Lake Park tips Streamwood

Facing tough competition at the Montini Holiday Tournament has really helped the Lake Park girls basketball team.

The Lancers lost their first four games at the tournament before winning their final game. After Friday night's 54-42 Upstate Eight Conference victory over host Streamwood, they have now won five in a row.

"The Montini tournament made us realize that we needed to work harder and that there are better teams out there," Lake Park senior Tori Clark said. "We needed to step up our game and play at a different level."

Lake Park (10-8, 4-1) led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter thanks to 10 points from Sarah Drozdowski during a 12-2 run to take a 23-10 lead.

The Sabres (6-13, 1-4), who have lost five straight, cut the deficit to 8, 26-18, at halftime and were within 3, 29-26, with 31/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

But two turnovers proved costly to Streamwood. Clark had a steal and easy layup with 2:45 left in the third for a 31-26 lead. A minute and a half later, Alex Munoz also grabbed a steal for an easy layup. Clark added a pair of free throws with 43 seconds left in the third as the Lancers quickly increased the lead by to 9, 35-26.

"When we got it down to three, I thought we were in good shape," Sabres coach George Rosner said. "I thought we in a position to win this one. Crucial turnovers hurt us and at the wrong time."

Streamwood again got within 5, 35-30, with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but again a steal and layup, this time from Drozdowski, stop the Sabres' momentum and the Lancers started to pull away.

"Streamwood gave us a big battle," Lancers coach Chris Fruehling said. "They made runs at us. Our girls were able to absorb it."

Clark led all scorers with 21 points, 13 in the second half. Drozdowski added 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Jessica Cerda led the Sabres with 12 points, including hitting three 3-pointers. Michelle Tomczak and Emma Schmidt each added 10 points. Tomczak also grabbed 10 rebounds.