Schaumburg downs Jacobs for Wheaton North consolation title
There were no lead changes in the consolation championship game of the 28th annual Bill Neibch Falcon Classic at Wheaton North High School on Thursday.
And there was no doubt about the leader for the winning team.
Schaumburg raced to a 14-0 lead with 5-foot-6 junior Amanda Kelly scoring 6 of her game-high 14 points during the early blitz.
The hustling guard also finished with 5 assists as the Saxons rolled to a 51-30 victory over Jacobs for their third straight win after an opening-round loss to top-seeded Waubonsie Valley in the 16-team tourney.
"Amanda has done a great job stepping into a leadership role," said Saxons coach Ashley Berggren, whose team improved to 7-9. "She is a player who consistently brings high intensity and a competitive edge to the game. And her teammates respond to her."
They sure do.
And they are always on the lookout for one of Kelly's no-look passes, like the one she delivered while driving under the basket along the baseline midway through the third quarter.
Looking straight ahead, Kelly flipped the ball to her left to the waiting Kelly Skorczewski.
The 5-foot-11 senior caught the ball and tossed home the 14-footer to give Schaumburg a 34-12 lead.
"We always have to be on our toes and looking for a no-look pass from her," said Saxons senior forward Alssya Saklak, who chipped in 8 points with a game-high 11 rebounds and 2 assists. "Amanda really stepped up this tournament."
Skorczewski finished with 5 points and 4 rebounds.
"Kelly is the glue to our team," Berggren added. "She does everything we ask of her."
After losing their first game on Monday, the Saxons were asking themselves for a confidence boost.
"We just really wanted to get on a winning streak for when we return to conference play (next week)," said Kelly, who also had 4 steals. "And there's nothing better than winning three in a row and finishing the tournament well."
The Saxons pretty much finished off Thursday's win by half, building a 30-6 lead with a minute to play in the second quarter.
They didn't allow Jacobs' first points until Jessica Tennant hit a 17-footer with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.
Jennifer Barnec and Lauren Grady had the only points in the first seven minutes of the second quarter for the Golden Eagles (3-12). They hit only 4-of-23 shots in the first half.
"We dug ourselves a big hole because we didn't put the ball in the basket," said Golden Eagles coach Keith Chuipek, whose niece is a sophomore guard on the Prospect varsity. "When we score, and get our percentage up to at least 33 percent, then we compete."
Lauren Grady and Kelly Grady each scored 7 points for Jacobs while Maggie Hansen added 6. Amy Becker and Lauren Grady each grabbed 4 rebounds while Barnec had 3.
"Lauren Grady always steps up for us," Chuipek said. "She gets us steals and we expect her to do that. We've had a lot of different kids step up at different times."
Madison Laramie tossed in 7 points for Schaumburg while Jenna Gerber had 6 with 6 rebounds. Teammates Riley Williams made 3 steals and Jada Blackwell 2.
"Our focus has been team defense and controlling the boards," said Berggren, whose team held a 42-24 rebounding edge Thursday. "We've been playing some tough competition so it's nice to see our hard schedule paying off."
"This will give us a confidence boost for the second half of the season," added Saklak, who grabbed 5 offensive rebounds. "We are really working well together. We are pushing the ball up the floor, using good fundamentals and our bench is stepping up, which is nice to see."