Big beginning continues for Hoffman Estates
The Hoffman Estates girls basketball players won't forget their only loss in 11 games this season.
"Wheaton North came out on fire against us," said Hawks junior guard Mary Pettit. "They were pressuring me up top and really jumped on us."
The Hawks trailed 23-9 after the first quarter.
"That was a wake-up call for us (four games ago)," Pettit said. "Now we want to be the team that puts that pressure on the other team at the start of games. And we have done that in our last three, coming out strong against Grant, Conant and now St. Viator."
The Hawks came out with a flourish Monday night in Arlington Heights.
Their full-court press forced more than a handful of turnovers in the first five minutes as the Hawks built a 17-0 lead and never looked back in a 62-37 nonconference win at the Cahill Gymnasium.
"Ever since Wheaton North came out on fire against us, we kind of used that as our battle cry," said Hawks coach Mike Nocella. "We know now how important it is to set the tone."
Senior Jada Stotts (3 steals) scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the first quarter, which the Hawks won 23-4.
Unfortunately for the Lions, they lost Rockhurst recruit Taylor Skala in the first 40 seconds when she suffered an ankle injury.
The standout senior guard was taken to Northwest Community Hospital for observation where it was diagnosed as a bad ankle sprain according to Lions coach Paul Bjerkness.
The Lions have already lost starting junior forward Mallory Hess for the season with an ACL injury and senior starting forward Emily Leazer is out four to six weeks with a stress fracture in her foot.
"Devastating," Bjerkness about the injury situation. "At some point, the sun will shine. We'll just keep moving forward with a smile on our face and keep working hard."
The Hawks worked hard on their press in the first quarter, allowing them to get the big jump on the Lions.
"That's our bread and butter," said Pettit, who had 4 assists and 4 points. "Destinee (Young) puts great pressure on top. Jada and I are pinching in to trap and Precious (Ogunleye) and Tanya (Skworch) are talking behind us making sure we know where to go."
Ogunleye added 16 points and 4 rebounds for the Hawks (10-1) while junior Brittani Love came of the bench to collect 6 points and 7 rebounds. The 5-foot-9 forward-guard even had a nifty reverse layup in the fourth quarter.
"The kids played real well," Nocella said. "They are getting better and better and that is what we want. Because if we don't and the other teams do, we won't be around at the end of the season."
Other top contributors for the Hawks were Young (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocked shots), senior Mel McGinn (7 rebounds, 3 assists), Skworch (5 assists), and senior Colleen Thomas (3 steals), who converted a nifty 3-point play in the fourth quarter.
Senior guard Megan Bailey came off the bench to lead St. Viator (4-6) with 8 points while classmate Kim McAvoy hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter for 6 points.
Junior Katie Calmeyn (5 points) also had a 3-pointer for the Lions, who host another Mid-Suburban West entry, Conant, on Wednesday night.
Fremd 55, Glenbard North 31: The host Vikings improved to 9-2 as senior guard Jaimie Groot led the way with a game-high 16 points.
Senior forward Megan Gary added 10 points for the Mid-Suburban West co-leaders while junior Jessie Wiedemann (2 3-pointers) had 9 and senior Bridget Kubis 8 with a 3-pointer.