Balance keeps Conant perfect; Saxons win title

A different player has led the Conant girls basketball team in scoring in their first four undefeated games of the season.

On Friday, Ariana Zades was the Cougars' leader after her 21 points and 3 steals led Conant to a 62-53 win against West Aurora in the War-Hawk Thanksgiving Tournament in Aurora.

"Ari has worked on her game a lot, and she got into a rhythm," Conant coach Dan Travers said. "(But) everyone is capable. It's something we really stress. It's kind of the equalizer against teams that have more talent and more athleticism. Shooting makes up for a lot of mistakes."

Zades' five 3-pointers helped Conant (4-0), especially in the second quarter, when the Cougars connected on 6 of their 8 total treys for a 30-22 lead at the break.

"With the makeup of our team, (3-point shooting) is something that we count on," Travers said. "We haven't been shooting it that well, so it's about time. It's not a surprise because we are not very big, and it's something we can control. We've worked on it a lot."

"They had so many 3-point shots, and we were not patience on offense at all," West Aurora coach Connie Siljendahl said. "We weren't waiting for things to be set up. We just wanted to go and not slow down."

Conant built on that lead and was up by as much as 43-28 with 2:51 left in the third after a steal and basket from Ashley Lindeman.

West Aurora (2-2), however, toughed out the fourth quarter and was able to slice Conant's lead to 57-53 after Bri Tye's 3-pointer with 1:44 left in the game.

"We just didn't come out, we just didn't have any energy," Siljendahl said. "(Leading scorer Kyra Watson) wasn't feeling well, and she is kind of the chemistry of the team, but (Tyronza McGowan) just sort of took over. We just have to get it going faster. We were just really lethargic today."

The Cougars, however, didn't allow the Blackhawks another point, as they iced the game with 5 free throws.

"We did what we had to do," Travers said.

In addition to Zades, Conant was led by Michelle Rawleigh's 14 points.

The Blackhawks were led by three players in double-digits -- Devin Vaughn (11 points, 2 blocks), Watson (14 points, 6 rebounds) and McGowan (13 points, 4 rebounds). Destiny Williams led all players with 10 rebounds.

Schaumburg 75, Lane Tech 61:ΠSeniors Kylie Castans (27 points) and Gryte Satas (20 points, 10 rebounds) paced the Saxons to their own tourney title with a 5-0 record.

Castans got the Saxons off and rolling by scoring 14 points in the first quarter as they rolled to a 25-13 lead.

"We ran our fastbreak well," said Saxons coach Bill Murmann. "And we came down the floor and hit just about everything we threw up."

Satas scored many of her career-high points in the second half.

"We finally started getting Gryte the ball where she needed it," Murmann said.

In a superb all-around game, Drewann Pancratz collected 15 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals.

Sarah Kellermeyer chipped in 6 points and 3 steals while Taylor Kosla had 4 assists. Gabrielle Blackwell pulled down 5 rebounds.

Glenbrook South, with a 4-1 record, took second place in the six-team event. The Titans topped St. Charles East 45-42.

Prospect 47, W. Chicago 36: Prospect (5-0 overall) swept to its third straight win in the Lyons tourney and can win the title with a triumph over the host Lions today.

The Knights were led by Megan Murray's 17 points and 5 rebounds. Rachel Hunt added 10 and Lexi Glennon 8.

Alyssa Glennon sparked the defense with 9 steals, 5 rebounds and also handed out 4 assists.

Prospect led 25-23 at the break and then went on a 21-3 run to take a 21-point lead into the final quarter.

BG 62, Regina 33: Senior Ellen Ayoub scored a game-high 13 points and Maggie Mocchi had 10 to help the state's top-ranked Class 4A team remain undefeated after a decisive victory over Regina Dominican in tournament play hosted by the Bison.

Allison Mocchi and Lauren Angotti both had 8 points for BG (4-0), which meets Maine South at 2 p.m. today for the tournament championship.

Wheeling 64, Proviso East 40: Wheeling (4-1 overall) improved its record to 3-1 in the Niles North tourney heading into today's 7 p.m. showdown with Fenwick.

The Wildcats are ranked No. 4 in Class 4A and Fenwick is No. 5.

Leading the way for Wheeling against Proviso East were Ashley Wilson (22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assist, 2 blocks), Lana Rukavina (14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Janelle Cannon (13) points .

Lindsey Mills added 7 rebounds and Bianca Szarfarowicz collected had 4 steals and 2 assists.