Girls basketball: Willows stays hot to beat Elk Grove
Maria Paschall hardly hesitated when asked why the Willows Academy girls basketball team has been so successful in her four year seasons on varsity.
“Just hard work and playing together as a team,” said the senior and four-year varsity player who returned to the lineup for her second game after missing five with an ankle injury.
The Eagles (8-2) showed exactly what Paschall was talking about on Wednesday night, exhibiting hard work and team play to break loose for a 65-52 victory over visiting Elk Grove.
Junior Maura Crimmins, averaging 27 points per game, led the girls from Des Plaines with a game-high 20 followed by Paschall (13), freshman Kamila Mikula (12), senior Clare Gannon (11) and junior Stephanie Tirpak (5) as Willows won its seventh straight game.
Paschall, who has been part of six regional championship teams while also playing softball and soccer, had 17 points in her first game back Saturday vs. Northside Prep. In that same game, Crimmins became the sixth and fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
“She (Crimmins) is phenomenal,” coach Morgan Jahnke said. “She is really trustworthy and I love her with the ball.”
Crimmins’ 3-pointer and freshman Kamila Mikula's layup gave the Eagles a 5-0 lead less than a minute into the game. But Elk Grove (2-7) answered with senior Lindsay Bobowski's layup and 3-pointers from Olivia Eugene and Jaleah Blake to lead 8-5. The quarter ended at 15-15 thanks to Bobowski's big drive up the middle for a six-footer with 25 seconds left.
A putback and a 3-pointer by Crimmins gave the hosts a 20-15 lead to start the second quarter.
After JJ Wirtz tossed in a seven-footer from the baseline, Willows ended the half with a 7-0 run, getting a 3-pointer by Crimmins, a running eight-footer in the lane by Paschall and a steal and assist by Mikula, who then fed Gannon for a layup and a 27-20 cushion at intermission. That final run included turnovers by Willows off its press.
“The girls did a fantastic job with the press,” Jahnke said. “They know the press is our bread and butter and they were able to run it well. That's how we got that 7-0 run.”
Mikula had 2 steals on the press in that span.
“Our freshman (Mikula) is quick,” Jahnke said. “And our defense is even better.”
The Eagles opened the second half with a few more turnovers off the press and Mikula capitalized with layups for a quick 31-20 lead. The Eagles eventually drew off to a 47-29 lead after three quarters.
Elk Grove kept playing hard and outscored the hosts 23-18 in the final quarter, where JJ Wirtz scored 9 of her team-high 11 points.
“JJ has played so well,” said Grenadiers coach Courtney Lindfors, a former Elk Grove and Driscoll standout center. “Her growth from last year to this year has been awesome and she is only a sophomore.”
JJ's sister Katie, a starter, was out of the game due to concussion protocol.
Bobowski added 8 points for EG followed by Olivia Eugene (7), Jaleah Blake (7), Madie Reyes (6) and Brianna Magner (6).
“It was exciting to see them put up a fight through and through,” Lindfors said. “We just had mental lapses at times, It was such a good first half. I liked how aggressive we were at times. That's been very hit and miss this season. When they show up and are super aggressive, we look good. We knocked down quite a few shots in the first half (Blake, Claire Alvarado and Eugene each had a 3-pointer in the first quarter) so that was exciting to see.”
Jahnke and the Eagles are excited about their fast start which now has them at 91-23 over the past four seasons including three regional titles and the program's first sectional last winter.
“That's all props to our former coach Jodi Marver (she stepped down to become an assistant coach at Lake Forest College),” said Jahnke, who was Marver's assistant the past five seasons. “She was here for all these past years so a lot of this is her. I'm really proud of my seniors out there. They always come to play.”