Cary-Grove swipes win from Lake Zurich
The Cary-Grove girls basketball team stole one Friday night against Lake Zurich.
The Trojans had 13 steals in the second half and erased a 5-point deficit in the final 4 minutes to beat the Bears, 48-44, at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving Tournament in Carpentersville.
"Defense is our first offense," Cary-Grove junior Meg Straumann said. "We knew we needed to play defense, make stops, and turn it into offense."
Neither team protected the ball or shot it well. Cary-Grove (2-0) turned the ball over 27 times and shot 31 percent (17 for 55). Lake Zurich (0-1) committed 40 turnovers and shot 32 percent (15 for 47).
The Trojans led 16-12 after the first quarter before Lake Zurich went on an 11-0 run to take a 23-16 lead with 3 minutes left in the first half. Despite shooting 2 for 15 in the second quarter, C-G stayed within 3, 25-22, at halftime.
"We went into halftime and talked about doing the things that don't take any talent," said Trojans assistant coach Andy Donaldson, who was filling in for Rod Saffert, who was tending to family matters. "Hustling for the rebound doesn't take any talent. Taking care of the basketball doesn't take any talent."
The teams traded runs in the second half. The Trojans led by 6, 33-27, with 1:15 left in the third quarter and led 33-29 after three quarters. The Bears missed their final six shots and committed 13 turnovers in the quarter.
But Lake Zurich started strong in the fourth and took a 40-35 lead with 4 minutes left after a Sarah Stauner basket. The Trojans turned up the defensive pressure to get back into the game.
A couple of steals from Straumann sparked the comeback. Her last steal, her fifth of the game, came with just over a minute remaining with the Trojans trailing 42-40. The junior knocked the ball free and got it Liz Bart, who fed Straumann in the paint for a basket and a foul. Straumann hit the free throw to give C-G a 43-42 lead with 1:10 to go. The Trojans would not give up the lead.
"When I got the steals was probably good defense from all my other teammates," Straumann said. "They were on help side forcing the steal. It wasn't just a one person thing."
"I don't think you can win a whole lot of basketball games turning the ball over 40 times," Bears coach Chris Bennett said. "Cary is a nice team. You can't make those kind of mistakes against a good team."
Claire Jakubicek added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals for the Trojans. Olivia Jakubicek had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
Audrey Bauer led the Bears with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Karlissa Skarb added 9 points.