Antioch wins again, rejoins Prairie race
The 3-pointer that Lindsey Gofron banked in during the pivotal third quarter of Thursday night's North Suburban Prairie Division game was about as pretty as Antioch's start to the basketball season.
Looks are not always important, however.
Look, for instance, who's in the thick of the NSC Prairie race.
Antioch may have started 0-6, but after holding off visiting Wauconda 31-28, the Sequoits (8-9) are 5-1 in the division and a game back of first-place Vernon Hills.
It's a position that's new to them.
"We're just taking it one game at a time and not thinking about the next game," said Gofron, Antioch's four-year varsity starter. "It's exciting, especially it being my senior year."
Other than what coach Tim Borries called a "quality win" over Round Lake, the Sequoits have been in a tough battles in all of their contests within the division. They've won eight of 11 since their slow start.
"We grind our games out," Borries said with a grin. "Maybe it's a sign, a good thing. We played such a hard schedule before the (first) conference game. We got beaten up against Montini and Geneva (in the Geneva Thanksgiving tournament), but we held our own."
Improved Wauconda, which won its last two games in the Northern Illinois Holiday Classic, fell to 5-10 and 1-5 in the NSC Prairie.
"I'm not (happy), not (considering) the way we've been practicing and playing lately," Bulldogs coach Jaime Dennis said. "I expected a lot more."
Gofron fed Brittany Kelly (5 points, 7 rebounds) for a corner jump shot early in the third quarter, snapping a 14-14 tie. Gofron then banked in her shot from beyond the arc, shrugged sheepishly and shared a laugh with teammate Melanie Lass as they hustled back on defense.
"I was like, 'That shouldn't even count,' " Gofron said.
Megan Borries (game-high 11 points) later hit a 3, as Antioch outscored Wauconda 10-2 in the third for a 24-16 lead.
"First and third quarters," said Dennis, whose Bulldogs spotted Antioch a 7-0 lead but, despite struggling against the Sequoits' box-and-one defense, were within 7-4 at first quarter's end. "We're a young team so it takes us a while to figure things out. We haven't seen a box and one yet this year. It took us a whole quarter to figure out how to beat it, and when we started to, he switched.
"Third quarter, we just weren't ready to go. I asked for the best two minutes they've played all year (to start the second half), and I didn't get that."
Lauren Nee's foul-line jumper pulled Wauconda within 27-24 with 2:46 left in the fourth, but Antioch responded immediately with Gofron hitting another 3-pointer to stretch the Sequoits' lead to 30-24.
This one hit nothing but net.
"They're scrappy," Gofron, who had 10 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, said of the Bulldogs.
A free throw by Borries with 23.5 seconds left gave Antioch a 4-point cushion. Wauconda's Chavez Coombs (8 points, 14 rebounds) scored on a putback at the buzzer.
"The last minute, we buckled down defensively," Tim Borries said. "We knew we had to put pressure on the ball, and it took (Wauconda) some time to get a shot off."