West Aurora can't stop Conant's 3-point attack

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

On Saturday, 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.