Will finds a way as Prospect bounces back
Freshman Taylor Will came off the bench and scored a career-high 18 points as Prospect topped St. Charles North 55-34 in the consolation quarterfinals of the 29th annual Charger Classic at Dundee-Crown High School on Tuesday.
Will also grabbed 6 rebounds and made 3 steals.
“Taylor is playing very well,” said Prospect coach Martha Kelly. “You can see her confidence growing with every game.
“Christina Brucci (5 points, 3 steals) is our spark plug. She has had a very good tournament and we’re hoping for some big things out of her.”
Michele Molini and Maura Benson (8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) both added 8 points for the Knights (10-5), who face Naperville Central (7-6) at 2 p.m. in today’s consolation semifinals.
Knights sophomore Trish Benson also helped out on the boards with 5 rebounds.
“Our focus now is playing better basketball and getting ready for the rest of the conference schedule,” Kelly added. “Our goal is to go 3-1 in the tourney.”
West Aurora 45, Hersey 43 (OT): West Aurora’s only lead of the Wheaton North quarterfinal game came when it hit a 15-footer from the elbow with 2.9 second left in overtime.
Sophomore Renee Poulos gave Hersey a 3-point lead in the extra session when she hit 2 free throws but the Blackhawks hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to tie the game.
After a Hersey turnover, West Aurora got the ball back for the winning bucket that ended the Huskies’ 9-game winning streak in the 16-team tourney.
The two-time defending champs will face Glenbard North today at 3 p.m.
“We just made too many turnovers down the stretch,” said Hersey coach Mary Fendley. “And they hit big shots.”
Senior Maggie Hogen led the Huskies (5-8) with 12 points while classmate Jen Hall added 9.
Schaumburg 68, St. Charles East 42: Schaumburg (5-9) won its first game in the consolation bracket of the Wheaton North Tournament improving to 5-9 for the season.
The Saxons will face Hinsdale Central in the consolation semifinals today at 1:30 p.m.
St. Viator 58, Maine East 45: St. Viator defeated Maine East for the second time in four days to take third place in its own Snowflake Tournament.
The Lions (11-5, 4-1 in the tourney) were led by senior Lauren Rooney (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots), sophomore Erin Fabbri (12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and junior Jennie Horstmann (10 points).
Mary Cleary (6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists) and Justice Johnson (4 points, 4 rebounds) produced solid efforts in the post for the Lions.
“I thought our girls showed a lot of character and pride with the effort,” said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. “It was nice to score some points. We challenged each other to improve individually and as a team tonight, and we did.”
Elmwood Park 61, Leyden 41: Olga Lipiszko scored a game-high 23 points to lead Elmwood Park in the seventh place game of the St. Viator Snowflake tournament.
Junior forward Kathy Wojtulewicz led Leyden (0-15) with 11 points.
Christian Liberty 39, Harvest Christian 29: Shelbi Hernandez returned from illness to lead CLA with 10 points, followed by Jess Moriarty (9) and Megan Sullivan (8) in the opening round of the Alden-Hebron Christmas tournament.
Chargers guard Katelyn Garlick returned for the first time since suffering a concussion at the Elgin Thanksgiving tournament and put her soft touch on display by sinking 2 3-pointers.