Prospect stopped by Johnsburg

Perhaps no one thought a young Prospect girls basketball team would start out the season with a 13-3 record.

But that's exactly where the Knights stand after a hard-fought 51-45 loss to a Johnsburg team that lost to Class 3A champ Marshall in the supersectional a year ago.

Coach Martha Kelly's Knights finished a respectable 2-2 in the 26th annual Dundee-Crown Charger Classic, placing sixth among the 16 teams.

"Last year, we were eighth," said Knights senior shooting guard Danielle Brucci, who scored a team-high 13 points with 4 rebounds. "This year, we are sixth. We wanted to improve. So we did that."

Johnsburg (10-5) did a lot of things well against the Knights, particularly switching to a 1-2-2 defense in the second half which helped cut down the Knights' perimeter shooting.

Prospect converted four of its 5 3-pointers in the first half, including three from Brucci.

"It was really frustrating," Brucci said. "I just couldn't hit anything in the second half. I just have to stay positive. They went to that 1-2-2 defense and it worked really well for them. We didn't knock down our shots. But they're a really good team."

The Skyhawks return three starters from their supersectional team which lost 60-37 to Marshall.

Junior guard Danielle Slivka led the winners with 19 points and 10 rebounds while sophomore Melissa Dixon and senior Heather Miller each added 9 points.

Brucci's third 3-pointer gave Prospect a 25-23 lead late in the first half. The game was tied at 25-25 at intermission.;

Bartlett started the second half with a 9-2 run and never trailed again.

Lexi Glennon (5 points) hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 34-30 but Johnsburg never let the Knights closer.

Alyssa Glennon added 9 points for Prospect, followed by Sarah Winans (7), Rachel Hunt (6) and Lexi Glennon (5).

Brucci, Winans and Rachel Hunt each had 4 rebounds.

"They did a good job changing defenses on us," Kelly said. "They went to that 1-2-2 zone which we saw only one time in the first half. We just didn't pass well in the third quarter and didn't knock down shots we should have me. And good teams do not do that."

Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint knew the Knights had a balanced scoring attack which doesn't feature anyone averaging more than 8 points.

"We didn't key on anyone," he said. "Prospect is the epitome of a "team". They were hurting us from the outside so we had to switch to the 1-2-2 zone at half. We had to change the speed of the game."