Palatine enjoys its feeder night with win over Grant
With a pair of MSL West games on the horizon prior to its trek to Wheaton North for the annual Bill Neibch Falcon Holiday Classic after Christmas, first year Palatine coach Sarah Davis knew her team needed to build some momentum.
Moreover, it was feeder night for their Wednesday evening home tilt with Grant which presented Davis, a former four-year Pirate letterwinner from ‘05-’08 as Sarah Iuorio, an opportunity to create a positive impression for future Lady Pirates.
For it to be a success they would have to get through a Grant squad seeking a bounce-back win after dropping a tough four-point decision to Wauconda in Northern Lake County Conference play the night before.
Adding to the mix was the 30 minute delay to the opening tip as both teams had to wait as the JV contest which proceeded it went to a fifth period.
Thanks to a pair of runs, the host school added a 47-33 victory as a companion to their JV team’s overtime triumph.
The win moved their mark to 7-4 on the season as it hosts Schaumburg in a Mid-Suburban West clash on Friday.
“We really wanted to patient and come with the ball and I think we really came out with the effort and our shots were falling and we continued to just play hard and keep with it,” Palatine junior center Molly Pieper said.
The hosts successfully rebounded from an early 10-4 deficit by going on an 11-4 surge capped off by an inside basket from freshman swingman Grace Kline that put them ahead to stay 15-14 with 6:37 left in the first half.
That score keyed another scoring run (9-2) that put them up 24-16 at the break.
It was at that point the 6-foot-1 Pieper took over. She scored the Pirates’ first 10 points of the third frame that helped them take a 36-22 advantage into the fourth. She would end up with a game-high 19 along with 13 rebounds. Senior guard Frankie Henderson chipped in 10 along with 5 boards and 4 steals.
The Bulldogs (6-7) would get no closer than 8 on an Isabella Gomez-DeLaTorre charity toss that pulled them within 36-28 with 3:38 left. They struggled from the field going just 13-44 (29%) while committing 27 turnovers.
“I’m proud of (our) girls. They worked really hard,” Davis said. “When we match-up we really emphasize ball pressure. Just trying to make teams a little bit uncomfortable. It starts with (that) and the rest kind of falls into place.”
Recent College Of Lake County commit Nevada Holm paced Grant with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Bulldogs commence their Holiday tournament Saturday afternoon when they play Nazareth. The three-day event runs through next Friday, Dec. 22.