Glenbrook North denies Grayslake Central in Blenner Classic final
Glenbrook North's girls basketball team made its first appearance in the Blenner Classic championship game a winning one on Friday night at St.Viator's Cahill Gymnasium.
A 3-pointer by Grayslake Central's Annie Wolff gave the Rams their only lead at 3-2 as the Spartans (11-5) answered with back-to-back 3-pointers from junior sharpshooter Alexis Myers and never looked back in a 49-33 triumph.
The 5-foot-9 Myers, a key member of Glenbrook North's Class 2A state champion golf team last fall, poured home a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers in the first quarter to help set the tone for the winners.
"That was cool," Myers said. "I've never done that (four 3s in one quarter). Before the game, I was shooting well so I knew that a good game was coming. And my teammates got the ball to me for open shots so it was good. It feels great knowing we made history as the only Glenbrook North team to win this championship."
Senior Caitlyn Ethen added 8 points while senior Grace Gertner, junior Jami De Guzman and senior Brecken Carsello each had 6 points.
"I think we finished fourth or fifth last year so it left us with a little bit of a bitter feeling," Gertner said. "The seniors wanted to come out and win this year. It's the first time we've won the tournament so it's really nice to make history in our senior year."
Junior Madison Hoffman, who scored her 1,000th point on Tuesday night against Mundelein, led the Rams (12-6) with 13 points while Wolff finished with 8. Hoffman's sister Peyton and Katelyn Marcelain each chipped in 5.
"This is a great tournament to be in with a lot of talent on both sides of the brackets," said Madison Hoffman. "So to be able to play in the championship game and get three wins here is really a great experience for the whole team. We've worked hard all season and to be able to play a great team like Glenbrook North is a great learning experience for us."
Myers got the Spartans rolling early when she hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 8-3 lead.
Marcelain's 3-pointer cut it to 8-6, however, the Spartans went on a 14-4 run to close out the opening quarter.
The big rally included another 3-pointer by Myers, a rebound bank shot by Ethen, a big driving layup by Myers, back-to-back layups from De Guzman and Myers' fourth 3-pointer to make it 22-10 heading into the second quarter.
"They got on a roll and we're a young team with four juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen," said Rams coach Steve Ikenn. "For a lot of them, this was their first big game they've been in. So I was proud of the girls. They gave up 22 points the first quarter and then only 27 the rest of the way."
Myers hit three straight free throws to open the second quarter followed by Ethen's rebound layup which made it 25-14 with 6:15 left to half.
The teams clamped down on defense and there were only 5 more points the rest of the half. There was a 15-foot bank shot by junior Annie Wolff (6 rebounds) and free throw by teammate Ava Henne for GC. Glenbrook North had a fastbreak layup by Carsello as the Spartans went into intermission leading 27-17.
"We struggled on offense but you've got to tip your hat to Glenbrook North," Ikenn said. "They did a really good job defensively, kind of taking us out of our rhythm and we never quite got it back."
Gertner's 3-pointer gave GN a 34-20 lead with 2:35 in the third quarter and her 3-pointer made it 47-27 midway through the final period.
"Anytime you get a 3-pointer it's a good feeling," Gertner said. "Playing four games in a row is pretty tough. Our bodies are not feeling the greatest but we played really great defense. That's what won the game for us. I thought our team played really well this tournament and this was kind of a coming-out party for us. We;ve got the second round of conference coming up and we are ready to take that on hard."
"It feels fantastic (to win the tourney)," said fifth-year Spartans coach Nick Capalbo, who is assisted by hall of famer Steve Weissenstein. "Defensively we knew what we were doing. We stopped their big player (Madison Hoffman) and that was the key, I couldn't be more proud of the girls."
Madison Hoffman (6 rebounds) was proud of her team, which includes her freshman sister Peyton (7 rebounds). Madison made a nice entry pass to Peyton, who converted a layup in the second quarter.
"It's super fun playing with my sister," Madison said. "We have a great connection. And this is a super young team. We have no seniors on the team. So this was the very first championship game and it was a great experience for everyone."