Meadows makes it happen

Not too often are you going to see a player (Rolling Meadows' Alexis Glasgow) make 6 of 7 3-pointers in one half.

Or see a player (Rolling Meadows' Jackie Kemph) convert 3 3-point plays in a quarter.

Or see a freshman (Prospect's Taylor Will) score 19 points in one half.

And you haven't seen this since 1994: the Rolling Meadows girls basketball team on top of the Mid-Suburban League division standings.

With Kemph scoring 22 points (18 in the second half) and Glasgow collecting all 21 of her points in the first half, the Mustangs shook free from visiting Prospect in the second half on Friday night for a 69-49 triumph.

In winning its school-record 15th straight game, Meadows (17-3, 5-0) took a 1-game lead over Prospect (11-9, 4-1) in the Mid-Suburban East.

Defending champion Hersey is 2 games off the lead at 3-2.

"Alexis was awesome the first half," said Kemph, who was the same way in the second half. "It feels great to be in first place but we have to play everyone a second time. We have to keep coming back strong and not be satisfied with what we've accomplished so far."

Kemph accomplished a rare feat in a period of three minutes in the third quarter.

She scored 10 straight points for Meadows, 9 of them coming on 3-point plays, to give Meadows a 49-35 lead with 3:19 left in the period.

"Jackie has a great sense of the game and knowing when to put on the (Superman) cape," said Meadows coach Todd Hatfield. "They got it down to 6 points and right after that, she said 'OK, I'm ready' and she went to work."

Nobody went to work like Glasgow in the first half when she drilled 6 3-pointers and sank 3 free throws.

"We challenged Alexis before the game," Hatfield said. "When she is a step-up shooter and not dribbling, she is one of the best in the area.

"And for all her 3s, she stepped into the ball and just caught fire. That's when she is at her best. I've seen hit that many in AAU and in our practices, so honestly, I was not surprised."

The Knights tried three different defenders on Glasgow in the first 16 minutes before Jessica Petrovski was able to hold the sophomore sharpshooter scoreless in the second half.

"That's a credit to Jessica," said Knights coach Martha Kelly. "She's probably one of the best defenders in the area."

Will showed why she is one of the best freshman around, scoring her career-high and making 7 of 8 free throws.

"She was mismatch for us," Hatfield said. "We tried to make two or three adjustments and finally did a better job in the second half."

Two free throws by Amanda Gunn (8 points) and 3-pointer by Glasgow gave Meadows a 5-0 lead it would never relinquish.

The Knights got to within 18-16 when Michele Molini (9 points) hit a 3-pointer but Meadows came back with an 11-2 run, sparked by 2 3-pointers by Glasgow.

"As well as she (Glasgow) shot the ball, we were still in the game,' said Kelly, whose team trailed 39-29 at the break.

Meadows got a big lift from its bench in the second quarter as Samantha Kay (7 points), Emma Simonson, Jessica Laing and Josie Suchecki all contributed.

"We brought Samantha up at Christmas time, and this was by far her biggest performance," Hatfield said. "She did not play like a sophomore."

Gunn had a key layup, steal and 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter which gave Meadows a 56-39 advantage before teammate Jenny Vliet's nifty turnaround hook shot rimmed in to make it 58-39 early in the final quarter.

Maura Benson and Petrovski each added 6 points for Prospect while Christina Brucci had 5.

Will, a super sub, entered the game with 4:28 left in the first quarter.

"Taylor (Will) had a very good week of practice," Kelly added. "She bought into what we wanted to do in our game plan. She's a heck of a player. It's a great to have her around for four years.

"Our talk to the girls after the game was just to stay positive. It's not over. I thought at the beginning of the season it would be hard for anyone to go undefeated in the East. So there is still a chance. But we have to take care of our own business."

"Prospect plays so hard defensively," Hatfield said. "We knew they would pressure the ball. They play defense the right way. Kudos to them.

"This isn't even close to over. We hold the cards now but we know darn well that if we let our foot off the gas, Hersey and Prospect will be right there. We have our work cut out for us, but the girls love it."