Capotosto, Elk Grove give Kokomo first loss

Ashley Capotosto is the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in Elk Grove girls basketball history.

Anyone watching the Grenadiers' dramatic 69-65 overtime win over Indiana state power Kokomo High School on Monday got a perfect example of how the 6-foot senior reached those milestones.

Capotosto poured home a game-high 30 points - 4 shy of her career-high 34 against Geneva last year - and collected a career-high 26 rebounds as Elk Grove improved to 17-3 while handing Kokomo its first loss in 15 games.

"Ashley was a beast," said Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky, whose team prevailed despite shooting 21-for-39 at the free throw line. "They really didn't have an answer for her. She really took over the game with her aggressiveness."

"This was a big win for us," said Capotosto, who will play for St. Bonaventure. "We needed this to prove we can play well against good competition."

Capotosto's front line partner Courtney Lindfors, a 6-fot-4 Wisconsin-Milwaukee recruit, also made her impact with 21 points, including the bucket that sent the game to overtime.

The Grens came out strong, jumping to an 11-4 advantage.

Senior Meghan Amann had all 7 of her points during that early surge, including a 17-footer to start the game's scoring and a 3-pointer which made it 9-4.

Kokomo rallied with a 9-0 run to get back in the game.

The Grens enjoyed their biggest lead at 48-41 following 2 free throws by Dani Goranson and one by Capotosto.

Kokomo rallied again and led 57-55 with 34.8 seconds left.

Lindfors hit an 8-footer in the lane which tied the game at 57-57 with 20 seconds left.

The senior then blocked a shot and freshman Kelly Naughton grabbed the loose ball.

The Grens called a time out with 9.5 seconds left to set up a final play, which ended up with Lindfors barely missing a reverse layup at the buzzer.

In the OT, Goranson hit a big 3-pointer for a 62-60 lead with 2:51 left.

Capotosto drilled a pair of free throws for a 64-62 lead with 2:02 left.

Lindfors' layup, on an assist from senior guard Olivia Roback, made it 66-62.

Kokomo got to within 1 on a 3-pointer before Naughton hit a free throw for a 67-65 lead.

The freshman then sealed the win by hitting 2 more free throws with five seconds left.

"Our younger kids made some mistakes but they also made some huge play down the stretch," Kirkorsky said. "As a team, we showed composure and made the plays we needed to."

Roback had a handful of assists and a driving layup which gave the Grens a 14-13 lead which they would maintain all the way to the 3:20 mark of the third quarter.

"We ask Olivia to guard the other team's best player," Kirkorsky said. "And she handles the ball for us 95 percent of the time. She's just a battler. She's probably the most competitive kid we have."

Lindfors went up against the LadyKats' 6-foot-3 junior Kelly Hopkins, who battled foul trouble and scored 15 points.

Lindfors also battled Hopkins last season when her Driscoll team defeated Kokomo in the same shootout.

"That was a good matchup," Kirkorsky said. "We went to Courtney with the game on the line and she got the bucket to send it to overtime."

The Ladykats were led by Skylarr Shurn's 25 points.

"This was two great teams battling," said Kokomo coach Jason Snyder. "For us, it is not going to get much better until our state tourney begins in a few weeks.

"It was a great atmosphere and we were playing a great teams. Elk Grove made the plays down the stretch but I'm really proud of my girls.

"We got in some foul trouble our center (Hopkins). We needed to do a much better job rebounding and boxing out. We have up too many points on the boards."

And on this day, Capotosto was clearly the master of the boards.

"This game will give us a lot of confidence," she said. "We were just trying to stay composed because we have a tendency to get frazzled at times in these big games."