advertisement

Lake Forest downs South Elgin for 3rd at Komaromy Classic

Lake Forest made its first trip into the Dundee-Crown Komaromy Classic a good one.

The Scouts reached the semifinals before losing to North Suburban Conference rival Stevenson and then recovered in the third place game, racing past South Elgin 55-35 in Carpentersville on Thursday night.

"Defense is what won the game for us," Lake Forest coach Stacey Leach said. "That's what we can control and we did really well. We did come in not knowing what to expect and the girls played that underdog part. I don't think anybody else expected us to be here and they came out proved themselves."

Lake Forest (11-6) was led by Rachel Kaus with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Becca Ranallo with 13 points.

"Rebounding is important because it helps the team get another possession," Kaus said, "especially on offense to get another chance or another shot. It really helps my team to win."

South Elgin (12-3) built a 22-17 lead midway through the second quarter with patience and poise.

Kaus scored 7 points including a layup with 30 seconds left that capped off 12 unanswered points for a 29-22 LF lead at the break.

"When were playing as a team more and get together," Kaus said, "we can rotate the ball more. Passing the ball has really helped us. We just attack the basket and stay strong on offense, and taking our time."

The Storm tried to rally in the third quarter, but every time they cut the lead Lake Forest had an answer to extend the lead out to double digits.

Zoie Lewis led South Elgin with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Caroline Croft had 10 points and Ella Winterhalder chipped in with 9.

"There's not a lot of teams that are still playing for something," South Elgin coach Dan Mandernack said. "Playing for the third-place trophy, you have to come out with that urgency. I thought we threw that first punch. We don't get many second chances since we basically start five guards. We got beat up on the boards and got exposed a little bit."

South Elgin won its first two games in the tournament but lost to Barrington in the semifinals.

"We did see all different types of stuff and will have more time to prepare for it," Mandernack said. "We just have to be positive. Barrington was an awesome team. Lake Forest is just awfully hot right now and playing really good basketball. We're just building bricks, and that's another brick going 2-2 and we've got three straight home games."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.