Girls basketball: Carmel defeats St. Viator
Less than 24 hours after a nonconference win at Lake Forest on Friday night, Carmel's girls basketball was back at it in an East Suburban Catholic Conference contest on Saturday at St. Viator.
The Corsairs showed no hint of fatigue at the outset, breaking out to a 15-2 lead in less than five minutes and never looking back in a 55-27 triumph over the Lions in Arlington Heights.
“When we are turning right around and playing another game the next day, we just have to forget about what we did the night before and just focus on the game in front of us,” said senior Josie Hartman.
St. Viator (11-8, 1-4) did show its will power in the second quarter, closing to within 25-20 at half but the Corsairs (14-5, 4-1) scored the first 10 points in the second half and outscored the Lions 30-7 in the final 16 minutes to remain one game behind Benet in the ESCC.
Freshman standout Liv Johnson led all scorers on Saturday with 28 points, while Hartman added 10 and junior Maliyah Mays 9.
Hartman got the Corsairs rolling, scoring the game's first 7 points in less than 1:30.
She started the game with a 3-pointer, then hit back-to-back layups, the second coming on an assist from Johnson, who pulled down a rebound and went nearly coast to coast before dishing off to Hartmann.
Mays then followed with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 12-0 lead with 4:28 left in the period.
“When we come out with energy and stick together, especially on the defensive end when we are getting steals, stops, rebounds and are in transition, that's when we are at our best,” Hartman said. “When we get up like that, we just keep going and going.”
The Lions got their offense going late in the second quarter, finishing the half on a 7-1 run with a 10-foot bank shot by senior Catherine Adamski, two free throws from junior Kalin McCrea and a 3-pointer from sophomore Evelyn Hill off an assist from sophomore Ava Garcia to make it 25-20 with 12 seconds left until halftime.
But the Corsairs found their groove again, starting the second half with a 10-0 run that began with Johnson's rebound and coast-to-coast layup for a 27-20 lead.
Johnson then added another layup followed by a big 3-pointer from Grace Booher, a 6-footer from Johnson and a free throw by Johnson to make 35-20 with 2:30 left in the third period.
“It was a great win for us,” said Corsairs coach Ben Berg. “I thought we got off to a great start. We struggled a little bit in the second quarter when they made a little run at us. I'm proud of the girls. In the second half we were guarded without fouling. We shared the ball and moved it around nicely.”
“I always tell the girls we're at our best when we're in transition. We started getting stops and rebounding and getting into transition. I thought everybody played well tonight. We had a lot of contributions. Josie Hartman and Maliyah Mays on the offensive end and Grace Boohar really locked in on defense and did a great job in the second half.”
“Credit to Carmel, they're a very good team,” said Lions coach Kyle Braheny, whose team was led by Gabriella Scaravalle's 7 points. “And credit to our team. We dig ourselves a hole early. But we fought back. We made it a very competitive game at halftime. We knew our challenges and we knew what we had to do.
“We had to be very disciplined tonight and do the right thing. We couldn't afford to make mistakes against a good team like that. And I think in the second half we broke down a little bit and kind of ran out of gas. But we played hard. We did a lot of good things right against a good team. And we've got to build off that.”
Johnson added 11 more points in the fourth quarter when Carmel outscored the hosts 17-2.
“She is a fantastic player," Braheny said. “And it's not one-on-one against her. It's one-on-five. We all have to play together. I wish her the best of luck. She’s a great player and I'm excited to see her again.”