Schaumburg seniors have successful home finale
Four years ago, Alyssa Saklak and Kelly Skorczewski were freshmen on the Schaumburg girls basketball team.
On Tuesday night, they played their final home games and went out in style.
The senior forwards notched a victory that allowed them to experience their first winning regular season since that 2008-09 campaign.
Saklak scored the Saxons' final 6 points of a 43-25 victory over Prospect in the Mid-Suburban League second-place crossover game.
The points allowed marked the Saxons' best defensive game of the season.
Junior Amanda Kelly led Schaumburg with 14 points and 9 steals while Saklak chipped in 11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists.
Senior Jenna Gerber paced the hosts on the boards with 17 rebounds.
"It's very fitting for these girls," said Schaumburg coach Ashley Berggren, whose team is 14-13. "We talked to them about stepping off the court as winners (for the regular season)."
The Saxons stepped up big after Prospect senior guard Christina Brucci (7 points) scored the game's first points with a fastbreak layup.
Schaumburg responded with an 8-0 run to end the quarter. Kelly's 3-pointer gave the hosts the lead for good.
Saklak followed with a rebound bank shot. A free throw by Riley Williams (3 assists) and driving 8-footer by Kelly with eight seconds left in the quarter gave Schaumburg the 8-2 advantage.
A steal and layup by Prospect junior Michele Molini (team-high 8 points) cut the lead in half before Saklak's 7-foot runner in the lane ignited another 8-0 run.
Kelly's halftime buzzer-beating 3-pointer sent the Saxons to a 19-10 lead.
"It's really cool to see everything come together our senior year and how much everyone has improved," Saklak said.
Prospect (15-12) defeated Schaumburg 51-40 in Mt. Prospect on Nov. 29.
"After that first game with Prospect, it's really nice to see how far we have progressed on defense," Saklak said. "We finally came together as a unit. It makes the game so much more fun and gives us so much energy."
The Saxons had plenty of energy in the second half, too, holding the Knights scoreless for a stretch of seven minutes starting late in the third quarter.
Prospect didn't score again until 1:34 left in the game when a layup by sophomore Maggie Chuipek made it 43-23.
Schaumburg played without freshman forward Jada Blackwell (ill). The Knights did not have junior guard Adriane Falagario (ankle), who coach Martha Kelly expects to have back next week for the regional.
"There were two keys they outrebounded us and we turned the ball over," Kelly said. "That was the game.
"Hopefully we can learn from this and improve as we get ready for the regional."
Berggren loves the improvement she has seen from her team.
"Each player has stepped up and as a result we are playing real good team basketball," she said. "We have progressed immensely with our team basketball from the start of the season."