Marian Catholic rolls by Streamwood
It was a one-sided affair at the 22nd Annual McDonald's Shootout Monday, and not on the good side for the Streamwood girls basketball team.
The Sabres (8-10) fell to Marian Catholic of Chicago Heights 81-27 at Willowbrook High School. The Spartans (12-8) dominated on both sides of the ball the entire time, outscoring the Sabres 19-1 in the second quarter and taking a 29-point lead into halftime.
Sabres head coach George Rosner knew that facing this Marian Catholic team would be a learning experience.
"(Marian Catholic) is the best team that we've faced this year," said Rosner. "They did everything very well. They played defense with a passion and they played smart offense. It was a lesson for us, and obviously a very tough game for us."
The Spartans came right out of the gate, putting up a 9-0 run in the first two minutes of play, forcing Rosner to call two early timeouts. Marian Catholic would extend its run to 14-0 before the Sabres got on the board with two minutes left in the first quarter on a basket by junior Deja Moore from a crosscourt pass from junior Jessica Cerda. The Sabres would end the first quarter with a layup at the buzzer by junior Kimberly Jimenez, but would still trail by 11.
While it was an offensive struggle for the Sabres throughout, Rosner also gave credit to the Marian Catholic defense, which tallied 25 points off turnovers in the first half alone.
"It was tough for us to get anything going on offense with the defense that (Marian Catholic) played," said Rosner. "They did a great job."
Moore led the Sabres in the game with 9 points, while Cerda put up 7 points. Sophomore Hanna McGlone notched 5 points and tallied a blocked shot and a steal against the powerful Spartan offense, which was led by junior Megan Walsh's 13 points.
With injuries limiting the Sabres and thinning out their bench, it made it all the more difficult to overcome a powerful Marian Catholic team but Rosner was encouraged.
"We kept playing really hard," Rosner said. "We didn't give up. We just kept trying to take it to the basket. Everybody sucked it up and played hard, I'm proud of them."