Dundee-Crown sneaks past Jacobs
Dundee-Crown senior center Diamond Williams had a rough night offensively, but with the game on the line Williams came up huge.
Off a pass from Carlin Faulkner, Williams’ layup with 8 seconds remaining gave the Chargers a hard-earned 42-40 girls basketball win over upset-minded and District 300 rival Jacobs in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Algonquin Tuesday night.
Williams, who was 2-of-10 from the field and scored 5 points, did corral a game-high 16 rebounds.
“My goal is to get 15 rebounds every game,” said Williams. “I struggled with my shot but it was nice to make the shot at the end of the game.
Dundee-Crown coach Michelle Russell praised Williams’ effort.
“Diamond always rebounds and plays great defense,” said the D-C coach. “She struggled with her shot, but came up big when we needed it.”
Actually Jacobs (4-16, 1-6) had a chance to send the game into overtime as Lauren Grady was fouled with no time remaining. But GradyMissed the front end of the 1-and-1 bonus shot which gave the Chargers (13-7, 6-1) the win and kept them tied for first place in the division race.
Grady led the Golden Eagles with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
“I felt bad for Lauren because she played a great game,” said Jacobs coach Keith Chuipek. “We aren’t even in the game at the end without Lauren.”
The Chargers rode the hot hand of Ali Sanders in the fourth quarter. Sanders, playing with a severe head cold, scored 7 of her team’s 10 points in the final quarter.
The Florida Southern recruit, who scored 21 points with 3 3-pointers, gave the Chargers a 40-38 lead with a knifing layup in the lane with 42 seconds left. Grady responded with a 5-footer from the baseline with 29 seconds left to tie the score at 40, which set up Williams’ heroics.
“During the game I am just going on pure adrenaline,” said Sanders. “I don’t feel sick. After the game I am really drained and tired. “
Sanders also dished out 5 assists and grabbed 6 rebounds.
“She really carried us in the fourth quarter,” said Russell. “Ali’s a gamer and she’s been playing sick for a week.”
Faulkner added 12 points for D-C. Jennifer Barnec joined Grady in double digits with 10 points for Jacobs.
“We started playing better at the Christmas tournament at Wheaton North,” Said Chuipek. “I am very proud of the kids’ effort tonight.