Glennon's big finish powers Prospect

Prospect senior Lexi Glennon saw some familiar faces from the past in Tuesday night's Mid-Suburban League girls basketball crossover.

Current Hoffman Estates coach Mike Nocella was in charge at Prospect when Glennon was a freshman. It was the first time Nocella and former Knights star and assistant Gabrielle Cottrell were coaching against their old school.

"He was nice and really friendly to me before the game," Glennon said. "It was nice seeing him and coach Cottrell, too."

Glennon and the Knights weren't so nice in the final 5:01 as they rallied from a 9-point deficit and won 39-36 to spoil Nocella's homecoming in Jean Walker Field House in Mount Prospect.

Three straight 3-pointers in a span of 1:04 tied it and sparked a decisive 16-2 tear by the Knights (6-0).

"It's great that we can finish and win a game under pressure," said junior guard Ashley Wabik.

Wabik showed she could after Hoffman (4-2) took its last lead at 34-32 with 3:41 left on a layup by Precious Ogunleye (7 points, 8 rebounds). Wabik answered with a tying layup 13 seconds later off a feed by senior Rachel Hunt and put Prospect ahead to stay on a 3 with 2:34 left.

"You can't be nervous," Wabik said. "If I'm nervous I'll miss my shots."

Jada Stotts scored 15 points and Megan Bernardoni hit a 3 with 6:30 left to put the Hawks up 32-23. They were controlling the boards en route to advantages of 33-23 overall and 16-2 on the offensive end and their active 2-3 zone was giving the Knights fits.

But Hoffman's 4-for-28 second-half shooting kept the Knights in striking distance. Wabik came in to give 6-foot-2 junior Sarah Hunt a break and Marissa Pettenuzzo connected on a 3.

"Sarah Hunt had played the whole game and needed a quick rest," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. "But when you knock down 3-3-3, you go with the hot hand and stick with it."

A turnover led to a 3 by Glennon (10 points) and her steal and cross-court feed led to Sarah Winans' tying 3.

"You have to give them credit because they hit when they were under pressure," Nocella said. "We didn't get out on them in that stretch of time."

Hunt found Glennon inside for a layup and 39-34 lead and Ogunleye answered with a baseline drive with 16 seconds left. A missed 1-and-1 gave Hoffman a chance to tie but a 3 at the buzzer was blocked.

"It was a little bit (strange) because I know everybody here," said Nocella, who was Prospect's head coach for 11 years before retiring as a teacher. "I didn't know how I'd feel because I knew Hunt, Glennon and (Alyssa) Baker and her sister (Marie) and had the other kids in summer camp.

"I knew the game would be good to use as a measuring stick. Playing good teams is where you grow."