Metea Valley pulls rank with victory
Metea Valley’s record may be modest, just now scaling the .500 mark for the first time this season.
Its bench is short, a rotation rarely more than seven deep.
All that being said, don’t sleep on these Mustangs.
Four days after knocking off Neuqua Valley, Metea Valley claimed its second ranked opponent, beating No. 12 Hinsdale South 46-42 on Wednesday in Aurora.
With regionals three weeks away, it wouldn’t be prudent for higher-seeded teams to overlook Metea (11-11).
“We’re definitely maturing as a team and growing as a team,” said Metea senior Amira Turner. “Last year we might not have won this game.”
Metea jumped out to early leads of 16-5 and 20-11, then watched as Hinsdale South (15-5) rallied to take a brief third-quarter lead and forge five ties.
The Mustangs had an answer each time.
Hinsdale South tied it for the final time at 41-41 with 1:24 left, Andrea McNally banking in a runner. At the other end Megan Geldernick threaded the needle with a gorgeous bounce pass to Turner for a go-ahead layup.
“Very good back-to-back wins,” Metea coach Kris Kalivas said. “I think Neuqua prepared us for pressure, and a back-and-forth game, and I thought we handled that well tonight and we remained composed for four quarters.”
Turner, a good defender and Metea’s second-leading rebounder, stepped out as an offensive threat.
The 5-foot-11 senior, the Mustangs’ lone senior starter, scored a season-high 16 points to go with 7 rebounds. She repeatedly beat her defender off the dribble and answered an Uzo Okoro basket by sticking back her own miss for a three-point play and 40-37 lead.
“Amira had a great game,” Kalivas said. “She took the ball to the hole and finished very well. She’s always a force for us defensively and rebounding, but tonight I thought she had a nice complete game for us.”
Hinsdale South’s shooting went south early, the Hornets hitting just 1-of-9 field-goal attempts in the first quarter. The Hornets did close the first half on a 7-0 run to draw within 20-18 and took their only lead at 24-22 with 6:39 left in the third quarter on two McNally free throws.
The Hornets hung in there, despite their three perimeter players going a combined 6 of 35 from the floor.
“We normally don’t have three of our shooters go cold at the same time,” Hornets coach Jen Belmonte said, “but tonight we did. I’m proud of them for fighting through, but if you don’t shoot well, you don’t win.”
Okoro powered Hinsdale South back into the game, scoring 9 of her 13 points afer halftime to go with 8 rebounds. Toni Romiti added 9 points.
“It’s tough because Uzo has a bad back, but she was carrying us at the end,” Belmonte said. “Somebody else has to pick up the slack from the outside.”
Anna Petersen had 9 points and Bria Walker 8 for Metea.