Girls basketball: Carmel continues its surge, avenges loss to St. Viator
Carmel's girls basketball team came to Arlington Heights on Wednesday night to play its third game in three days.
You would have never known watching the Corsairs avenge a 38-30 homecourt loss to St. Viator on Dec. 12.
Carmel junior guard Josie Hartmann scored a game-high 18 points as the Corsairs took a 43-28 triumph over the Lions in the Cahill gymnasium for their fifth win in six games.
"I thought our energy throughout the game was great," said Carmel veteran coach Ben Berg, whose team improved to 12-14 and 2-7 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. "And we are really getting better at making decisions, especially on the offensive end, so I'm really proud of how we played tonight."
Hartman, who had three 3-pointers, said the Corsairs were really playing to win after the loss to Viator earlier in the season.
"We knew playing them a second time, we wanted to win," said Hartmann, whose career high came last season when she scored 27 vs. Rolling Meadows. "They're our rival and we wanted to come out and show that we were a better team than last time."
The Corsairs showed they were ready at the start.
Carmel outscored the Lions 7-0 in the final 3:09 of the first quarter to grab a 13-8 advantage. The rally included 2 free throws from senior Maia Cordova (8 points) along with a 3-pointer and driving layup from Hartman.
"Josie is having a great year and we need her to shoot, that's important," Berg said. "Back in December was a time when we were struggling shooting. Not just the Viator game but others as well. We're shooting the ball better now and I think our defense has gotten better, too."
"I missed a few shots in the first half," said Hartman, who averages 14.5 points a game. "But we always talk about how you have to keep shooting. Our post (junior Maron Bowes) had great screens for me. It was great to get this win. We've grown a lot and we're just getting better every day.'
Carmel sophomore Anna Chilcutt (6 points) opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer for a 16-8 lead.
The Lions got within 19-14 when Garcia assisted on Bella Gouranis' fastbreak layup.
But Carmel got a beautiful 10-football fadeaway jumper by Mays with 1:44 left in the half and Chilcutt hit her second 3-pointer with two seconds left to give Carmel a 24-14 cushion at intermission.
After freshman Ava Garcia's bucket to start the third period, the Corsairs answered with a 3-pointer from Maliyah Mays (7 points) to extend the lead to 27-16. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Hartman gave the visitors a 34-18 lead with 3:34 left in the quarter. Two free throws by Hartman with 54.5 seconds gave Carmel a 36-22 lead going into the final quarter.
The Corsairs outscored the Lions 7-6 in the fourth quarter, getting all their points at the free-throw line. St. Viator's 6 points came from seniors Raisie Rivera (4) and junior Gabriella Scaravalle (2).
"I'm very proud of the girls," Berg added. "I thought we defended well for four quarters, which is big. We're hitting our stride and playing our best basketball at the right time."
St. Viator (17-9, 3-6), led by Gounaris with 8 points and 6 from Garcia, had won five of its last six games.
"They're (Carmel) a very physical team and they're going to pressure you," said Lions coach Kyle Braheny. “They kind of made us work a bit. Our shots didn't fall. I know we didn't shoot very well and when their shots are falling, it makes it very difficult to close the gap.
"But both teams played very hard. It was a hard-fought ESCC game and I'm proud of our effort. We just have to bounce back."