Girls basketball: Prospect’s 16-0 run decides game vs. Rolling Meadows
In the lastest Class 4A girls basketball poll, after the top 10 teams, Prospect was listed among 'others receiving votes'.
The Knights did nothing on Friday night to harm that ranking.
A well-balanced offense produced a few nifty runs for Prospect (9-2, 3-0) and helped the Knights pull away in the second half with a 16-0 surge for a 53-36 triumph at Rolling Meadows.
The Knights (9-2, 3-0) took a one-game lead in the Mid-Suburban East standings over Rolling Meadows (9-2, 2-1) and Hersey (9-4, 2-1).
Senior Gina Falls, who delivered two big 3-pointers during the run, finished with a team-high 13 points, all in the second half.
Classmate Sadie Splinter, playing in her third game back from a fractured ankle, popped in 10 points followed by sophomore Zoe Black (9) and senior Alli Linke (7), who averages 20 points a game.
"We know other teams are going to have a game plan for Alli and when they do, other people have to step up," said Prospect coach Matt Weber. "And I thought Gina did a nice job stepping up. Neve Pomis hit a big 3 for us in the first half. We just have to take what the defense gives us. If they take away one person that means four other people have to step up.
"We play pretty much 10 kids every single game. We want to apply pressure in the full court. We want to play fast in transition and just keep it simple for the kids. What we focus on is just playing team basketball."
Splinter called the big road win very exciting.
"We're a very close-knit team," she said. "We love each other on and off the court and I think it really shows in how we are able to work as a team on the court."
Four points from Splinter and 2 apiece by Linke and Black gave the Knights an 8-2 lead less than four minutes into the game.
Linke's 3-pointer from the top of the key made it 11-2 with 2:33 left in the quarter.
The Mustangs got to within 11-7 heading into the second quarter thanks to Lizzy Andriano's 3-pointer (1:21) and the junior guard's driving 10-foot floater with two seconds left.
The Knights started the second quarter on an 8-0 run that included 3-pointers from Pomis and Black and a fastbreak layup by Black for a 19-9 lead with 4:41 left until intermission.
The Mustangs answered again with a 9-0 run, highlighted by junior Dalia Grandberry's three buckets, including a putback. Nell Osterhues also had a driving layup in the rally which got Meadows to within 19-17 at the break.
The Knights' biggest run of the game came with the score tied 19-19.
The visitors scored 16 in a row, beginning with two layups from Splinter and ending with Colleen Shute's layup off an assist from Linke for a 35-19 cushion. In between, Falls connected for a pair of 3-pointers and Maeve Johl hit a 17-footer.
Meadows closed to 38-28 by quarter's end, thanks to a 3-pointer from Iris Jordan and a free throw from Abby Ramel in the final minute.
But Prospect never let the hosts get closer.
"First off, Prospect is really a great team," said Mustangs coach Ryan Kirkorsky. "I thought we did an awesome job responding in the first half. They threw a couple of punches at us early and I thought our kids responded to it. But good teams keep coming at you and you have to be able to respond for four quarters. We didn't do that."
Juniors Abby Ramel and Andriano led Meadows with 10 points while classmate Grandberry added 6
"I love this group," Kirkorsky said. "We have four new starters and a bunch of kids who are new to the varsity level and they have exceeded all expectations to this point. They work hard and I feel we have good chemistry. We just have to start to narrow the gap with some of the top teams in the area and I think we have time to do that."
The Knights also like their chemistry.
"We work as a team," Splinter added "The big thing we like to say is that we want to play like we do in practice. We always go full speed in all our drills and everything, So when it comes to games, we are just playing the same way."