Dundee-Crown upends Cary-Grove
Despite a 32-28 halftime lead, Dundee-Crown girls basketball coach Sarah Miller wasn't happy with her team's 17 turnovers during the first 16 minutes.
The Chargers righted the ship, though, and with only 5 miscues in the second half, they outscored Cary-Grove 38-21 in posting a 70-49 win in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Cary Friday night.
"We were a little out of control in the first half and didn't take care of the ball very well," said Miller. "I was proud of the way we played under control in the second half. We played smarter and our shot selection was much better."
Holding a 53-44 lead after 3 quarters, the Chargers (3-7, 2-0) were able to seize control of the game during the final 8 minutes.
Led by 4 points from Allison Michalski and 3-pointers by Paige Gieseke and Melissa Barker, Dundee-Crown tallied the first 10 points of the fourth quarter and extended a 9-point lead to 19, 63-44, with 4:45 remaining.
Cary-Grove's first points of the quarter came on a 15-footer in the lane by Maddie Gorz to make the score 63-46 with 4 minutes remaining. A 3-pointer from Nicollette Richardi pulled the Trojans within 14, 63-49, with 3:25 left in the game. The Trojans couldn't get any closer.
Michalski enjoyed a monster night for the Chargers with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots.
"My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in great position to score," said Michalski. "We had great ball movement. We had better focus in the second half and took care of the ball better. We played much better as a team."
Barker, who only had 6 points in the first half tallied 12 in the second half with and ended with 18 points including four 3-pointers.
Kennedy White, who scored 11 points in the first half, ended with 13.
"I hit my first couple shots and got confidence in my shot," said White. "It was nice to contribute to the team."
Miller was impressed with White's effort.
"Kennedy kept us in the game in the first half," said Miller. "She is playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Gieseke added 11 for the winners. Richardi paced the Trojans (1-9, 0-4) with 15 points.
"We played hard on defense," said Cary-Grove senior Jen Pilut. "We just need to stay together as a team."