Schaumburg upsets Hoffman Estates
The patient Schaumburg Saxons didn't receive the memo on the stellar start of the visiting 10-1 Hoffman Hawks on Friday evening.
The Saxons (5-5, 1-2) shocked the Hawks in a 43-39 Mid-Suburban West thriller.
It was a back-and-forth game going into a 21-19 halftime as the Lady Saxons picked up their first lead with 4:30 remaining in the half.
In the third quarter, the Saxons jumped to a 13-3 scoring run and also outrebounded the Hawks 13-3. The Saxons played it safe in the passing lanes and minimized turnovers by shooting high percentage shots.
At the end of the third, the Saxons scored 9 of their 13 points in the paint.
“We had a completely different mindset coming into (Friday's) game,” said Saxons junior forward-center Kelly Skorczewski, who posted a team high 10 points. “We played a little bit smarter and moved the ball a lot. We had a good shot selection.
“This is our house, and we can't let anyone take that advantage. We had more heart, and more hustle.”
The defense from the Saxons gave the Hawks problems. The Hawks seldom created opportunities on second-chance points as the Saxons out-rebounded the Hawks 20-9 in the second half.
Besides Skorczewski, Saxon standouts were senior guard Jennifer Pomagier with 9 points and 3 steals, junior forward/center Jenna Gerber with 5 points and 11 rebounds and junior guard/forward Alyssa Saklak with 7 points and 8 rebounds.
Although the Hawks had a six-minute scoring drought, they climbed back into the game with a 14-4 run to make the score 38-37 with one minute remaining.
Following a Saxons turnover, Hawks senior guard Jada Stotts went coast-to-coast and scored as she was fouled. But the officials took away the basket and ruled Stotts was fouled on the floor.
On the ensuing inbound pass, the Saxons' Pomagier was fouled off the ball and sent to the line. After the Hawks were called for a technical foul, Pomagier was at the line shooting 4 free throws and the Saxons were rewarded with the ball as well.
“I felt the pressure on me,” said Pomagier, who connected with 7-of-9 free throws. “Someone had to step up. We proved to them that we can play with them.
“I don't even remember the last time we beat Hoffman in my three years on varsity. This feels great, and this win boosts our confidence up.”
Pomagier connected on 2-of-4 free throws to essentially put a halt on the Hawks late-game heroics.
The Hawks (10-2, 2-1) had three players who felt ill entering Friday's game. However they fell into trouble as their shooting wasn't up to par and Stotts and sophomore forward Destinée Young got into foul trouble early.
“We have to come out and play harder,” said Hawks head Mike Nocella. “We got deeper in our bench and the kids did a nice job. Mel (McGinn) hit a couple nice threes.
“We had a called foul and technical there at the end and still almost had a chance. (The Saxons) did a nice job on the boards.”
Saxons coach Ashley Berggren was proud the way her girls played Friday.
“We had certain specific goals we worked on and we did them successfully (Friday),” Berggren said. “Kelly (Skorczewski) did a great job in the paint. We have a talented group and they showed (Friday) that (we) can play with anyone.”