South Elgin tops Downers Grove South
Playing good defense and hitting 3-pointers is how the South Elgin girls basketball team has to play in order to overcome a height disadvantage it has against almost all opponents.
The Storm nailed seven 3-pointers and held Downers Grove South to 9 second-half points Wednesday night to beat the Mustangs 52-38 in the quarterfinals of the Oswego East Holiday Classic.
“We tried to pressure their guards a little bit more on the perimeter. That’s how you have to play small ball,” Storm coach Tim Pendergast said. “Then we were able to knock down some shots.”
South Elgin (10-4) will play at 8 p.m. today in a semifinal against either Aurora Central Catholic. West Chicago and Metea Valley play in the other semifinal.
The Storm hit 4 3-pointers in the first quarter, including two from Anna Tracy, and led 17-14. The Mustangs (9-4), who were the top seed in the tournament, led 29-26 late in the second quarter before South Elgin’s Lania Robinson hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left to tie the game at 29-29 heading into halftime.
The Storm never trailed in the second half.
“Once we got a slight lead we were able to take them out of their comfort zone a little bit,” Pendergast said.
Smith scored 6 of South Elgin’s 9 third-quarter points as the Storm took a 38-35 leading the fourth quarter. The Storm scored the first 8 points of the final quarter to take control.
Downers Grove South didn’t score in the final 3 minutes and went 4-for-18 from the floor in the second half. Alison Dec led the Mustangs with 21 points, including scoring all 9 of their second-half points.
The Mustangs outrebounded the Storm 36-28. Sarrah Ludwig had 11 rebounds and Dec added 10. But Downers Grove South turned the ball over 24 times to negate the rebounding advantage.
Smith led South Elgin with 18 points, 12 in the first half. Robinson added 11. Tracy had 9 points. Kennede Miller scored all 8 of her points in the fourth quarter. Savanah Uvegas led the Storm with 6 rebounds.
“It’s a big confidence booster,” Smith said. “As I’ve said before, this is definitely a season of firsts for us. I think winning this tournament would be a huge step for us.”