Late second-half surge pushes ECC past Harper

Everything seemed to be coming up roses for Harper by intermission Thursday.

But Elgin Community College (6-4) did an abrupt about-face in the second half and defeated the host Hawks 46-45 at the Sports and Wellness Center in Palatine.

The two teams had met on November 11, when Harper (3-6) rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to earn a 66-57 win despite the Elgin trio of Brittany Armato (St. Charles East), Tracy Ferguson and Sophie Sterricker (Larkin) combining for 36 of the Spartans' 57 points.

This time the tables were turned.

The Hawks took a 25-14 lead into the locker room, holding Spartans guard Brittany Armato - the player Hawks head coach Mark Smith was most worried about - scoreless in the first half.

"They just wanted it more," Smith said.

Using a pressing defense, the Spartans took control in the final 10 minutes of the game.

"The man-to-man wasn't working." said Spartans coach Jerry McLaughlin.

With six minutes left in the second half, Hawks guard Peggie Parhas (21 points) needed treatment on the bench for a leg injury, and the Spartans went on a 6-0 run.

When freshman guard Kayla Jackson and backcourt mate Lauren Gabler sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, the Spartans cut the Hawks' lead to 38-36.

The Hawks countered when Parhas returned a made a 3-pointer of her own and Noreene Davis scored on a layup.

But Armato's 3-pointer with 2:47 remaining put the Spartans ahead for good 45-43.

The Hawks had one last shot, but they missed a jump shot with seconds left on the clock.

"I wish we played the other 30 minutes the way we played the last 10n minutes," McLaughlin said.