Streamwood's team effort sinks Maroons; Cooper sets Elgin's blocks mark
When Streamwood's shots finally started falling, they started falling for everybody.
Nine different players scored as the Sabres downed Elgin, 75-39, in Upstate Eight action Saturday in Streamwood.
As usual, Mandy Mien and Riya Patel led the way with 17 and 12 points, respectively, but three other players scored 9 apiece.
Alexis Rojas, Kaylee Angle and Peyton Hedger just missed double figures for Streamwood. All of Angle's and Hedger's points came on 3-pointers, as they combined for 5 in the fourth quarter alone.
Elgin's Dajha Cooper broke the school's record for blocked shots formerly held by Leslie Schock. Cooper now has 103 rejections.
Cooper also had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Sarah Moskow added 15 points and 10 boards for the Maroons.
"Obviously, our first period went a little bit slow," said Mein. "Eventually we got a little bit of confidence. From there we gained momentum and played as a team throughout the entire game."
The game was tied 6-6 at the halfway point of the first quarter, but a 3-pointer by Patel ignited a 13-2 run that put Streamwood in command. The Sabres used a 10-0 run at the end of the half to pull away further.
The Maroons (6-21, 2-13) could never get untracked offensively, with 38 turnovers contributing to their downfall.
"Turnovers and Mandy (Mien) were the two things that did us in," said Elgin coach Dr. Nick Bumbales. "Every time we made a little run, they hit a 3 or Mandy had a big steal and a basket to put it away. But, yeah, the turnovers did not help us whatsoever."
Streamwood shot just 36 percent in the first half, but Mien and Patel kept them safely in front with drives to the basket and jump shots.
The Sabres led 36-20 at halftime and extended the advantage to 50-32 in the third quarter.
The shots really began falling in the fourth quarter. Hedger and Angle combined for 3-pointers on 3 straight possessions to make it 69-39 in the late going.
Colleen Veguilla added 7 points and Vickie Kopko 6 for Streamwood.