Hoffman Estates rebounds impressively

Hoffman Estates showed no ill effects from its 4-point overtime loss to Rockford Auburn that happened Monday at the Mundelein Holiday Classic.

The Hawks rebounded Tuesday, blitzing Grant to take a 24-4 lead entering the second quarter and cruising to a 56-36 victory.

The Hawks (10-4) finished 2-1 in pool play and advanced to play Mid Suburban League West foe Conant at 3:30 p.m. today in semifinal matchup for second place.

Hoffman will face Conant for the second time in less than a week - the Hawks defeated the Cougars 40-31 on Friday.

Grant will play Vernon Hills in a third-place semifinal at noon today.

Grant (6-8) took a brief 4-2 advantage, but Hoffman closed the first quarter with a devastating 22-0 run to take command.

"That's the whole thing about today, we wanted to get back into the swing of things," said Hawks coach Mike Nocella after the tough loss Monday. "We've lost four games this season and all of them have been close."

This one wasn't close as junior Jada Stotts scored 12 of her 16 points in the opening quarter, connecting on three 3 pointers.

The torrid outside shooting opened the door underneath for 5-foot-10 junior Precious Ogunleye, who scored 8 of her 12 points in the opening eight minutes.

"We spread it out a lot," Stotts said. "When we get the ball we look in first. If Precious is not open, then most likely we have a shot outside."

The Hawks also did it on defense, with sophomore guard Mary Pettit, senior guard Kelsey Lukowicz and senior forward Mary Bernardoni helping limit Grant to 17-percent (3-for-17) shooting in the first half to take a 31-10 lead at intermission.

Heather Chapman had paced Grant in its first two games at Mundelein, scoring 15 and 18 points, but Ogunleye held the 6-foot senior to 6 points.

"We like to stay low," Stotts said about the Hawks' zone defense. "To have a good zone you have to communicate, and we're doing a real good job of talking and watching the baseline."

The Hawks increased their lead to 25 points in the third quarter and entered the final quarter with a 45-21 advantage.

Grant junior Donnie Taggart scored 8 of her game-high 18 points in the final quarter, but the Bulldogs came no closer than 15 points.

"They shot the ball real well and we didn't," said Grant coach John Eiduke. "They got off to a big lead and we never got back in it."