Elk Grove's clutch free-throw shooting ices Jacobs
Hoping to see more accurate free-throw shooting from his team, Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky had his players practicing the 15-foot shots in the school gymnasium Monday before heading to Wheaton North.
Sure enough, it was free throws that ended up making the difference when the Grenadiers stopped Jacobs 51-43 in the quarterfinals of the Bill Neibch Falcon Classic.
The Grens (11-2) led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but Jacobs (9-3) closed to within 45-40 on senior Katy Cook's layup with 1:53 left.
Elk Grove made 6 straight free throws in the final 1:25 - 2 apiece from senior Courtney Lindfors, freshman Kelly Naughton and senior Meaghan Amann - to seal the verdict.
The No. 2-seeded Grenadiers will face No. 3 Hersey (9-3) for the second time this season in today's 6 p. m. semifinal. Hersey posted a 48-37 victory in Arlington Heights three weeks ago.
Jacobs (9-3) will face Wheaton North (5-6) at 3 p.m. today in the consolation bracket.
Elk Grove was led by all-area forward Ashley Capotosto, who scored 19 points with 9 rebounds and 3 steals.
"We'd been practicing free throws a lot and that's what won the game for us," Capotosto said. "Jacobs runs its offense very well and we knew they'd try to set a lot of double screens for 3-point shots. I thought we did a good job contesting those."
Grens sophomore guard Dani Goranson chipped in 10 points with a pair of big 3-pointers in the second quarter and Olivia Roback added 8 points with 6 assists.
Lindfors played a little more than a half because of foul trouble.
She picked up her second foul with 2:56 left in the first quarter and her third at the 6:59 mark of the third quarter.
At the end of the first half, Kirkorsky went with a lineup of Naughton, Goranson, Roback, Amann, Leah Miller and Maggie Fries for quite a bit of time.
"I thought that group did a real nice job," the coach said. "Jacobs was a tough team. We had three really tough matchups with them.
"One key was Kelly Naughton. She did an excellent job defensively. She made some big free throws down the stretch and she handled their pressure well."
Capotosto was back after missing the Grens' last two games with an eye infection.
"She had a lot of energy and she was strong," Kirkorsky said of the school's all-time leading scorer.
Jacobs, which owned its last lead at 15-14 when Sierra Dunner hit 2 free throws late in the first quarter, was led by seniors Maria Tamburrino (13 points) and Hailey Cnota (12).
"I'm proud of our kids," said Golden Eagles coach Ed Haugens. "If you noticed the number of layups and free throws (8 of 14) we missed and we lose by only 7 points to one of the top team in the area, that's not bad. We didn't back down at all. And that's the thing that makes me most proud."