James, Hononegah light up South Elgin
Rockton Hononegah girls basketball coach Randy Weibel says he’s trying to get together game tapes of senior guard Krystal James, a transfer from Rockford Auburn who is currently not being recruited to any extent.
Weibel should make as many copies as the law allows of the tape of the Indians’ game against South Elgin at the Dundee-Crown Thanksgiving tournament Tuesday night.
James, who could have passed for any college guard in the country on this night, lit up the already bright Dundee-Crown gym with 9 3-pointers and scored a game-high 32 points as the Indians went on a 40-20 run in the final 12 minutes to down South Elgin 77-54 in the championship game of the tournament. James would have needed 3 more from beyond the arc to tie the state record, which is shared in part by Weibel’s daughter Courtney, who made 12 3s in a game in 2006.
In true Randy Weibel fashion, Hononegah unleased 3-point attempts from virtually anywhere on the floor, making 15 of 28 on the night. James was an uncanny5 of 6 in the fourth quarter, making 5 straight in a little over three minutes to single-handedly take a 53-44 Indian lead to a 74-49 advantage with 3:03 to play.
“It’s tough to play Hononegah early in the year because Randy runs such good sets,” said South Elgin coach Tim Prendergast. “What they do is very effective. They’ve got shooters, they’ve got post players, they’ve got the whole deal. You’re at their mercy.
“It’s hard to say that we’ll see anyone better than them. I can see them winning 28-29 games and going downstate.”
Despite the 23-point loss, Prendergast was not unhappy with his team’s play. The Storm (4-1) didn’t shoot exceptionally well (21 of 56) but they held their own on the boards, winning the rebound battle 34-33, and their 17 turnovers were acceptable, they just couldn’t handle the red-hot shooting of Hononegah.
When the Indians weren’t relying on the 3-pointer, they pounded things inside, where 6-foot-4 Wisconsin recruit Nicole Smith scored 17 points, including 12 in the second quarter when Hononegah turned a 13-13 first-quarter tie into a 34-23 lead at halftime.
But after James nailed a 3-pointer to start the second half and make it 37-23, South Elgin stormed back with an 11-0 run to draw within 37-34 on a Kennede Miller 3-pointer with 4:22 left in the third, and the Indians with Smith on the bench in foul trouble. But Hononegah (4-0) closed out the third quarter with a 13-6 spurt to take a 50-40 lead in the fourth. They led 53-44 after South Elgin’s Julia McIntosh scored with 7:03 left in the game and that’s as close as South Elgin would get as James went on her 3-point spree to put the Storm away.
“We played with them there for a while,” said Prendergast. “We had it cut to (3) and had (Smith) in foul trouble. But we didn’t shoot the ball real well in the second half.
“We can shoot 3s too, but not (like Hononegah).”
Sophomore Karley Kolberg and senior Liz Jordan each added 11 points for the Indians, who finished the night 28 of 57 shooting overall.
Senior Becca Smith fought her way to 22 points to lead the Storm and in the process cleared the 1,500-point hurdle for her career. Alexa Matison added 9 points for the Storm and Miller had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
“I’m happy,” Prendergast said. “To come in here and win four games, I’m good with that. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”