Carmel falls in shot at crown

Highland Park freshman guard Lena Munzer can't figure out what part of basketball she likes best.

"I love everything," she said.

Munzer excelled in every aspect Wednesday night to lead the Giants to a 53-36 victory over Carmel in the championship game of Mundelein's Lady Mustangs Turkey Shootout.

Munzer drained three shots from behind the arc and scored a game-high 17 points. She grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Her passing led to several easy baskets for her teammates.

"She's the real deal," Carmel coach Ben Berg said.

"I don't think there's a flaw in her game. She can shoot off the catch and drive to the basket. I don't know if I want to face her over the next three years."

Even though Carmel never found a rhythm, the Corsairs only trailed 28-20 midway through the third quarter. From there, the Giants went on a 13-6 burst and Carmel was never able to get the deficit under double digits.

"We got some good shots, but we didn't shoot very well," Berg said.

Highland Park (4-1) had a lot to do with that.

"We were able to score points off our (work on) defense," Giants coach Jolie Bechtel said.

Before Carmel and Highland Park tipped off, the Corsairs watched Rolling Meadows edge Mundelein.

Since this was Mundelein's second loss of the tournament, it gave Carmel (3-2) new life in the contest.

"We were excited to play for the championship," Carmel senior center Kristine Ruhl said.

Ruhl and junior Erin Quinn led Carmel on offense with 8 and 7 points, respectively.

Despite the defeat, the tournament was a success for the Corsairs. They learned a lot about what kind of team they can be and won three games in the process.

"It was very positive," Berg said.

"We've got girls making contributions off the bench and we should be able to go eight or nine deep. This is a very together group."