Antioch grinds out tough win at Vernon Hills

An errant elbow bloodied Ashley Reiser's lower lip, costing her 2 free throws in the final minute of the first half because she had to leave the court.

Then late in Thursday night's North Suburban Prairie Division battle, Antioch's star point guard got accidentally clotheslined.

The game wasn't much prettier.

Thanks to a beautiful second quarter of basketball, however, Antioch walked out of Vernon Hills' gym with a 49-39 win, keeping the Sequoits undefeated in the NSC Prairie.

"Any time you can play Vernon Hills here and escape with a win, it's a good day," Antioch coach Tim Borries said. "I think this is my third time in nine years that I've won here. I don't get a lot of victories here vs. (coach) Paul (Brettner). So I'll take it."

Reiser's 24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals - and, in particular, her torrid shooting from 3-point range - helped Antioch (18-1, 7-0) prevail on a night when the Sequoits were missing two starters and didn't shoot the ball well.

"I was getting pretty nervous," Reiser said. "(Vernon Hills) is always good when we play them. Coming here is harder too because the atmosphere is in their favor."

Amy Reiser missed her fifth game in a row and sixth in seven games with a back injury. And while post Maddy Murillo returned from a sprained ankle after a six-game absence, veteran forward Kelly Johnson didn't make the trip due to illness.

"You got to have trust in your teammates," Ashley Reiser said.

Reiser got help from teammates Alexis Duehr (13 points, three 3-pointers, 8 rebounds), Murillo (9 rebounds), Erika Gallimore (6 points, 9 boards) and Megan Kelly (3 steals). But Reiser was the difference-maker, again.

She made her first 6 shots from three-point range and finished 8-of-15 shooting (6 of 10 from beyond the arc). As a team, however, Antioch was just 17 of 65 (26 percent) from the floor.

Vernon Hills (7-10, 3-3) didn't shoot well either (12 of 57, 21 percent). The Cougars were led by freshman Kayla Caudle's 15 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Vernon Hills built a 14-6 lead in the first quarter and went into the second up 14-9 after Reiser sank her first 3-pointer.

Then came the second quarter, when the visitors got rolling. Antioch outscored Vernon Hills 27-9, as Reiser (4) and Duehr (3) went a combined 7 of 7 from three-point range, helping the Sequoits go into the break up 36-23.

"I wasn't thinking about it at all," Reiser said. "I just going with the flow and was sticking with the game plan. That's when we're at our best - on the go, (getting) transition shots."

Reiser started the second-half scoring by sinking her sixth 3, but she never hit another one. Vernon Hills outscored Antioch 8-5 in the third quarter to pull within 41-31. Becky Bahlmann (8 points, two 3-pointers, 10 rebounds) hit 2 free throws with 3:34 left in the fourth to go to cut Vernon Hills' deficit to 43-35, but the Cougars got no closer.

"In the second half we didn't do as well as we wanted," Borries said. "We missed several layups, and we weren't strong with the ball down low."