Highland Park has banner night at Maine West

Highland Park has two banners for girls basketball.

One is for a conference title in 1984. The other is a regional crown in 1990.

Before she graduates, which will be in less than six months, Giants senior forward Nichole Monhait would love to be a part of a third.

And perhaps it could come with a Central Suburban North title.

The Giants (13-5, 5-0) took a nice step forward Friday night in Des Plaines by defeating defending North champ Maine West 46-35.

"It's been 26 years since we've won a conference title," said Monhait, who drilled a 3-pointer in the first quarter. "We are looking for another one for 2009-10. Our coach couldn't even remember the last time we beat Maine West (6-13, 3-2).

"This is awesome. I knew we could do it because we have been working very hard."

Highland Park used a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter to grab a 24-13 lead and never looked back.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Warriors senior forward Megan O'Neill, whose work underneath the boards produced a team-high 14 points. "We've got to focus more as a team. Our practices must get a lot harder."

A rebound and layup by Ellen Coogan tied the game 8-8 before Highland Park went on a 5-0 run and never trailed.

"Once they started scoring, it was like we gave up," O'Neill said. "We usually do that and we have to change that."

Coogan and Sam Acosta each added 6 points and Alli Ellwood 3 for West while Kaitlin Suerth, Amy Ksandr and Amanda Ollerer all had buckets off the bench.

"I thought we played real well defensively," said Giants coach Johlie Bechtel, who is assisted by former Prospect standout Abby Many and Sarah Douglas.

Freshman Leah Munzer led Highland Park with 13 points, followed by Emily Feldman (12) and Briana Collier (10).

"We've been talking about how great it would feel to win a conference championship," said Bechtel, who played for Highland Park.

With five more wins, the Giants would do it with a perfect 10-0 record.