Maroons can't stave off Streamwood's comeback
Heads or tails was the name of the game as the Streamwood girls basketball team entered Elgin's Chesbrough Field House for Tuesday night's nonconference meeting.
While the Maroons got off to the hot home start taking a 16-8 lead early, it was Streamwood that would win the toss, reversing its fortune in the second quarter and never looking back en route to a 59-56 victory.
Down 8 points after 8 minutes, Emma Schmidt connected from inside, drew the foul and converted the 3-point play from the line. Danielle Cizowski nabbed a bucket of her own before Elgin's Ellen Holton scored the lone second quarter field goal for the Maroons to make it an 18-13 game.
Pushing the ball inside, Arielle Gallione scored from the paint and earned a spot on the foul line a minute later sinking both shots to bring the Sabres within 1 at 18-17. Following a defensive stop, Schmidt put Streamwood (6-12) on top 19-18 and an 8-0 carried the Sabres to a 27-20 lead at the break.
The Sabres shot 8-of-9 from the free throw line in the second quarter and finished the game 20-of-26.
"We let Elgin get off to a good start, but had a great second quarter to get back into the game," said Streamwood coach George Rosner. "We were definitely trying to pound the ball inside and draw some fouls, and our offense stepped up."
On the other end, the Sabres' defense held Elgin to 4 second quarter points.
"Our pressure was excellent," said Rosner. "We played a few different zones and mixed things up which kept Elgin guessing."
Looking for answers, the Maroons battled back to make it a game late.
Trailing 41-33 entering the fourth quarter, Holton and Caris Alan took turns attacking the basket. Holton opened the quarter with a pair of free throws and a field goal. With 4:17 remaining, Alan (16 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) drove the lane bringing Elgin (3-15) within 5 at 47-42. Alan later connected on a pair of layups during a 6-0 Elgin run, cutting the deficit to 51-48.
In the final minutes, it came down to free throws. Streamwood's Kim Hotovy shot 6-of-6 despite the flu keeping the Sabres on top and helping them to the win.
"It took a lot of focus," said Hotovy. "Coach Rosner knew I was sick so he rested me throughout the game. Still, he knew I would play hard when I was in the game, and I was just glad I could help the team out."
Hotovy finished with 12 points, including 8-of-9 from the free throw line. With 15 points and 15 rebounds, Schmidt led the Sabre attack. Melissa Oehlerking was a force inside finishing with 8 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocks, and Danielle Cizowski also added 8 points off the bench.
Despite the loss, Elgin saw three players reach double-digits offensively. Holton led the way with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks followed by Alan with 16 points. Kayla Jackson scored 10 points while pulling down 8 rebounds.
"We beat ourselves tonight," said Elgin coach Angie Hudson. "We were missing free throws, and struggling with consistency. It was one of our better games, but we need to see a solid four quarters."