Elk Grove's second chances too much for Prospect
Second-chance points always loom large.
In a scrappy, defensive game where not many shots were taken without a defender's hand in the shooter's face, Elk Grove relied on the inside presence of Ashley Capotosto and Courtney Lindfors to defeat host Prospect 44-37 in a Mid-Suburban East girls basketball game at Jean Walker Field House on Friday night.
Capotosto (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Lindfors (12 points, 15 rebounds) did most of their damage on the offensive glass.
"Rebounding is one of our strong suits, especially having two kids like me and Courtney on the boards," Capotosto said. "We just really wanted to take advantage of this game because this was a really important game for us. We really needed this win."
The Grenadiers (17-3, 4-2) are tied for first in the MSL East title race with Hersey and Wheeling. The Knights (14-7, 3-3) fell a game behind.
Once again, Capotosto proved valuable for Elk Grove.
"When things break down and we're not running things and getting good looks, she cleans up a lot of things and makes our offense look a lot better than it probably is at some times," Elk Grove coach Ryan Kirkorsky said of Capotosto.
Lindfors managed just 1 point in the first half, but came back strong in the second half.
"I like the second half a lot more than the first. I always come out better," Lindfors said. "But I was frustrated and the team helped pick me up. I just came out stronger in the second."
A 7-0 run by the Grens to start the third quarter gave them a 10-point cushion that Prospect could not cut into enough.
"Prospect did a great job," Kirkorsky said. "Nothing that we got was easy. Once we were patient and when our point guard Olivia (Roback) attacked the seams a bit, that's when good things happened."
Roback scored 8 points for Elk Grove.
"They did a good job on their boards offensively, and we had a hard time scoring," said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. "That's the story of the game. Our shots just weren't falling."
Junior guard Sarah Winans scored 10 points - all in the first half - and dished out 4 assists for the Knights, while Ashley Wabik scored all 8 her points in the second half.