Nearly another upset for Willowbrook

This is the weekend that the girls basketball spotlight shines on Willowbrook High School.

The host Warriors already opened eyes last Saturday, though, stunning Proviso East.

"I've been in this school seven years," Willowbrook coach Terry Harrell said, "and my recollection is nobody in our conference has beat them since I've been here. To get that win, that was a huge win."

Improving Willowbrook nearly added a second straight impressive win to its resume, but a late rally from 11 down came up short in a 48-45 loss to St. Ignatius in Friday's opening game of the 22nd McDonald's Shootout in Villa Park.

Willowbrook (8-10), which raced out to an early 11-0 lead, trailed 43-32 early in the fourth quarter. An 11-0 Warriors run tied it at 43-43 on a Molly Krawczykowski 3-pointer.

"We talked with each other and said we needed to come back hard and not give up," said sophomore guard Krawczykowski. "It was a big comeback. I feel we're getting better each game we play."

Two Anita Sterling free throws knotted the score again at 45-45 with 33 seconds remaining. On St. Ignatius' final possession, Wolfpack point guard Gena Lenti ran a high screen and roll to perfection, flipping a pass over a defender to Alyse Belavic for a layup and three-point play.

"We run that play all the time in practice, but we usually run it to go all the way to the basket," Lenti said. "I was expecting to go all the way, but when I saw both defenders come up on me I knew Alyse was open. Simplest play, but it works."

Lenti scored 14 points for St. Ignatius (12-7), but her team seemed to get rattled late by Willowbrook's pressure.

"I don't think (St. Ignatius) gets pressured a lot," Harrell said. "I think when we pressured them they were a little shocked."

Krawczykowki scored 11 points for the Warriors, her free throws midway through the first quarter giving Willowbrook its early 11-0 bulge. Juniors Colleen Krawczykowski and Angela Bruno, the other two in a good Warriors guard trio, added 8 points apiece.

"We have quick guards. I'll take my three against a lot of teams' guards," Harrell said.

Sterling added 7 points for Willowbrook, going 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. The Warriors hit 16 of 20 as a team.

"Losing Anita to foul trouble hurt for a while," Harrell said. "She's like the oil to this team's engine. She makes things flow. When she's out, our offense doesn't run quite as smooth."

Mariah Harris and Belavic scored 11 points each for St. Ignatius, who hit five 3-pointers. After a cold start the Wolfpack hit 50 percent of its field goals over the second and third quarters, tying Willowbrook 22-22 by half.

"I watched (St. Ignatius) once before, and they didn't shoot this well at all," Harrell said with a laugh. "They were hitting everything. But the girls played well. I told them not to be down about this. We're getting better."