Rawleigh, Conant work overtime to top Lake Park

Conant senior Alyssa Rawleigh called the Cougars' 41-38 overtime decision over visiting Lake Park an "important" win Saturday.

First, the Cougars needed to bounce back from a tough 45-34 loss to Barrington less than 20 hours earlier.

Second, the Cougars proved to themselves they can play basketball in the fourth quarter and overtime, too.

"We'd been struggling in the fourth quarter," said Rawleigh, whose Cougars were down by 4 with under 2:30 left in regulation. "So it was nice we were able to overcome that this time."

And no one was more important for Conant than Rawleigh, who tossed in a game-high 17 points with a career-high five 3-pointers, the most in one game by any Cougar this season.

"Alyssa was in a zone, she kept hitting them," said classmate Lindsay Fillingim (6 points), who hit a big driving bank shot and completed a 3-point play to give the Cougars a 40-38 lead with 1:14 left in overtime. "And Kelly (Lomas, who had 8 points) stepped up in the second half."

The Cougars stepped up big in the first quarter, jumping ahead 10-0 lead with Rawleigh connecting for two of her five 3-pointers.

A driving bank shot by sophomore Alyssa Hernandez with 1:45 left in the first quarter made it 10-2.

The Lancers' next basket was a 3-pointer by junior guard Amanda Prosperi (team-high 16 points, two 3-pointers) with 4:10 left in the second quarter, bringing Lake Park to within 14-6.

Conant (13-8) led 19-10 at intermission and extended the advantage to 25-13 on back-to-back 3's by Rawleigh.

Lake Park battled back and tied it at 31-31 when Prosperi hit her second 3-pointer with 5:10 left in regulation.

Prosperi then hit two more 16-footers from the baseline for a 35-31 lead with 3:31 left.

"Amanda stepped up today," said Lake Park coach Chris Fruehling. "I'm so proud of her. We keep encouraging our guards to shoot outside and she took that challenge to heart and did a great job."

A driving layup by Lomas (8 points) with 2:21 left got the Cougars to within 35-33.

With 1:25 left, Natalie Kutramanes made an alert pass inside to Jenna Heneghan for open layup that tied the game at 35-35.

The Cougars had a chance to win but missed 2 outside shots in the final five seconds that sent the game to OT.

"I think we were all playing together," Rawleigh said of the late fourth-quarter comeback. "We used our enthusiasm to push each other and we believed in each other."

A 10-footer in the lane by Alexis Hahn (11 points, 8 rebounds) gave Lake Park (9-11) the lead in overtime before Lomas tied it with 2 free throws.

A free throw by Nicole Moore (5 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) gave the visitors a 38-37 lead before Fillingim's big drive to the basket which was set up by Heneghan's screen.

"Falling behind put us in a pressure situation," Fillingim said. "We knew we had to get after it after our loss the night before. This win gives us a lift again and picks us up for games this week against Palatine and Hoffman Estates."

Conant coach Dan Travers liked the pick-me-up Kutramanes provided his team.

"I thought Natalie gave us good quality minutes," Travers said.

"Kelly Lomas has some key baskets and played good defense. She had a huge steal (which she converted for a layup and 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter). She's a clutch player.

"We've been playing real hard against good teams in our conference. Physically, we're not the same as them, but we have battled. We just can't get over the hump. To come back today after Friday night, that is what we are looking for."