Horvath, Blazers defeat Fenton
Senior guard Kelsey Horvath easily could be exhausted by Addison Trail’s new up-tempo style of play this season.
Instead, she thrives on it.
“I’m in the best shape of my life right now so it doesn’t affect me,” Horvath said. “That’s the best way to play for us because we’re a quick team and we’re not very tall.”
On Tuesday Horvath played all 32 minutes and delivered a personal-high 25 points with five 3-pointers that carried the Blazers to a 49-41 victory over previously undefeated Fenton in the fourth round of the Fenton/Addison Trail Tournament in Addison.
Horvath made 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range, and had a stretch between the second and third quarters in which she made 7 of 8 shots with four 3-pointers.
“I was hitting them so I just kept shooting. I was feeling my shot so I just kept letting it go,” Horvath said. “That’s what I love about this team. We all work together and if we’re hitting, we’re always looking for that girl.”
Claudia Denigris added 10 points and two 3s for the Blazers (2-2). Reserve forward Kalie Dodmead had 4 points and 7 rebounds, and Connie Barkoulies added 4 points and 5 rebounds.
For Fenton (3-1), junior guard Alissa Whyte had 10 points with three 3-pointers, followed by Rachael Leschewski and Sidney Montano.
“We’re getting there slowly. We’ve put in a new offense, a new defense,” Addison Trail coach Rob Schader said. “They’re a big team, two 6-footers. I thought we’d be happy just to keep it close and we ended up playing well tonight. We made some shots so we’ll take it.”
Addison Trail trailed 13-12 midway through the second quarter but made its last five shots of the period, including two 3-pointers each by Horvath and Denigris. The Blazers led 27-21 by the half and would have been up 9 if not for a 3 by Whyte just before the buzzer.
“It’s early, but it’s the best we’ve played all year up to this point,” Schader said.
The Bison won their first three tournament games by double digits. The Blazers led 41-29 after three quarters and by at least eight points throughout the fourth. Addison Trail’s energetic effort included consistent backcourt pressure. Fenton handled it fairly well yet committed 22 turnovers.
“They won because they controlled the tempo,” Fenton coach Tim Anderson said. “They’re a streaky shooting team. We knew that was going to happen. They did (that), and we never had one of those. Everybody says it, but we are extremely young. We’ve got a high learning curve and I think tonight was, I hope, a wakeup call.”