their game against visiting Schaumburg, they still had to do some problem-solving.
The difficulty in question was the Saxons' 1-3-1 zone defense, and the Cougars used a little patience and some tough defense of their own to find the right answer.
Conant senior Emma Loos scored a game-high 13 points, and classmate Lauren Jason contributed 8 points and 5 steals in a 43-30 Mid-Suburban League West Division victory.
"They stopped us - we were struggling," said Loos of Schaumburg's second-quarter switch from man-to-man to zone.
Schaumburg forced Conant into some poor shot selections, and the Saxons were able to rally and take their only lead of the game late in the third quarter when 6-foot forward Sarah McGinn (9 points, 6 rebounds) sank a layup.
But Conant junior guard Ashley Lindeman (12 points) hit a shot at the third-quarter buzzer to put the Cougars back in front for good.
"We knew we had to execute," said Jason, "and when we were able to keep the lead (in the fourth quarter) we forced them to go back to man-to-man."
It was Jason who led the Conant fourth-quarter charge. The senior had 3 of her steals in the late going and sank 4 clutch free throws down the stretch.
The Cougars outscored Schaumburg 16-4 in the fourth quarter.
"Lauren's a good player," said Conant coach Dan Travers. "She missed a couple of years due to an ACL injury, and now she's getting back in the groove."
Senior guard Rachael Kahan led Schaumburg with 12 points while Marissa Ross chipped in 5 for Conant.
The Cougars finished the game 2 of 9 from 3-point range, while Schaumburg didn't attempt a 3 until the final minute of the game, missing three straight.
"We hung tough," Travers said. "Schaumburg's a good young team, and Bill (Schaumburg coach Murmann) had a good game plan. We knew we'd have to play 32 minutes. It's never easy going up against this team."