Vernon Hills corrals 45-16 tournament win over Ridgewood

Alana Coy is having a blast, and not necessarily because she's suddenly shooting frequently.

"I just love playing," she said. "We have so much fun in practice."

So when Vernon Hills' shooter had to leave the game during the second quarter of the host Cougars' 45-16 tournament win over Ridgewood on Thursday night, she was frustrated.

Coy had gotten scratched near her eye, and after she shot the first of 2 free throws, the referee noticed she was bleeding and instructed her to leave the court.

"I'm fine," Coy said. "Everyone was looking at me and (asking), 'Did you get a black eye?' It's just makeup. Mascara bleeds. Who knew?"

In Vernon Hills' first two games - both wins - Coy's canned seven 3-pointers.

Who knew?

Not her.

"I didn't even realize," the senior guard said. "Honestly, our team has been working so hard to create open shots. We're just all working together to try to get the ultimate goal of winning."

Coy sank a layup and drained a 3 in the game's first half minute, and Vernon Hills cruised in second-round action of its inaugural Cougar Classic.

After making 4-of-10 shots from three-point range in Vernon Hills' season opener against Lake Forest Academy and scoring 18 points, Coy went 3 of 10 from beyond the arc.

"Last year she was one of several kids who would consistently hit 3s," coach Paul Brettner said of his four-year varsity player. "Now she's one of just one or two."

Coy finished with a game-high 11 points, while senior point guard Jessica Feece added 10 points, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 rebounds. Cougars 6-foot-2 freshman center Meri Bennett-Swanson added 8 points, and sophomore guard Ikie Ostrovsky chipped in 6 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.

Vernon Hills resumes its tournament on Monday night against Woodstock North and finishes up with Maine East.

"We're looking to get four home games against what we're hoping to be pretty similar competition," Brettner said. "The next two games hopefully will be a little more competitive."

Woodstock North 50, LFA 43: At Vernon Hills, Woodstock North won its first-ever game, as Aleecia Braun scored 10 points.

Lake Forest Academy (0-2) was led by Lauren Clamage's 15 points and Lauren Kraemer's 10.